The Human King

“6. What is the significance of the name ‘Son of Man,’ with which Christ designated Himself?

This name is also derived from the Old Testament, specifically from Daniel 7. After the description of the four world monarchies, portrayed by as many animals (a lion with eagle’s wings, a bear, a panther, a beast not mentioned by name), reference is made to one ‘who is like a son of man’ and who by the ‘Ancient of Days’ is given ‘dominion and honor and a kingdom that all peoples and nations and languages should honor him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingdom shall not be destroyed’ [Dan 7:13-14]. It is not subject to doubt that the Messiah is intended here, although not the Messiah by himself. Since the Son of Man comes to supercede the earlier world-kingdoms, he must be taken here, together with his kingdom and it subjects, as ruler over Israel representing his people. He is called a son of man because over against the wild and animal-like world-kingdoms he represents true humanity as it must be in God’s kingdom…he apparently wanted to counter the faulty conceptions that people had formed about the Messiah as an outward king. The kingdom in which He is Messiah and King is not according to the manner of the kingdoms of this world – which find their image in an animal-type, but it bears a human countenance…”

- Geerhardus Vos (1862-1949), Reformed Dogmatics, vol. 3 (Lexham Press), pgs. 17-18.

Every once in a while you come across something truly special in a Systematic Theology (even Louis Berkhof gets almost poetic at times). In this quote, Vos reminds us how important it is to know your Old Testament, and to let the O.T. inform our reading of the New. You will never understand the Book unless you read it as a whole, unified, connected Book.

The theme of “king” and “kingdom” are massively important to a right understanding of Jesus – I was reminded of that yesterday writing part of a sermon on the second petition of the “Lord’s Prayer.” Vos’ words underscore that for me.

Jesus is King of the heavens and the earth. In His Kingdom and in submission to Him as King, humanity will one day become what it was created to be.

While Vos doesn’t make this connection here, this commentary on the title “son of man” also informs us concerning the “beast” in the Revelation. All other kings and kingdoms are ultimately bestial (rebellious against God’s will) because they deviate from Christ.

(As a side note, this shows that Vos does his best Systematic Theology when he’s actually doing Biblical Theology.)

All Power

In the last few years, as I’ve grown in appreciation for biblical theology, I’ve delighted in spending time in Bible studies showing people themes that span the Book cover-to-cover. A few months ago I was teaching through Revelation 21-22, and a sister asked about a number in Revelation. I am of the conviction (based on the verb σημαίνω – the verb form of the noun “sign” - in 1:1, along with the genre of the book) that everything is symbolic in the Revelation, even the numbers. Her question started that group on a different study.

We recently looked at the number 10. It excited me, so I thought I’d share it with you.

On the first page of the Book, we find the number 10. Okay, you have to count to see it, but it’s there. The most profound thing that happens on the first page is that God speaks and the result is everything that is not God: creation. Yes, “in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11; 31:17), but He spoke 10 times in the act of creating all things.

“…God said…” (1:3,6,9,11,14,20,24,26,28,29).

This speech of God is Personal. It is the eternal Word of God, Who is God the Son. By Him, in this ten-fold speaking, all things were created (John 1:1-3; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Colossians 1:16,17; Hebrews 1:1-3). This is power.

In the creation of a covenant people, He also spoke 10 words (Exodus 20:1-17//Deuteronomy 5:6-21). This is authority.

The number 10 shows up a lot when God shows His power on behalf of His people for His ultimate glory.

10 nations promised to be erased in judgment from the Promised Land (Genesis 15:19-21).

10 plagues to humble mighty Egypt for the display of God’s power before the nations.

The tithe itself shows God’s authority and power. The 10% wasn’t what alone belonged to God; it all belonged to Him, for the worshiper would have nothing if it weren’t for God’s gracious provision. The 10% was a confession that God owned it all.[1]

Solomon, in building a Temple to give God glory, incorporates the number 10 into the furniture. What was single in the Tabernacle is 10 and 10² in the Temple. Solomon’s Temple had “ten basins,” “ten golden lampstands,” “ten tables,” and “one hundred golden bowls” (2 Chronicles 4:6-8).

