Ep 370 | Numbers, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 4-10)
Talking Scripture
Mike Day & Bryce Dunford
4.8 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 30 April 2026
⏱️ 87 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
→ Timestamps:
(00:00) A brief overview of these chapters.
(02:35) The Israelites murmur and complain in the wilderness. How we respond to our afflictions will shape our character. We can strive to see God’s hand in our lives like Nephi and Francis Webster.
(15:34) The book of Numbers contains evidence that it is a compilation of separate traditions. Understanding these traditions helps to explain some contradictions in the text.
(21:48) Israel murmurs and lusts for meat instead of manna. The Lord abundantly blesses them with quail.
(25:11) Moses complains that he can’t bear the burden alone and is commanded to choose 70 to assist him. The very essence of Christianity is to have compassion for those who are downtrodden.
(29:24) The Greek translation of manna leads to fascinating possibilities. The Israelites loathe the manna and want something exciting and new.
(35:41) Aaron and Miriam challenge Moses’ authority. Numbers 12 portrays Moses as God’s authorized representative, emphasizing hierarchical priesthood authority.
(39:08) Moses sends 12 spies to search the land of Canaan. Ten of them bring back a negative report, telling of giants inhabiting the land. Joshua and Caleb give a positive report and say that Israel can take the land of Canaan.
(43:20) Moses stands as intercessor, working to convince the Lord to not smite the Israelites. The adult Israelites murmur and want to die in the wilderness. The Lord grants this request, while also emphasizing that he desires to have a righteous people who will build Zion.
(47:34) Miriam and Aaron die in the wilderness. Moses will see, but not enter the promised land.
(49:42) The king of Edom refuses to let Israel pass peacefully through his land. We can choose to not be offended.
(52:04) The Israelites are plagued and bitten by fiery serpents. Moses lifts up a serpent of brass to save those who will look upon it. This story is told in greater detail in the Book of Mormon. We should not be slothful because of the easiness of the way.
(1:00:00) Og, the king of Bashan, is described as the last of the giants. His bed is described with the same dimensions as that of Marduk, a Mesopotamian deity.
(1:02:16) Balak offers Balaam money, cattle, and great honors to curse Israel. Balaam refuses, and instead pronounces great blessings upon Israel.
(1:13:54) Another perspective on why the Lord was angry with Balaam.
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The post Ep 370 | Numbers, Come Follow Me 2026 (May 4-10) appeared first on LDS Scripture Teachings.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey everybody, welcome to Talking Scripture, a podcast where we illustrate relevance and application of the scriptures in Come Follow Me. |
| 0:10.1 | We also dive into the history and cultures of the text. |
| 0:13.4 | Thanks for taking the time to share and subscribe to this podcast. |
| 0:16.9 | For show notes, head over to our website, talking scripture.org. |
| 0:23.3 | Welcome to Talking Scripture. I'm Mike. |
| 0:25.1 | And I'm Bryce. |
| 0:26.0 | And today we're going to be in Numbers. |
| 0:27.9 | The Book of Numbers is going to tell us that the Israelites are wandering for 40 years in the wilderness. |
| 0:33.5 | And you're going to see some reduplication. |
| 0:35.7 | Some things that we saw in Exodus. You're also going to see |
| 0:38.6 | in numbers. There's going to be some overlap, some of the same stories. We're also going to see some |
| 0:43.6 | new stories. We're going to get into the stories of the quail that the Israelites eat. We're going to |
| 0:49.7 | talk about the fiery serpents upon the land that bite and kill many of the Israelites. And then we'll |
| 0:55.5 | see the solution that Moses brings where he makes a brass serpent that will cure them if they look |
| 1:01.8 | at it. That's all they have to do. We'll even see an interesting story about this guy by the name of |
| 1:06.8 | Og. He's a king and he's a giant. And of course, we'll get into the story of Balaam and the |
| 1:12.8 | talking donkey. You can't do numbers without doing that. Now, the question often rises, |
| 1:19.6 | why are the Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years? I mean, even on foot, it would not take |
| 1:25.6 | 40 years to travel from Sinai to Israel. |
| 1:28.8 | In fact, it might only take about 129 hours to get there if you walk. |
| 1:33.6 | And so a 40-year travel to get to the land of Canaan seems kind of excessive. |
| 1:39.8 | The book of numbers covers this. |
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