Welcome to 10 minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life in the time it takes to get to work.

We're starting the Book of Numbers today on TMBT.

Numbers is the fourth book of the Old Testament and to be honest the name is kind of

weird. Numbers? Really? It's interesting that in the Hebrew Bible it has a different name,

but before I tell you that name,

let me tell you where the title Numbers comes from.

There are two genealogies in the book

that count or number the Israelites.

So the title Numbers is based on that.

But in the Hebrew Bible it's called Into the Wilderness, which makes a lot more sense because

that's what the book is about.

Much of the book of Exodus is about Israel's journey from Egypt to Mount Sinai where they receive

the law.

They're at Sinai for about a year.

Numbers is about the journey from Sinai through the

wilderness to the edge of the promise land. That's a journey that should have

taken about two weeks if you're just trying to get from point A to point B.

But God had a bigger plan than that. He had things he wanted to do in Israel, things

he wanted to teach the Israelites in the wilderness, and that's why it took 40 years to make that

trip happen. The road to becoming who God wants you to be is longer and

harder than you might expect. After Mount Sinai, the people were ready to start the second

part of the journey to the promised land.

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