If the number 10 shows God’s power and authority in the world, then we should expect the adversary to counterfeit the number 10 in futile opposition to that governing. And we do.

Israel rebels 10 times against the Lord in the wilderness after the Exodus (Numbers 14:22).

In Daniel 7, the prophet sees a vision of four beasts (empires).^[2] The fourth beast has “ten horns” 7:7,20,24), which are “ten kings” (7:24) in this particular empire.^[3] This 10 is counterfeit, in opposition to the true King (7:25).

This number of rebellion is woven into the Revelation.

• “…another sign appeared in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads were seven diadems” (12:3).

• “…I saw a beast coming up out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names” (13:1).

• “…I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns…” (17:3).

• “…the angel said to me, ‘Why do you wonder? I will tell you the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carries her, which has the seven heads and the ten horns’” (17:7).

• “The ten horns which you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour…the ten horns which you saw, and the beast, these will hate the harlot and will make her desolate and naked, and will eat her flesh and will burn her up with fire” (17:12,16).

We see a significant number involving 10³: 144,000 being 12²x10³. 12 represents the fullness of God’s covenant people (from the 12 tribes of Israel to the 12 apostles of Christ), and this use of 10 meaning a large number; 144,000, then, showing us the full number of God’s people from all time.

In the rest of the Bible, the number 1,000 is used to portray largeness, whether a long period of time (Deuteronomy 7:9; 1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalm 84:10; 90:4; 105:8; Ecclesiastes 6:6), a large number of people (Judges 15:16; 1 Samuel 18:13; 1 Kings 11:3; Isaiah 60:22), or “the cattle on a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10).

The most-discussed 10³ is the millennium of Revelation 20:1-10 (specifically, vss. 2-7). Interpreters search the Bible looking for a use of the number 1,000 that is relevant to the context of Revelation 20:2-7, and come short with anything convincing (in my estimation). When we look at the number 10, however, and its use throughout the Bible to describe authority, I think we arrive at the right self-interpreting key from Scripture (the best interpretation is when we let Scripture interpret itself).

If, in Daniel and in the Revelation, the “10 horns” represent earthly power wielded by the “beast,” the 10³ reminds us that Jesus’ authority is exponentially greater. And we need this reminder. The millennium (10³) is about the heavenly reign of saints with Christ over all (vss. 4,6):

• “Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth’” (Matthew 28:18).

• “He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1 Corinthians 15:25).

• “…the Father of glory…raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:17-21).

Worldly powers may say boastful words, display their might, and oppress the people of God, but Christ is actually in power over all of them; His power is conclusive, ultimate, and final.

May we rest in this, Church.

---

[1] This tithe is seen in Revelation 11:13. The city that should have belonged 100% to God had become “Sodom,” a city enslaved to the devil – the place where Jesus was crucified (11:8). God took a tithe as a reminder.

[2] Assyria, Babylon, Mede-Persian, and Rome.

[3] The “ten” of the last kingdom is also seen in the toes of the statue in Daniel 2:40-43. I interpret these ten to be the Roman emperors between the founding of the Roman Empire and the destruction of Jerusalem. The ten horns/Roman emperors: Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero (the “beast from the sea”), Galba, Otho, Vitellius, Vespasian, Titus (the one who destroyed Jerusalem).

The Holy Spirit's 70-Year Lesson in Bible Reading

“Therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will send and take all the families of the north,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I will send to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these nations round about; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing, and an everlasting desolation. Moreover, I will take from them the voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the millstones and the light of the lamp. This whole land will be a desolation and a horror, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years. Then it will be when seventy years are completed I will punish the king of Babylon and that nation,’ declares the LORD, ‘for their iniquity, and the land of the Chaldeans; and I will make it an everlasting desolation. I will bring upon that land all My words which I have pronounced against it, all that is written in this book which Jeremiah has prophesied against all the nation...for thus says the LORD, ‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place’” (Jeremiah 25:8-13; 29:10).

This is the first place chronologically in Scripture where the “seventy years” are promised by the Lord for the Babylonian exile of the Jews.

