The Monarch Butterfly—An Illustration of Transformation—Part 15— The Book of Numbers and the Wilderness Wanderings

Monarch Butterfly

Introduction and Review

The last part of this series examined the transitional and transformative aspects of the Exodus story, which were categorized by the number four.

This installment will study these same aspects in the Book of Numbers as they relate to Israel's wilderness wanderings.

Israel's Wilderness Experience

The Fourth Book of the Bible—Numbers 

The fourth book of the Bible in Hebrew is called B'Midbar במדבר (Gematria: 248 or 4 x 62), meaning "in the wilderness." Numbers, the English name given to this book, chronicles the formative 40 (4 x 10) years from Egypt to the Land of Promise.

The wilderness in Scripture is a type and figure of life in this physical created realm. It depicts for us our formative years, from the time we accept Christ and His deliverance until our promised eternity with Him.

Christ Himself was tested in the "earthly" wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights, recorded in Luke chapter four, which is forty-four verses long. The children of Israel failed this test when they were in the wilderness without Moses for 40 days and 40 nights. Jesus passed the test on our behalf.

 

C.I. Scofield observes that God used four ways to develop and discipline his children in their wilderness journey to the promised land. 

1. the Red Sea,
2. Marah (bitter waters),
3. Elim (12 wells of water and 70 palms),
4. and Sinai.

He also gives us the New Testament application to these four stations.

1. The Red Sea relative to the cross,
2. Marah: turning our bitterness into a blessing,
3. Elim: God's power of rest and provision, and refreshment,
4. and Sinai: the experience and practice of holiness.

In chapter 16 of this book, a rebellion concerning the priesthood arises involving Korah, a fourth-generation son of Levi.

Now, Korah, the son of Izhar, the son of Kohath, the son of Levi. 

— Numbers 16:1

This generational introduction of the phrase "the son of" spans 400 years. The iniquity of violence that occurred at Shechem is, at this time, visited upon this generation of his descendants. Consider that the vengeance exacted at Shechem for raping Levi's sister Dinah was usurping his father Jacob's authority and instruction, much like is occurring in this instance.  

After two challenges of authority and rebellion against God, which resulted in many people being swallowed up and others being plagued, Frank E. Gaebelein sums up this chapter with four "new" observations.

"... at last, there will be no more offense. Surely now there is

1. a new beginning for
2. a new people
3. a new generation
4. a new day"

— The Expositor's Bible Commentary

This book establishes the tribes' positioning around the Tabernacle, which is central to the layout. The tribal census counts for each tribe in both Numbers 1 and 26 are all divisible by 4, except for the tribes of Gad in the first account and Reuben in the second. These two ended up being 1/2 when divided by 4. Interestingly, Gad and Reuben settled on the other side of the Jordan. Eight (4 x 2) names of the tribal leaders include the word El, which means God and is the first revealed name of God in Genesis, referring to his creation of all things.

1. Gerson—west
2. Kohath—south
3. Merari—north,
4. Moses and Aaron—east

All the people were numbered and divisible by four, showing us the way to meet with and walk with the Holy God while we live on the earth. He, their creator, covenants to be with His people through the sacrificial system. It is also noteworthy that this layout forms a cross with its four arms facing four directions.

In Numbers, chapter 9:23, God's covenant name is recited four times, referring to His establishing how He will lead His people on the earth. The account is a metaphor revealing that the only way to live our physical existence in any truly purposeful way is to obey the one who created us. We cooperate with His work by making Him and His indescribable gift and sacrifice of His one and only Son the central, most important focus of our lives.

... by the command of Jehovah they encamp, and by the command of Jehovah they journey; the charge of Jehovah they have kept, by the command of Jehovah in the hand of Moses. 

— Numbers 9:23 (Young's Literal Translation)

It is also relevant to understand that the Abrahamic covenant underlies the writing of Numbers, which consisted of four main promises concerning its establishment. 

1. relationship,
2. land,
3. people,
4. and nations

According to the New IVP Bible Commentary, four types of writing within this narrative provide the book's framework.

