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The Passover – Numbers 9:1-14

V 1-5 This passage refers to events during the month before the census (Numbers 1:1). It is about the second Passover. There is a description of the first Passover in Exodus 12 and in Exodus ch. 7 to 11 are listed the events that happened before the Passover. This will help us to understand why the Passover was so important.

Let me remind you that the Israelites had been slaves in Egypt. Moses had asked Pharaoh to let them leave that country. He had refused several times, so God sent 10 plagues in Egypt (Numbers 3:11-13). Finally, God let all the Egyptians’ first-born sons die. This had happened during the night of the first Passover.

God had spoken to Moses and Aaron and had given instructions to them for the Israelites. He had wanted each family to kill and to eat a young sheep. He had told them to eat the meat with thin bread and bitter herbs. The bitter taste would remind them of their bad life in Egypt. There was no yeast in the bread because they could not wait for it to rise. They were to be ready to leave immediately.

God had told them to put some of the lamb’s blood on their door posts and lintel. To us it is a picture of The Lord Jesus shedding His blood for us. We are now covered by the blood of The Lamb (Jesus). That night, God had allowed all the Egyptians’ first-born sons to die. But he had promised to ‘pass over’ the houses that had blood on them so that the Israelites’ first-born sons would not die. We are not told that any Israelites died but if they did not apply the blood to the door frame, they would. That same night, probably in desperation, Pharaoh eventually let the Israelites leave the country.

This passage describes the second Passover. The Israelites celebrated it regularly every year after this. Today, Jewish people all over the world celebrate the Passover still. It is very important for them to remember how God rescued them.

V 6-14 God expected all the Israelites to celebrate the Passover. But there was a problem with three groups of people.

1. Unclean people. Unclean people could not eat meat from sacrifices (Leviticus 7:19-21).

2. People who were away from the camp.

3. People who were not Israelites. This referred to people who had left Egypt with the Israelites.

Moses did not answer these people immediately. He asked God and waited for God’s decision. God told him what to do and everyone was to celebrate the Passover. So, he allowed the first two groups of people to celebrate it one month later.

Nobody could make an excuse not to celebrate the Passover. If someone refused, they would not belong to God’s people. They were not an Israelite! In the Old Testament, this Hebrew word for ‘cannot belong’ (verse 13) meant sometimes that the person or people died (for example, Genesis 9:11; Isaiah 29:20). Sometimes it meant that people killed them. Sometimes it meant that they could not continue to live among the Israelites. So, the Israelites sent them away. This was to punish them, because they had not obeyed God’s commands (for example Genesis 17:14; Leviticus 7:20-27 and 19:8). So, people who refused to celebrate the Passover were guilty of a serious crime. They received a serious punishment, perhaps death. They did not deserve to live with God’s people.

God allowed foreigners in the camp to celebrate the Passover too. They wanted to worship him, so he permitted them to. They became his people, like the Israelites. Before they could celebrate the Passover, they had to follow all the rules of the Jewish religion. This included circumcision (this showed that the man agreed to obey God) – Exodus 12:48.

We do not have to follow those religious practices today. We come in repentance and faith, trusting in The Lord Jesus who shed His blood for us on the cross.

The cloud that covered the tabernacle – Numbers 9:15-23

V 15-23 When the Israelites had escaped from captivity in Egypt, God had guided them through the desert (Exodus 13:21-22). They could not see Him because a cloud and fire hid Him. When they set up the tabernacle, God came to guide them again. Again, the cloud and the fire hid Him. They set up the tabernacle on the first day of the second year. They were preparing to travel to the Promised Land.

The priests and Levi’s tribe camped near to the tabernacle. Probably, some of them watched the cloud in the day and the pillar of fire at night. Then, they could tell the other Israelites when the cloud moved.

Again, this passage emphasises that the people obeyed God. They did not decide when to move the camp. God made the decision and led them on. He was with them always. He guided them and He protected them. However, not all the Israelites realised this. That is why they complained often to Moses. However, they stayed under the cloud. It gave to them shelter from the sun during the day. And the pillar of fire gave to them heat during the night.