As our Baptist forefathers taught, “the infallible rule for the interpretation of Scripture is the Scripture itself” (1689 Baptist Confession of Faith 1.9). Jeremiah’s prophecy seems very straight-forward, without any need for nuance or cleverness. However, three other inspired authors of Scripture give us three different inspired interpretations of Jeremiah’s “seventy years.” In this we learn an important lesson about biblical interpretation.

“The LORD, the God of their fathers, sent word to them again and again by His messengers, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place; but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, until there was no remedy. Therefore He brought up against them the king of the Chaldeans who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, old man or infirm; He gave them all into his hand. All the articles of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king and of his officers, he brought them all to Babylon. Then they burned the house of God and broke down the wall of Jerusalem, and burned all its fortified buildings with fire and destroyed all its valuable articles. Those who had escaped from the sword he carried away to Babylon; and they were servants to him and to his sons until the rule of the kingdom of Persia, to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it kept sabbath until seventy years were complete. Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia - in order to fulfill the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah - the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he sent a proclamation throughout his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, ‘Thus says Cyrus king of Persia, “The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth, and He has appointed me to build Him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Whoever there is among you of all His people, may the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!”’” (2 Chronicles 36:15-23).

The Chronicler is inspired to interpret “seventy years” as the time between the destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and Cyrus’ decree (539 B.C.) – somewhere between 47-48 years. Given that the Chronicler mentions this time as that in which “the land had enjoyed its sabbaths” (36:21; in accord with the covenant curses in Leviticus 26:34,35,43), we are probably meant to understand this seventy years to be seven sabbaths (49 years). The Chronicler, as inspired of God the Holy Spirit as Jeremiah, understands the 70 years to be “literally” about 49 years, or seven sabbaths. If we truly let Scripture interpret Scripture, Jeremiah’s prophetically-uttered time period must be understood symbolically.

“Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will You have no compassion for Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, with which You have been indignant these seventy years?’ The LORD answered the angel who was speaking with me with gracious words, comforting words. So the angel who was speaking with me said to me, ‘Proclaim, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘I am exceedingly jealous for Jerusalem and Zion. But I am very angry with the nations who are at ease; for while I was only a little angry, they furthered the disaster.’” Therefore thus says the LORD, “I will return to Jerusalem with compassion; My house will be built in it,” declares the LORD of hosts, “and a measuring line will be stretched over Jerusalem”’” (Zechariah 1:12-16).

Interestingly, one of the most challenging prophets to interpret (Zechariah) seems to be inspired of God the Holy Spirit to interpret Jeremiah’s “seventy years” in what we would consider the most “literal” manner! Between the destruction of Jerusalem (586 B.C.) and the dedication of the second temple (515 B.C.), the building of which is the predominant theme of the first chapters of Zechariah, is roughly 70 years. Is Zechariah more accurate or inspired than the Chronicler? No! They are both inerrantly inspired by the same Holy Spirit. Jeremiah’s “seventy years” are meant to be understood symbolically, and the Holy Spirit’s interpretation of His own words reveal this to us clearly.

“In the first year of Darius the son of Ahasuerus, of Median descent, who was made king over the kingdom of the Chaldeans - in the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, observed in the books the number of the years which was revealed as the word of the LORD to Jeremiah the prophet for the completion of the desolations of Jerusalem, namely, seventy years. So I gave my attention to the Lord God to seek Him by prayer and supplications, with fasting, sackcloth and ashes. I prayed to the LORD my God and confessed...” (Daniel 9:2-4).

The prophet Daniel, after reading Jeremiah’s “seventy years” prophecy, prays a confession worthy of our reading, meditation, and memorization (9:4-19). He doesn’t seek interpretation of the prophecy, but confesses the sins of his forefathers and his own generation. He confesses that they are worthy of the destruction of Jerusalem and the exile – all “the curse...along with the oath which is written in the law of Moses the servant of God” (9:11). After this prayer, the prophet is visited by a supernatural messenger who gives us a third inspired interpretation of the “seventy years.”