1. law
2. administration
3. records
4. and speeches

The Wilderness Tent of Meeting by Charles Taze Russell (1852-1916)

Fours in the Tabernacle and Wilderness

The wilderness Tabernacle was the earthly structure where, before Christ, man would meet with God. Four colors were used in its construction:

1. Blue
2. Purple
3. Scarlet 
4. and White

There were four bowls shaped like almond blossoms on the central post of the Menorah, representing the Messiah.

There were four coverings to the Tabernacle:

1. woven linen,
2. goat's hair, 
3. ram's skins dyed red,
4. and badger skins. 

There were four materials:

1. gold,
2. silver,
3. brass,
4. and wood

There were four spices for incense:

1. myrrh,
2. cinnamon
3. calamus
4. and cassia

and four spices for the oil:

1. stacte,
2. onycha.
3. galbanum
4. Frankincense.

Also, the food of the children of Israel, Manna, had a fourfold description:

1. small,
2. white,
3. round,
4. and sweet

The City of Refuge - George Tinworth for Doulton & Co

Cities of Refuge

The "Cities of Refuge" are mentioned four times in the book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible. These were cities set aside for the man who slew another without intent. It was a way to prevent the shedding of innocent blood from defiling the land which God had given them. The person who unintentionally killed someone could flee to one of these cities, live in safety within the boundaries of the City of Refuge, and be protected from the avenger of blood until the High Priest died. At this point, he was allowed to live freely. This law illustrates for us Christ, our city of refuge. When He died for our sins, He freed and cleansed us of our guilt.

In her book Jesus Christ the Number of His Name, Bonnie Gaunt makes this interesting observation about the dimensions of these cities.

"They were to be a square within a square. The inner square was the city, and the outer square surrounding it was the suburb used for pasturing their cattle and for gardens, etc. Each side of the suburbs measured 4000 cubits, giving a perimeter of 16,000 cubits, while the city had sides of 2000 cubits, making a perimeter of 8,000 cubits.

In Joshua chapter 21, this realization occurs after taking possession of the land, where "four cities," referring to the cities of refuge, occur 8 times (4 x 2).

Four hundred years later, Solomon built a temple based on four. The Most Holy Place is 20 (4 x 5) cubits square, and the Holy Place attached to it was 40 cubits in length and 20 cubits in width.

Psalms Scroll
Israel Antiquities Authority
Library of Congress

The Fourth Book of Psalms

Some further revelations from Numbers in Scripture, by E.W. Bullinger, reveal that the Book of Psalms, at the heart of the Bible, affirms the number four and its connection with the created earth. The Book of Psalms is divided into five sections. The fourth one is from Psalms 90-106.

"In the fourth book of the Psalms (which corresponds with the fourth book of the Bible—Numbers) all its illustrations and metaphors are drawn from the earth."

This fourth section opens with "A prayer of Moses," the man of the wilderness. Both Numbers and Psalms concern the wilderness experience, which illustrates our pilgrimage through the wilderness of life on earth. Bullinger also notes that this section of the Psalms reveals the following.

"God's counsels and purposes are celebrated with regard to the earth, and the nations of the earth from ruin to glory ... sin has come into the world, and ruined, not merely man, but the earth itself ... it's figures are from this wilderness/world; as mountains, hills, floods, grass, pestilence, trees ... Happiness for the world will be found only when He. "Whose right it is", shall come again to reign and "judge the world in righteousness". In Christ, the coming King, not only Israel, but all the nations of the earth, will be blessed. This is the theme of the book."

Once again, we see the themes of transformation, creation, destruction, and re-creation exhibited with the number four.

Bullinger categorized this book into three sections that hint at the spiritual component of our experience, as seen in the theme of rest. 

• "Rest for the Earth Desired" (Psalm 91-94),
• "Rest for the Earth Anticipated" (Psalm 95-100), 
• "Rest for the Earth Celebrated" (Psalm 101-105) 

The structure of this Psalm can be viewed online for free from several sources by simply searching for the Bullinger Companion Bible PDF, which further details and confirms this revelation. He also makes the following revelation regarding the progressive revelation of both the Books of Moses and the Psalms.

