Bible Study for Today

Since food is merely physical, no one who eats it will defile his heart or inner person, which is spiritual. Physical pollution, no matter how corrupt, cannot cause spiritual or moral pollution. Neither can external ceremonies and rituals cleanse a person spiritually. thus purifying all foods.By overturning the tradition of hand washing, Jesus in effect removed the restrictions regarding dietary laws.

Mark 7:20 What comes out of a man. A person’s defiled heart is expressed in both what he says and what he does.

DAY 2: Did Moses perhaps inflate the numbers of Jews in the wilderness?

Twice during the wilderness wanderings a census of the people of Israel was taken (Numbers 1:46; 26:51). Each time the resulting total count of fighting men exceeded 600,000.These numbers indicate a population for Israel in the wilderness of around 2.5 million people at any time. Viewed naturally, this total appears too high to sustain in wilderness conditions.

Before concluding that Moses inflated the numbers, several factors must be considered. First, the Lord supernaturally took care of Israel for 40 years (Deut. 8:1–5). Miraculous provision of food was a daily event. Second, God also spelled out sanitary practices that prevented the kind of health crises that might have occurred under those conditions. Third, while Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, they only moved camp about 40 times. Spending about a year in each campsite allowed for some normal life without creating a permanent settlement. This preserved some grazing for the herds while keeping the people’s pollution to a manageable amount. Each census was meant to be an accurate accounting of God’s people. They ought to be taken at face value.

Reading for Today:

Numbers 1:1–2:34Psalm 29:7-11Proverbs 10:26-29Mark 7:14-37

Notes:

Numbers 1:2 a census. In Exodus 30:11–16, the Lord had commanded that a census of the males in Israel over 20 (excluding the Levites) be taken for the purpose of determining the ransom money for the service of the tabernacle. The result of that census is recorded in Exodus 38:25–28. The total number, 603,550 (Ex. 38:26), equals the number in 1:46.

Numbers 1:3 go to war. The purpose of this census was to form a roster of fighting men. The Book of Numbers looks ahead to the invasion of the land promised to Abraham (see Gen. 12:1–3).

Numbers 1:51 The outsider. This word often refers to the “alien” or “stranger.” The non-Levite Israelite was like a “foreigner” to the transporting of the tabernacle and had to keep his distance lest he die.