“...while I was still speaking in prayer, then the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. He gave me instruction and talked with me and said, ‘O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you insight with understanding. At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed; so give heed to the message and gain understanding of the vision. Seventy weeks have been decreed for your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to make an end of sin, to make atonement for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal up vision and prophecy and to anoint the most holy place...’” (9:21-24).

This revelation is related to Jeremiah’s “seventy years” since Gabriel says he was sent “at the beginning of [Daniel’s] supplications” (9:23), which were prompted by the reading of Jeremiah.

Jeremiah’s “seventy weeks,” while referring to the Babylonian exile, are now expanded to “seventy weeks” (9:24). Is there conflict between Jeremiah and Gabriel? No. Both are perfectly inspired by God the Holy Spirit. We now learn in this period of redemptive history that the promises made by the prophets concerning the return from Babylonian exile would not be immediately fulfilled after the “seventy years” (including Jeremiah’s promises concerning the “new covenant” in 31:31-34). Instead, they would be delayed until after the intertestamental period (the time between the Old and New Testaments, a major theme of the book of Daniel), until the time of “Messiah the Prince” and the destruction of the second temple in A.D. 70.

One inspired prophecy (Jeremiah) and three inspired different interpretations (the Chronicler, Zechariah, and Daniel) – all given by the same Holy Spirit. Each uses the “seventy years” in a theological sense to teach the original audience (and us) something important about God’s plan for His people. The Chronicler connects the “seventy years” to the completion of the land’s sabbaths promised in the Law’s curse and Cyrus’ decree that the exiles return to that land. Zechariah connects the “seventy years” to his (and Haggai’s) great prophetic concern – the rebuilding of the temple so that the returning exiles could resume the worship mandated by the old covenant. Daniel is moved to intercession and confession by Jeremiah’s “seventy years,” and Gabriel is sent to extend the fulfillment of the return/restoration promises to the time of the beginning of the new covenant in Jesus Christ.

Biblical numbers are not given to us for the primary purpose of making charts or timelines or setting dates. Biblical numbers, as the Holy Spirit teaches us in this example of the “seventy years,” themselves are symbolic and teach theological truths. This is not one redeemed sinner disagreeing with the interpretation of another (as you and I might over Gabriel's statements in Daniel 9), but four biblical writers all inspired by one God the Holy Spirit, the infinitely wise Author of all Scripture.

May we learn from this example as we come across other theologically-significant numbers in Scripture, and let the Author teach us how to read His Book, in the name of the Son ("All Scripture is a testimony to Christ, Who is Himself the focus of divine revelation," Baptist Faith & Message 2000, 1) to the glory of the Father now and forever.

Windows Open Toward Jerusalem, Beloved

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God. For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, Who said [in Genesis 1:3], ‘Light shall shine out of darkness,’ is the One Who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ” (2 Corinthians 4:3-6).

I think we repeatedly forget the spiritual element to the conflict the world has with Christ (their conflict with His Church is secondary, John 15:18,19). Paul wasn’t exaggerating when he said, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). I’m sure Bible-believing Christians (the only kind of true Christian) believe Paul, but there seems to be a disconnect between confessing belief in Ephesians 6:12 and our discussions and emotional reactions to world events.

Opponents to the Church – her enemies – are blind slaves. Their only hope is not our vitriol or sarcasm (no one’s ever been saved by being told they were an idiot), but the Gospel and the Gospel alone. We must become a praying people who rely on prayer as our primary armory. I’ve been thinking of Daniel. I preached on Daniel in 2012 to remind our people of the parallel reality between earthly conflicts and spiritual conflicts, and that the Lord God is King and Sovereign over all. After hearing a discussion last night about politics and national events, I wonder if it’s not time to revisit the lessons of Daniel again. The conflicts between Babylon, the Persians and Medes, and eventually the Greeks and Romans are all described in Daniel’s visions, but also the parallel spiritual conflicts engaged by beings described as “princes” (10:13,20,21; 12:1). Daniel’s response is an impressive devotion to prayer (6:10; 9:3) and the Word (9:2). We could all use a little soul-humbling fasting in this generation.

