The Book of Numbers Teaches Us about Our Identity in Christ

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Have you ever read the book of Numbers?

Perhaps you’re like me and gave up partway through because you found it boring and repetitive. Much like the long, long genealogies filled with names of people you can’t pronounce.

It can be tempting to skip past parts of the Bible that seem boring and unimportant to us today, but we just might miss out on discovering a hidden treasure tucked inside those passages.

That is what I found out while reading the book of Numbers one day.

Tucked in all of those long, boring, repetitive passages, I discovered that the book of Numbers was teaching me about my identity in Christ.

I’ve battled my entire Christian life with finding the book of Numbers boring.

All the lists of people and offerings… I couldn’t figure out why God wouldn’t just shorten those long, repetitive passages by saying, “All of the tribes of Israel brought…..”.

An 80-verse chapter would instantly turn into a one-verse chapter.

And yet, tucked inside the repetitive lists of tribes, duties, and locations of tents in chapters 1-4, I began my identity in Christ in a whole new way.

We see that as the Israelites prepare to go to the Promised Land, they number those able to go to war because they will face off with their enemies as they go in to seize the land God had promised them.

Do we know how to battle our enemy?

Do we properly use the weapons God has given us to face off with the enemy of our souls and defeat him?

However, there was one tribe they did not number: the Levites.

The Tribe of Levi was the priestly tribe; they held the sacred duty of serving the Lord in the tabernacle. In fact, we see this stated throughout chapter 3:

You shall take the Levites for Me – I  am the Lord – instead of all the firstborn among the children of Israel. Numbers 3:41

In Exodus 19, God told Moses to tell all the people of Israel. “And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”

God never intended there to be a tribe of priests; His intent all along was for the nation of Israel to be a kingdom of priests.

But then we see this in chapter 20:

When the people saw the thunder and lightning and heard the trumpet and saw the mountain in smoke, they trembled with fear. They stayed at a distance and said to Moses, “Speak to us yourself and we will listen. But do not have God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.” The people remained at a distance, while Moses approached the thick darkness where God was.

The Book of Numbers Teaches Us about Our Identity in Christ

The nation of Israel had experienced an amazing visitation of God, unlike anyone in history before had experienced.

He came down to them in all His glory and power, and rather than standing in awe of Him, rather than embracing His visitation, they chose to withdraw from Him.

But they didn’t just withdraw from Him; they rejected Him. They said to Moses, “We don’t want to hear from God; we want you to hear from God, and then you can tell us what He said.”

The consequence of their rejection was that God chose the tribe of Levi to be the priestly tribe.

Are there times when we withdraw from the presence of God rather than daily standing in awe of His presence?

In the desert, every tribe had its own position surrounding the temple.

Do we know our place in God’s kingdom?

And yet an amazing thing happens in the New Testament.

After Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection, we read Peter’s words:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people.

God’s redemption of mankind redeemed our position in Christ and once again made us a kingdom of priests unto our God.

But I saved the best for last!

In Numbers chapter four, we read how each family in the Levite tribe had a special role in carrying parts of the tabernacle as they traveled through the desert.

This was a very serious thing because each utensil in the tabernacle was consecrated.

The Ark of the Covenant, which contained the literal presence of God, was special. They were not to look upon it nor touch it, or they’d die.

However, God no longer dwells in a box. God dwells in the hearts of mankind, and we have become His holy tabernacle.

What do we carry around with us wherever we go?

Do we carry around the sacred presence of God?

Or do we carry around worthless garbage?

• Our past
• Our shame
• Our hurts
• Our disappointments
• Rejection
• Self-condemnation
• Our perceptions of what others think of us

These questions are significant because how we understand our identity in Christ will determine how we approach our role in the body.

No one role is more significant than the rest.

No one role is better or higher than the rest.

We are all priests unto our God.

Yes, we all have a different function in the body: some are lay ministers, some are pastors, some are prophets, some are teachers; but we all have a role in the body.

Just as the kidneys – which we don’t see –  are vital to the health of our body, so the head is also vital to the life of the body.

One is seen, the other is not. But the body cannot exist without either.

Our ability to recognize our place and how our role is vital to the body of Christ will be determined by what we carry around inside of us.

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