민수기 Chapter 9

Translation: ESV

1

And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

Key Message

Regularly renewing the memory of salvation is the core of maintaining the identity of God's people.

▸Chapter 9 contains material chronologically one month earlier than Numbers 1 (which is the second month of the second year).

Chapter 9 contains material chronologically one month earlier than Numbers 1 (which is the second month of the second year). This unusual placement appears to be intended to emphasize that the command to keep the Passover holds a priority surpassing all other preparations. Keeping the Passover in the wilderness is an act of Israel remembering its identity and its history of salvation.

Related Verses

"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
6

And there were certain people who were unclean through touching a dead body, so that they could not keep the Passover on that day, and they came before Moses and Aaron on that day.

Key Message

When there is a desire to worship God, he opens a new way beyond the obstacles so that worship may be possible.

▸This is the scene where those made unclean and unable to keep the Passover raise the issue.

11

in the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

Key Message

God opens a way for those excluded from worship; the law has as its aim an encounter with God rather than mere rule compliance.

▸A 'Second Passover' is prescribed for those who are unclean and those who are on a long journey.

15

On the day that the tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered the tabernacle, the tent of the testimony. And at evening it was over the tabernacle like the appearance of fire until morning.

Key Message

God is with his people day and night; his presence guides all our moving and stopping.

▸The second half of chapter 9 deals with God's guidance through the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire.

23

At the command of the LORD they camped, and at the command of the LORD they set out. They kept the charge of the LORD, at the command of the LORD by Moses.

Key Message

Responding sensitively to God's guidance and moving according to his command is the key to success in the wilderness journey and the ideal way of life for the believer.

▸The final verse of chapter 9 declares the complete obedience of Israel.