The conflict is a spiritual one, and therefore we are the only humans with the knowledge and ability to engage in it. How? Before the 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 passage I quoted at the top, the apostle Paul gives us a help: “Therefore, since we have this ministry [την διακονιαν, “service”], as we received mercy, we do not lose heart, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God” (2 Corinthians 4:1,2). Let me underline this point: we are the only humans equipped with the knowledge and power to counter this blindness. If we ignore it and attempt to engage in a baptized version of worldly battle tactics (I speak metaphorically), the only effective means of wrestling will be abandoned. Sitting in a prison cell awaiting execution many decades later, we find that Paul hasn’t changed his mind on this topic: “...refuse foolish and ignorant speculations, knowing that they produce quarrels. The Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will” (2 Timothy 2:23-26).

I hear a lot of frustration from my fellow believers. I understand it, but there is a creeping toward “losing heart” in their anger and fear. Paul battles this tendency with a meditation on the service and great mercy God has entrusted to believers. Then he purposes to not fall into the techniques of the world (and worldly false churches): “...we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God.” The sinful motivations of humanity (no different than the desire to be God we inherited from our first parents in Genesis 3:5,6) are at the root of all efforts to redefine, “free” (an illusion), etc. We must be intentional in turning from this foundational sin motivating all human “heart-following” and decision-making. We will not play their games on their terms. We will consider what God has given us and walk in His character (as revealed in the Scriptures alone) by the power of the Holy Spirit given to those who believe in Jesus Christ. We submit to the Scriptures and do not twist them to our agenda. God is observing us as we conduct ourselves in this arena.

After 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 (again, quoted at the top), where Paul reveals the spiritual battle and spiritual blindness of our opponents, he gives a key to remaining encouraged: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh” (2 Corinthians 4:7-11). It’s not just Paul’s preaching that is cross-centered (1 Corinthians 2:2), but his attitude – dare I say, his feelings. He embraced opposition because he saw it as embracing the very cross of Jesus Christ.

On the other side of the cross is the resurrection: “Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).

Meditate on the Gospel. I’ve said many times before that we need to preach it to ourselves every day (every hour!) to fight tendencies to self-righteousness and Pharisaism, but we also need the Gospel to know how to react to opposition from the world. For the joy set before you, endure the cross, despise the shame, for there is a place beyond all this futile game-play where the true King reigns uncontested (Hebrews 12:2 – go on to read the rest of the chapter for some great application!).

Besides, preaching the Gospel to yourself on a regular basis will make it easier to preach to others. It is your greatest weapon (far greater than legislation, polemical blog-writing, political rant-sessions, or pic-posting on Facebook!). Proclaim the Good News of Jesus Christ.

“But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written [in Psalm 116:10a], ‘I believed, therefore I spoke,’ we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He Who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God” (2 Corinthians 4:13-15).

The battle is spiritual. If we are to stand, we need God’s armor (Ephesians 6:13-20), which culminates in the Bible and prayer (for God’s help in proclaiming that Bible). Please, Church, don’t forget this, but get deeper into it and show by your actions that you take this biblical truth seriously! The goal is “the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God.” If our focus is on anything less than this, then we’ve lost the battle, no matter what laws we might overturn or elections we might win. Windows open toward Jerusalem (Daniel 6:10), beloved – the one above which is free, our mother (Galatians 4:26).

42

I’ve been preaching through the Old Testament book of Numbers for over a year in our evening service. Numbers is important – the apostle Paul, after describing an event recorded in Numbers, says, “Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come” (1 Corinthians 10:11). A few weeks ago, someone glanced ahead to see what was in the text for the following study. As we were dismissing, he asked (with obvious skepticism), “what about chapter thirty-three?” Most of the chapter is a list of place names, most of which are referenced only here. It’s a travel journal describing the years between the Exodus and the entry into the Promised Land for the children of Israel. It includes scant details. The original accounts in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers are far more interesting from a narrative point of view. So what do we learn from this text? Actually, something very important.

“These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the Lord. And these are their journeys according to their starting points” (33:1,2).

It’s important that Moses writes this chronicles “at the command of the Lord.” We’ll see why in a moment. I’ve broken the long list down into its forty-two camping points to make a little more manageable.