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About this site

I am not a qualified theologian; I am an ordinary guy who just loves reading and studying the Bible. I recognise the importance of preaching and teaching what the Bible says because it is God’s inspired message to our world. In my lifetime of around seven decades, I have listened to the some of the finest Bible teachers and preachers and learned a lot from them. I have used the New King James Version of the Bible. Please pray that God will help you to understand it. Make your own notes if that helps you. This is not meant to be a commentary or a paraphrase. I simply want to share a few thoughts which I hope will be a help to you. Make sure that you have a bible open alongside. You may not agree with my comments. If you don’t, please read the Bible and study it for yourself and ask The LORD to guide you into all truth.

One thing has come home to me that the more I read the Bible is how it all fits together. There may be up to forty different writers/speakers but there is only ONE AUTHOR, God Himself.

A bit about me –

I was born into a Christian home but my father had a mining accident and died three months before I was born. I was brought up by a godly mother and grandparents with a largely wider Christian family around us.

I have been a member of only two churches in my lifetime, both of which faithfully teach the Bible, the Word of God. I was raised at Cave Browne Evangelical Church, Ashton-in-Makerfield near Wigan (Now Hope Church, Ashton). I realised at a young age that I was a sinner and received Jesus Christ as my Saviour at the age of eight.

I was a member there until 1970 by which time I had married Dorothy, my wonderful wife, and we had two sons. We moved to Warrington, Lancashire (now Cheshire since 1974) and quickly became members of Bethesda Evangelical Church, Stockton Heath, where we remain. (See below for our Statement of Faith)

I held leadership positions in both churches and was an elder for twenty-eight years at my present church, as well as musical director, organist, pianist at each church for over fifty years in total.

Over the last sixty years I have served the Lord in one way or another. I started work at the age of sixteen and was employed in the Magistrates’ Courts for the next forty-three years, taking early retirement in 2005. After meeting a former alcoholic who had become a Christian, and whose life had been changed by The Lord Jesus Christ beyond recognition, we wrote a book, published in 2007, which we entitled Alcohol Thriller or Killer. Having gathered sponsorship we supplied copies to every prison in the UK and some elsewhere.

As a result, we were invited to tell our story at around twenty prisons throughout the UK. We completed this ministry in 2010 after which I became involved with Christian Prison Resourcing going to prisons leading Bible Studies, which I continue to do. Our passion is to see prisoners’ lives transformed, their relationships restored and their communities rebuilt as they understand the good news of Jesus Christ. I have seen many prisoners find a personal faith in Jesus Christ and witnessed the change this brings in their lives.

During all this I have had the ever-present support of my wife, Dorothy. Our sons are both married, and we have six grandchildren.

JOHN HAYES

Bethesda’s Statement of Faith

We Believe:

 In the Divine inspiration, authority and sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures. 

 That God exists eternally in three Persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit to whom equal honour is due.

 That Jesus Christ, unique Son of God, became man, being begotten of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. 

 That He died for our sins, was buried and rose again for our justification. 

 That He ascended to the right hand of God and is now the all-sufficient High Priest of His people.

 That He will return personally to receive His people and judge the world in righteousness.

 That humanity has fallen and needs the Holy Spirit’s work of regeneration and sanctification.

 That fellowship with God may be restored by repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

 That at death a person’s soul does not cease to exist or become unconscious.

 That the dead will be raised either to life or condemnation and that the blessedness of the forgiven and the    punishment of the unforgiven will be alike eternal.  

Our practices:

We baptise believers by immersion on their personal confession of faith, and we commemorate the Lord’s death in the celebration of the Lord’s Supper (Communion) every Sunday.  

Our Goal – Is to honour and worship the Lord Jesus Christ by: 

  • Proclaiming God’s good news of forgiveness and new life through the Lord Jesus.
  • Promoting faithful Christian living.
  • Preserving pure Christian truth through the teaching of the Bible.
  • Providing for God’s people.

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