Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• Date and Writer
  Moses, who lived from about 1525 to 1405 B.C., wrote Exodus. He could have written it under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit any time after the events recorded (after about 1444 B.C.). He may have written it during the year...
• 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...
• 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...
• The failure of the first generation chs. 13-14
  The events recorded in chapters 13 and 14 took place while Israel was at Kadesh.
• The sending of the 12 spies into Canaan 13:1-25
  13:1-2 When the people arrived at Kadesh the Lord told them to go up and take possession of the land He had promised them (Deut. 1:19-21). Kadesh stood in the Desert of Zin, which was a section of the great Paran wilderness. ...
• The presumption of the people 14:39-45
  Having received their sentence from the Lord, the people then presumptuously proceeded to go up on their own to take the land (vv. 40-42)."They are like children who had broken a valuable vase and decided to make it better' b...
• 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...
• Israel's final rebellion and the termination of the older generation ch. 25
  This chapter contains one of the great failures of Israel that followed one of its great blessings.238As God was preparing to bless His people they were preparing to disobey Him."So now we come to the ultimate rebellion of Is...
• 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...
• Bibliography
  Aharoni, Yohanan. The Land of the Bible. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1979.Aharoni, Yohanan, and Michael Avi-Yonah. The Macmillan Bible Atlas. Revised ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Co., 1977.Albright, William Foxwell...
• 1. God's guidance from Sinai to Kadesh 1:6-46
  Moses began his recital of Israel's history at Horeb because this is where Yahweh adopted the nation by making the Mosaic Covenant with her. The trip from Egypt to Sinai was only preparation for the giving of the covenant. Th...
• D. Moses' blessing of the tribes ch. 33
  After receiving the reminder of his death and as one of his final official acts as Israel's leader, Moses pronounced a prophetic blessing on the tribes of Israel (cf. Gen. 49)."In the ancient Near East, a dying father's final...
• 2. Defeat at Ai ch. 7
  At Jericho, Israel learned God's strength. At Ai, she learned her own weakness. She could only conquer her enemies as she remained faithful to God's covenant."We are never in greater danger than right after we have won a grea...
• The messengers from Dan 18:1-6
  This chapter begins with another reference to the fact that there was no king in Israel then (cf. 17:6). The writer reminded us again that the Israelites were living unrestrained lives. Abundant evidence of this follows in ch...
• 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. 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...
• The seventh woe 23:29-36
  23:29-30 By building monuments to the prophets and other righteous people that their forefathers had martyred, the Pharisees were saying that they would not have killed them if they had been alive then. These construction pro...
• 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 responsibility of the believer 2:12-16
  "The detailed attention just given to the Christ-hymn must not obscure the fact that vv 12-18 are part of a larger parenetic section--1:27-2:18. Exhortation is resumed again through the frequent use of the imperative mood, or...
• 1. The sealing of 144,000 Israelites 7:1-8
  The scene continues to be on earth.7:1 The phrase "after this"(Gr. meta touto) indicates that what follows is a new vision (cf. 4:1). The general chronological progression of the visions suggests that the events John saw now ...