One: Rameses (33:3-4)

They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the Lord had killed among them. Also on their gods the Lord had executed judgments.

Two: Succoth (33:5)

Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

Three: Etham (33:6)

They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.

Four: Pi Hahiroth (33:7)

They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol.

Five: Marah (33:8)

They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah.

Six: Elim (33:9)

They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.

Seven: By the Red Sea (33:10)

They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

Eight: In the Wilderness of Sin (33:11)

They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin.

Nine: Dophkah (33:12)

They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

Ten: Alush (33:13)

They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

Eleven: Rephidim (33:14)

They moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Twelve: In the Wilderness of Sinai (33:15)

They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai.

Thirteen: Kibroth Hattaavah (33:16)

They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah.

Fourteen: Hazeroth (33:17)

They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

Fifteen: Rithmah (33:18)

They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

Sixteen: Rimmon Perez

They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez.

Seventeen: Libnah (33:20)

They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah.

Eighteen: Rissah (33:21)

They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

Nineteen: Kehelathah (33:22)

They journeyed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

Twenty: Mount Shepher (33:23)

They went from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

Twenty-One: Haradah (33:24)

They moved from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

Twenty-Two: Makheloth (33:25)

They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

Twenty-Three: Tahath (33:26)

They moved from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

Twenty-Four: Terah (33:27)

They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah.

Twenty-Five: Mithkah (33:28)

They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

Twenty-Six: Hashmonah (33:29)

They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

Twenty-Seven: Moseroth (33:30)

They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

Twenty-Eight: Bene Jaakan (33:31)

They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan.

Twenty-Nine: Hor Hagidgad (33:32)

They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad.

Thirty: Jotbathah (33:33)

They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

Thirty-One: Abronah (33:34)

They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

Thirty-Two: Ezion Geber (33:35)

They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber.

Thirty-Three: In the Wilderness of Zin, or Kadesh (33:36)

They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

Thirty-Four: Mount Hor (33:37-40)

They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom. Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the Lord, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor. Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.

Thirty-Five: Zalmonah (33:41)

So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

Thirty-Six: Punon (33:42)

They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

Thirty-Seven: Oboth (33:43)

They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth.

Thirty-Eight: Ije Abarim (33:44)

They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.

Thirty-Nine: Dibon Gad (33:45)

They departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad.

Forty: Almon Diblathaim (33:46)

They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

Forty-One: In the Mountains of Abarim (33:47)

They moved from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

Forty-Two: In the Plains of Moab (33:48,49)

They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.

I mentioned that it was important that Moses wrote this “at the command of the Lord.” Despite their sin throughout the wilderness wanderings, not one of their failures is mentioned in this chronicle. Up to this point, Numbers has not held back at all in mentioning the faithlessness, disobedience, and sin of Israel. In this list, however, the debacles associated with certain place names go unmentioned here. It’s about grace. At any one of these places God could’ve destroyed the people in their sin and been perfectly justified. Forty-two place names that highlight the patience and grace of God.

Read Numbers 9:15-23. They did not move unless God moved. They did not stay unless God stayed. From a “human responsibility” point of view, they were utterly tied to a following of the Lord wherever He went, whenever He went. From a “God’s sovereignty” point of view, God never left them without His presence for a single moment in the wilderness. Each of these forty-two place names emphasizes this point. God never abandoned His people, and they didn’t take a step that wasn’t in the shadow of His Presence.

God provided for them in the wilderness. “I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not worn out on you, and your sandals have not worn out on your feet” (Deuteronomy 29:5). There were times He allowed them to hunger in the wilderness so that they would lean on His Word more and more: “He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. Your garments did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. You should know in your heart that as a man chastens his son, so the Lord your God chastens you” (Deuteronomy 8:3-5). Each of these forty-two places represents both preservation and discipline, both from a loving Father (read Hebrews 12:1-17...often).

They were delivered from Egypt, the kingdom of slavery and darkness, brought through the wilderness (in forty-two steps), and ultimately into the Promised Land. We can relate. We are currently in the wilderness of this world, between the bondage to darkness from which we came and the true heavenly Promised Land that awaits. “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13,14).