The book concerns the earth and the nations, as the first book (1-41) concerned MAN, the second book (42-72) Israel, and the third book (73-89) the sanctuary.

Further notes on Psalms four and creation:

"The First book of the Psalms, the fourth psalm has to do with the earth ... The fourth Psalm of all the other books of Psalms tells of Dominion in the earth, and they speak of the coming reign of earth's rightful King and Lord."

The Hebrew word aretz, translated as "earth" in many cases and sometimes as "land," is used 44 times in this fourth book of Psalms. Recall that this Hebrew phrase "the land" has a gematria of 296, which is 4x74. 

The Four-Cornered Garment

The Four-Cornered Garment

The fourth book of the Bible, Numbers, also records a command that concerns the four corners of a man's garment.

The Lord also spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the sons of Israel, and tell them that they shall make for themselves tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and that they shall put on the tassel of each corner a cord of blue. It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot, so that you may remember to do all My commandments and be holy to your God. I am the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt to be your God; I am the Lord your God.” 

— Numbers 15:37-41 

“You shall make yourself tassels (intertwined threads) on the four corners of your garment with which you cover yourself. 

— Deuteronomy 

These tassels, known as "tzitzit" in Hebrew, are mentioned four times in the Scriptures and are made with four strands. The root of this word means to produce a flower or blossom. God's commands should not seem loathsome but a pleasantry that flowers, blossoms, and produces.

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 

— I John 5:1-4

John D. Garr, author of "The Hem of His Garment," explains the biblical history of this particular garment and alludes to the idea that it was this corner, fringe, or tassel for which the woman with the issue of blood was reaching. He also alludes to how it symbolized the four corners of creation and the four directions, as we looked at earlier in this study. He then explains that it was to raise a man's consciousness to consider the Creator and Lord of the Universe, and to recognize his expected loyalty to all that the King of Creation would command.  

He quotes Psalm 24 (studied earlier in this article) about this. I want to examine a chiasm in this Psalm that confirms God's righteous requirement for loyalty through obedience in all spheres (four corners) of life. These enable us to have a relationship with God and live a productive life. These also testify to the four corners of the world and to His worthiness. The woman's faith in Jesus's righteousness makes her touching of Jesus's tzitzit so compelling. She believed that Jesus had been sinlessly obedient and, therefore, knew that He had the authority and power of heaven standing there in her midst. The Psalm opens with the Lord's ownership of the earth.

The following is a chiastic look at a few verses from Psalm 24.

A) Who may ascend into the hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?

central axis) He who has clean hands and a pure heart,

A) Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood
And has not sworn deceitfully
He shall receive a blessing from the Lord.

— Psalm 24:2-5

The central axis tells us that the only one qualified to commune with God and receive His blessing is the one with clean hands and a pure heart, one who perfectly "remembered" and did God's commands.

The woman who touched the hem of Jesus' garment was possibly a Gentile, representing the Gospel that would go forth into the whole world, receiving God's blessing, not because of our own righteousness, but reaching to the tzitzit (His righteousness) to deliver us from our "issue of blood"(sin).

This ties in with the four-cornered sheet Peter saw come down from heaven that concerned the reception of the Gentiles. Was the sheet similar to this four-tasseled garment intended to cover all who would come to Him and be saved from their sin?

Tzitzit

Assembly of the Four Tassels

The assembly of these four tassels consisted of four strands that passed through four holes and doubled over to appear as eight (4 x 2). A complex system of knots and windings, of which there are four sections, is made with these strands, resulting in knots and wraps that hang down 4 inches.

The blue looks back to the original giving of the Ten Commandments and the very throne of God, expressing God's desire to rule and reign in the earth through the hearts of men. 

... they saw the God of Israel. And there was under His feet as it were a paved work of sapphire (used 12— 4x3 times) stone, and it was like the very heavens in its clarity ... Then the Lord said to Moses, “Come up to Me on the mountain and be there; and I will give you tablets of stone, and the law and commandments which I have written.

— Exodus 24:12

... there in the firmament that was above the head of the cherubim, there appeared something like a sapphire stone, having the appearance of the likeness of a throne.

