Numbers 9

Numbers 9:1-14

**D. THE SECOND PASSOVER:

A SUPPLEMENTARY OBSERVANCE (Numbers 9:1-14)

TEXT**

Numbers 9:1. And the Lord spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying, 2. Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season. 3. In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it. 4. And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover. 5. And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the Lord commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

6. And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day. 7. And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the Lord in his appointed season among the children of Israel? 8. And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the Lord will command concerning you.
7. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 10. Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the Lord. 11. The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12. They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it. 13. But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the Lord in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin. 14. And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the Lord; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 9:1. Thus spoke the Lord 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, 2. Now let the children of Israel observe the Passover at its established time. 3. At twilight of the fourteenth day of the month, you shall observe it at its established time, according to all its regulations, and all its laws. 4. And Moses told the children of Israel to observe the Passover in this manner. 5. The people observed the, Passover in the first month, on the fourteenth day, at twilight, in the wilderness of Sinai; just as the Lord had commanded, the children of Israel did.

6. But some men who were unclean from a dead person could not observe the Passover on that day. They came before Moses and Aaron that day, and said to him, 7. Although we are unclean because of a dead person, why are we prevented from giving the offering of the Lord at its scheduled time along with the children of Israel? 8. Moses said to them, Stand here, and I will hear what the Lord, commands you.
7. Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 10. Say to the children of Israel, -If any of you become unclean from a dead person, or is traveling far away, he may, nevertheless, keep the Passover unto the Lord. 11. In the second month, on the fourteenth day at twilight, he shall keep it; he shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. 12. He shall not leave any of it until morning, nor break a single one of its bones; they shall observe it according to all the law of the Passover. 13. But the man who is clean, and is not away from home, yet fails to observe the Passover, he shall be excommunicated from his people, since he did not give the Lord’s offering at its set time. He shall bear his sin. 14. And if a foreigner sojourns with you and would keep the Passover of the Lord according to the law of the Passover and according to its regulation, he may do so; you shall have one law, for both the stranger and the native of the land!

COMMENTARY

The second passover of Israel, observed at Sinai, celebrated the completion of a full year’s reprieve from Egypt. It is placed out of the proper chronological order in the text, having actually preceded the census and most of the other events of the book. The people may have doubted whether or not they were to keep the feast while in the wilderness; but the Lord resolves the question by commanding the feast at the same time of year as its institution. The itemized provisions are not repeated; it is unnecessary, since they would be remembered easily. The single detail which would not have matched the original circumstances was the command to smear the blood of the lamb upon the lintel: the tents of the wanderers would have nothing precisely comparable. We are not given an answer to this matter in the text. In later years, after Israel had been established in the Promised Land, the lamb’s blood was sprinkled upon the altar (2 Chronicles 30:16).

The Passover is to be kept, literally, between the two evenings, a phrase which later was understood to refer to the time between three and five o-‘clock in the afternoon.

Leviticus 7:21 declared a man unclean for having touched the corpse of a man or a beast. Should he disregard his uncleanness and participate in a sacrifice, he was to be cut off from among his people. The two unnamed men, temporarily unclean, earnestly desire to participate in the meaningful feast, but with equally strong feelings, they do not want to do so at the risk of excommunication. As was his custom, Moses did not presume to settle the question. Upon consulting God, he was informed they might keep their tryst with the Lord exactly one month later. The same exception was to be allowed for one whose travels kept him from the company of his people when the feast day came. The same regulations applied to the later observation as to the first.

A new note is sounded when God warns against deliberately absenting oneself from the feast for no valid reasonsuch a one is to be disfellowshiped, a penalty as significant as the death sentence in a society as tightly knit as that of Israel’S. The final words do not require that a sojourner participate in the feast; they simply allow such participation. If the alien chooses to become involved, he is under the same regulations as the Israelites. The feast was prescribed in exact details none of which might be altered.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

Upon what grounds might the Israelites have believed they were not to observe the Passover regularly until they occupied the Promised Land?

Which of the original provisions for the feast could they not have observed in the wilderness?

Explain what is meant by the phrase at even.

Why would the Israelite take care not to participate in any sacrifice while he was ceremonially unclean?

Could not Moses have given a judgment on the matter of allowing the two men to observe the Passovermust he have taken the question to the Lord?

Why should God allow a postponement of the feast at all?

Explain the significance of the penalty levied against anyone who deliberately absented himself from the Passover without a proper reason.

Why should any stranger or sojourner be permitted to join in the Passover? What conditions were laid upon him if he chose to do so?

Numbers 9:15-23

E. THE CLOUD OVER THE TABERNACLE vv. 15-23

TEXT Chapter Numbers 9:15. And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony; and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning. 16. So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. 17. And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents. 18. At the commandment of the Lord the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the Lord they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents. 19. And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the Lord, and journeyed not. 20. And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the Lord they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the Lord they journeyed. 21. And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed. 22. Or whether it were two days or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed. 23. At the commandment of the Lord they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed: they kept the charge of the Lord, at the commandment of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 9:15. On the day that the Tabernacle was set up, the cloud covered it, the Tent of Testimony. In the evening it had the appearance of fire above the Tabernacle until morning. 16. It was this way from then on: the cloud covered the Tent during the day, and an appearance of fire during the night. 17. Whenever the cloud was lifted from above the Tent, the children of Israel would then set forth; and at whatever place the cloud stopped, the children of Israel would camp. 18. At the word of the Lord the children of Israel would set forth, and at the word of the Lord they would camp; while the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, they stayed in camp. 19. And when the cloud remained over the Tabernacle several days, the children of Israel kept the commandment of the Lord and did not travel. 20. Sometimes the cloud stayed a few days over the Tabernacle. Then they stayed encamped, according to the commandment of the Lord; or, according to the commandment of the Lord, they journeyed. 21. Sometimes the cloud remained from evening until morning; and when the cloud was taken up in the morning, they traveled. Whether the cloud was taken up by day or by night, they traveled 22. or, if it were two days, or a month or a year that the cloud remained over the Tabernacle, abiding over it, the children of Israel stayed in camp and did not travel; but when it was lifted up, they traveled. 23. At the commandment of the Lord they stayed in camp, and at the commandment of the Lord they journeyed; they kept the commandment of the Lord, when He commanded them through Moses.

COMMENTARY

The presence of the Lord at the Tabernacle was a continual matter, from the moment of its erection. We are taken back to the point of the completion of the Tent to establish the fact. Far from needless redundancy, the Divine Presence is stated here just prior to the account of leaving its original site. Wherever Israel was to go, they were assured of two fundamental facts: God was with them at all times, and He led them in every step of their travels. In a real sense, then, there was no time when Israel was aimlessly wandering about. They were informed by the movement or the halting of the cloud and fire, when to move, when and where to stop moving, and how long to remain in each encampment.

There was one appearance of the overwhelming glory of God within the Tabernaclethe Shekinahwhich came upon the tent at its initial construction and was so great as to delay Moses-’ own entry within (see Exodus 40:34-35). But the cloud specified in our text is not precisely the same. While both are of God’s glory and presence, the first such phenomenon was temporary; the second was continual.

We are not told how long the Israelites camped at their various stations excepting on a few occasions; we do not know where they spent as much as one year after leaving Sinai. But the question is academic. Moses-’ point is simple: the length of the rest is not the important factor, it is the ever-present God who leads them who is being cited.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

What were the two primary functions of the cloud and the pillar of fire?

Is it proper to say that the Israelites wandered during the time they spent in the wilderness before they came to the Land of Promise?

What reasons can you give for a very brief period of encampment; or for a very long one?