This idea of “the first month” in Rameses followed by forty-one other place names becomes an important symbol in the rest of the Bible for God’s provision and discipline. The forty-two of Numbers 33 becomes 42 months, 1,260 days, or 3 ½ years of God’s care and perfecting of His people in the time between their deliverance and homecoming. Let’s look at how the Holy Spirit uses this concept in the rest of the Bible.

“The fourth beast shall be
A fourth kingdom on earth,
Which shall be different from all other kingdoms,
And shall devour the whole earth,
Trample it and break it in pieces.

The ten horns are ten kings
Who shall arise from this kingdom.
And another shall rise after them;
He shall be different from the first ones,
And shall subdue three kings.

He shall speak pompous words against the Most High,
Shall persecute the saints of the Most High,
And shall intend to change times and law.
Then the saints shall be given into his hand
For a time and times and half a time.

But the court shall be seated,
And they shall take away his dominion,
To consume and destroy it forever.

Then the kingdom and dominion,
And the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven,
Shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High.
His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
And all dominions shall serve and obey Him” (Daniel 7:23-27).

“A time and times and half a time.” 3 ½ years. Forty-two months. The people of God persecuted but preserved and ultimately given “an everlasting kingdom” (the eternal reality of which the earthly Promised Land of the O.T. is a symbol). This vision of Daniel’s describes the rise of the new covenant people of God in Christ during the days of the Roman Empire (the fourth beast) in the A.D. first century (and really, until today). Life is not easy for the people of God, but they will be preserved until they receive the Kingdom eternally. Daniel 7 is one of my favorite chapters – I think a good understanding of it goes a long way to understanding the rest of the Bible and our circumstances today as the people of God in the world.

Revelation contains three references to this time period:

• “Then I was given a reed like a measuring rod. And the angel stood, saying, ‘Rise and measure the temple of God, the altar, and those who worship there. But leave out the court which is outside the temple, and do not measure it, for it has been given to the Gentiles. And they will tread the holy city underfoot for forty-two months. And I will give power to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy one thousand two hundred and sixty days, clothed in sackcloth’” (Revelation 11:1-3).
• “Then the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, that they should feed her there one thousand two hundred and sixty days...the woman was given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness to her place, where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time, from the presence of the serpent” (Revelation 12:6,14).
• “And he was given a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies, and he was given authority to continue for forty-two months. Then he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name, His tabernacle, and those who dwell in heaven. It was granted to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And authority was given him over every tribe, tongue, and nation. All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:5-8).

Each of these is a different view of the same period – that which is described in Daniel 7. From the unbelieving nations (11:2) to the serpent/dragon/devil (12:12-17) to the “beast rising up out of the sea” (13:1, the “sea” representing the unbelieving nations - 17:15; cf. Psalm 65:7; Isaiah 8:7; 17:12,13), the Church will be hounded during this time period between salvation and homecoming. During this wilderness wandering in the world, God will preserve and provide for His people. The Church will give testimony (1:2,9; 6:9; 11:7; 12:11,17; 17:3,6; 19:10; 20:4) to Christ, holding to Him alone, even above love for life (12:11,17). He will also test her dedication to Him, purging her of idolatry and faithlessness. This Exodus pattern is also found in Hebrews 3-4.

The Bible as a whole tells this story. In the Old Testament (specifically Numbers, in this case) it is a type, or shadow, of New Testament experience for the people of God. Forty-two camping locations between Egypt and the Promised Land represent our long experience from the waters of baptism at salvation to the opening of our eyes in Glory. In that time God will show His great grace to us, despite our many failures, idolatries, and faithlessness along the way – for we are covered with the blood of the Lamb. Along the way God will test us and purge us, even as He preserves and provides for us. The world will hate those in the camp of the saints as we wander, for they are instruments of that serpent of old. But one day we will cross the Jordan and be home. This is an unshakeable and unbreakable promise, our hope step-by-step as we go forward. 42 months. 3 ½ years. 1,260 days. Time, times, and half a time.

Let’s keep going, Church.

The La Sal mountains from Arches National Park, October 2013