Hello, Friend,

Have you ever asked yourself the purpose of reading the book of Numbers in the Bible? Yep. Me too. I ask it almost everytime I am reading through the Bible on a yearly plan. It’s been said that Leviticus and Numbers are the graveyard for read-through-the-Bible-in-a-year programs, so if you are in these books, hang on!

I’m on two interesting paths in my Bible reading. Our church is reading through the Bible, chronologically, this year, and our Scriputure Writing Group is writing the book of Romans. As I meandered around Numbers recently and also wrote my daily Scriptures from Romans, the Holy Spirit made sure I saw a correlation Paul wanted me to observe concerning OT Law and I want to share it with you:

“But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.” Romans 3:21-22 NLT {Emphasis mine}

Y’all, those rules and regs in the Law of Moses, mercy. I can imagine I would live in a state of perpetual fear that I might accidentally transgress them (all my type As and over-thinkers out there I see you and stand arm-in-arm with you) even though, as a dedicated rule follower, I would try like the dickens to follow them correctly.

The Law set apart the Israelites as a holy nation but it was also a standard humans could not attain. It made invisible sin, visible to them. It illuminated their unholiness compared to God’s holiness. The blood sacrifices in the old covenant that kept them in right standing with God was preperatory for the ulitmate blood sacrtifice of His Son, Jesus, that makes us right with God in the new covenant. 

The Law was our guardian until Christ came (Galatians 3: 24-25 NLT). In the impossibleness of it all, the realization is that we need Someone to do what we could not do. The Law held us safe until Jesus came, was sacrificed on our behalf, and rose again. 

Our perspective on OT Law (and why we need to read about it today) changes when we look at it from the vantage point Paul writes about in his letter to the Romans and the Galatians. It amazing how learning more of the story can illuminate our view. Changing perspectives is often a key ingredient in understanding ourselves and those around us.

Although, as humans, the Law was a standard we could not attain, it fulfilled one of its purposes to illuminate sin and our inability to live holy. It showed us how much we need our Saviour, Jesus.

P.S. It’s not to late to join in our Scripture Writing Challenge. Here is the link to sign-up > SIGN-UP