— Ezekiel 10:1

It is speculated that the stone tablets mentioned above were possibly made of sapphire. The Hebrew root of the word "sapphire" means "to inscribe with letters" and is also used as an accounting term. Hebrew letters were also used as a numbering system, so it all adds up. 

Balaam's Fourth Oracle

Balaam's Four Oracles

The book of Numbers, the fourth book of the Bible, records a transitional scene in Israel's history that occurred just before their entrance into the Promised Land.

After forty years of wilderness wandering, Balak, the king of Moab, was deeply disturbed by the children of Israel's military victories and their growing population. He decided to hire the famous occult diviner Balaam, who lived 400 miles away, to curse Israel for him. Balaam makes three attempts to curse Israel. The first is recorded in four lines.

“Who can count the dust of Jacob, 

Or number one-fourth (fourth part) of Israel? 

Let me die the death of the righteous, 

And let my end be like his!” 

— Numbers 23:10

Some translate "one-fourth" as the fourth part. Both interpretations include the idea of the entire sphere of Israel divided into four groups that cover the four directions of the earth: North, South, East, and West.

Balaam ends up blessing them instead because what God has blessed cannot be cursed. Two other oracles are spoken, then he finally speaks a fourth Oracle foretelling their coming Messiah King to the earth from them. 

“I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel ... " 

 

— Numbers 24:17

The "Liberty Bible Commentary of the Old and New Testament" notes this verse and how the number four explains something of great significance that will occur in the natural, physical realm.

"Israel was to be exalted as a kingdom. It was not simply that Yahweh was their king, but that they were to have a human monarch." 

— J. Barton Payne

In his fourth oracle, he properly prophecies that the Messiah King will visit the earth in a physical human form and descend from them. He was also foretold that He would be heralded by a star, symbolizing the birth of a great king and His brightness. An interesting note is that Balaam was considered a Magi. He spoke of this star that the Magi would seek out from the east when Christ came. The star speaks of heaven's witness of who He is.

The "star" is a fourth-day creation.

The Lion of the Tribe of Judah

The Fourth Tribe

Judah was the fourth son of Jacob and became the head of one of the twelve tribes that God used to develop into the nation of Israel. The first three sons of Jacob were disqualified from the status and privileges of firstborns. The tribe of Judah was positioned on the east side and the entrance to the Tabernacle. They were the first tribe to bring the first-day offerings upon the establishment and dedication of the wilderness Tabernacle order of worship. They were also the first tribe to be dispatched for battle. And they were the first to receive their inheritance upon entering the land of promise. The Davidic kingdom arose from the tribe of Judah. It is the tribe from which the Savior, Lord Jesus, would come.

Mount Gerezim and Mount Ebal - Where the Blessings and Curses Were Spoken

Deuteronomy 28: Four Blessings and Four Curses

The book of Deuteronomy, meaning "the Words" in Hebrew, records the final instructions given to the children of Israel just before entering the land of promise. The 28th chapter lists four categories of blessing in verses three through six, expressing the great consequence of a pleasant life in the land/earth to those who would be faithful to God and the covenant He made with them. Notice verse four contains four items concerning the development of fruit.

Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field. 

Blessed shall be

 

1. the fruit of thy body, 

2. and the fruit of thy ground, 

3. and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kine, 

4. and the flocks of thy sheep. 

Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store. 

Blessed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out. 

— Deuteronomy 28:3-6 

Blessings are further detailed as the chapter progresses and precede a matching set of four categories of curses that detail the consequence of setting foot outside the covenant agreement and committing adultery against God. Life on Earth, as described, will become frightful and uncovered. Once again, four fruitful items are mentioned.

1. Cursed shalt thou be in the city, and cursed shalt thou be in the field.
2. Cursed shall be thy basket and thy store.
3. Cursed shall be

1. the fruit of thy body, and

2. the fruit of thy land,

3. the increase of thy kine, and

4. the flocks of thy sheep.

4. Cursed shalt thou be when thou comest in, and cursed shalt thou be when thou goest out.

— Deuteronomy 29:16-19

We see how God issues instructions that will either develop and establish them or destroy them.