Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 3. The lack of water at Rephidim 17:1-7
  Again the Israelites complained because there was no water to drink when they camped at Rephidim (cf. 15:24). At Marah there was bad water, but now there was none.". . . the supreme calamity of desert travellers befell them--...
• Fire from the Lord again 10:1-7
  Moses did not identify Nadab and Abihu's exact offense in the text. However the "strange fire"seems most likely to have been an incense offering presented apart from God's command. It may have involved assuming the role of th...
• Message8
  To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.The first major value of Numbers is th...
• Outline
  I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
• The journey from Sinai to Kadesh Barnea 10:11-36
  The Israelites had been at Mt. Sinai for almost one year (Exod. 19:1; Num. 10:11). All that Moses recorded as occurring between Exodus 19:1 and Numbers 10:11 took place during those twelve months.Even though this region conta...
• 1. The cycle of rebellion, atonement, and death chs. 11-20
  The end of chapter 10 is the high point of the Book of Numbers spiritually. The beginning of chapter 11 records the beginning of the spiritual decline of Israel that resulted in God's judging the nation. He postponed the fulf...
• A warning from the Lord 11:1-3
  Archaeologists have not determined the location of Taberah (v. 3). It must have been an insignificant spot geographically since Moses did not include it in the list of Israel's encampments in chapter 33 (cf. 33:16-17). It was...
• The report of the spies 13:26-33
  The spies reported that the land was indeed as fruitful as they had heard (v. 27), "nevertheless . . ."(v. 28). Everything the spies said from this word on was uncalled for.116Their commission had been to view the land and to...
• The rebellion of the people 14:1-12
  14:1-4 God had just proved His supernatural power to the Israelites three times since the nation had left Sinai (chs. 11-12). There was no excuse for this failure to trust Him to lead them victoriously into Canaan.14:5-9 Mose...
• God's punishment of the people 14:20-38
  The fact that God granted the people pardon in response to Moses' intercession is another indication of His grace (vv. 20-21).The failure of the Israelites would not frustrate God's purpose to manifest His glory throughout th...
• The rebellion of Korah and his followers ch. 16
  "As the laws increase and the constraints grow, the people seem less willing or less capable of following them. At this point in the narrative we see that the whole order of the priesthood is thrown open to direct confrontati...
• The departure from Kadesh ch. 20
  Here begins the fourth and last leg of the Israelites' journey from Egypt to the Promised Land.1. From Egypt to Sinai (Exod. 12-19)2. From Sinai to Kadesh (Num. 11-12)3. From Kadesh back to Kadesh--38 years of wilderness wand...
• The bronze snake 21:4-9
  The Israelites next traveled to the southeast around the southern border of Edom. They took "the way of the Red Sea"(v. 4), a road to the town of Elath that stood at the northern tip of the Gulf of Aqabah.182This route took t...
• 1. Review of Israel's journey from Egypt 33:1-49
  Forty-two stations appear in the list. Eighteen do not appear elsewhere in the record of the journey (vv. 13, 19-29), and four mentioned previously are absent in this chapter (cf. 11:3; 21:19). Obviously this is a selective l...
• Conclusion
  The Book of Numbers is a lesson in the importance of trust and obedience. The Israelites frequently failed to trust and obey God in the hours of their trials, and consequently God postponed His blessing. Most of them never en...
• Scope
  The Book of Samuel covers the period of Israel's history bracketed by Samuel's conception and the end of David's reign. David turned the kingdom over to Solomon in 971 B.C.3David reigned for 40 and one-half years (2 Sam. 2:11...
• 3. The record of God's goodness and Israel's unfaithfulness 78:12-72
  78:12-20 In his historical review Asaph began with the plagues in Egypt (v. 12). He drew broad strokes on his verbal canvas tracing God's faithfulness to the generation that left Egypt in the Exodus (vv. 12-16). Each verse in...
• A. The prophet's cleansing 6:1-8
  6:1 Why did Isaiah date this passage since he did not date most of his others?70Probably he did so because King Uzziah had been the best king of Judah since Solomon. Nevertheless during the last part of his reign he suffered ...
• 3. Jesus' temptation 4:1-11 (cf. Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13)
  Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
• Jesus' feeding of the 4,000 15:32-39 (cf. Mark 8:1-10)
  Jesus had previously fed 5,000 men, but that was near the northeast coast of Galilee, where the people were Jews (14:13-21). Now He fed 4,000 men on the east coast of Galilee, where the people were mainly Gentiles.15:32-33 Ma...
• 3. The sinfulness of idolatry 10:1-22
  Paul continued dealing with the subject of going to idol temples to participate in pagan feasts in this section. In it he gave a warning to the believer who considered himself strong, the one who knew there were really no god...
• The application of Israel's example 10:6-13
  Though idolatry was the cause of Israel's failure and the focus of Paul's warning to this church, four other evil characteristics of Israel also seem to have marked the Corinthians. These characteristics also resulted in the ...