Yesterday, I finished up the book of Numbers. One commentator sums up this book in the following statement: The Book of Numbers essentially bridges the gap between the Israelites receiving the Law (Exodus and Leviticus) and preparing them to enter the Promised Land (Deuteronomy and Joshua).

Most of the book focuses on the generation that came out of Egypt. In the first chapter, Moses and Aaron take a census that includes only the men aged twenty and older who are able to go to war. This occurs in the second month of the second year after their rescue from slavery. The total number of warriors is recorded as 603,550 (Numbers 1:46).

Fast forward to chapter 26, where God commands Moses and Eleazar to conduct a new census. Aaron has died, and the mantle of high priest has passed to his son, Eleazar. Now, the total has dropped just a bit to 601,730 (26:51). Nearly forty years have gone by, and many who were under the age of twenty have come of age. But just as God decreed, many more perished in the wilderness due to their lack of faith and rebellion against Him. Consider the sobering words Moses wrote about the generation that witnessed the parting of the Red Sea, the water drawn from a rock, and their daily provision of manna from heaven.

Numbers 26:64-65 – But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the Lord had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Not. A. Man.

No one was able to “go around” what God had declared. They all fell in the wilderness, just as He had said. More than anything, this is the message that resonates throughout Numbers: God means what He says.

God provides His people with the laws that will govern their lives and enable them to prosper through His provision and sovereign care. He outlines specific sacrifices and distinguishes between the holy and the profane, as well as between ungodliness and righteousness. He instructs them on how to camp, what to eat, when to move, and when to stay. He communicates directly with His servant, Moses, with details about every aspect of their lives.

And when they fail to obey, the consequences are extreme—and often fatal.

On one occasion, a man is caught breaking the sabbath (Numbers 15:32-41). God had clearly commanded no work was to be done on the day set aside to honor Him.

His offense? Gathering wood.

His punishment? Stoned to death by his own people, outside the camp.

Shortly thereafter, God tells the people to sew tassels on the corners of their garments as a reminder that He means what He says.

Numbers 15:39 – It shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, so as to do them and not follow after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you played the harlot.

These events and many others in the book of Numbers reveal something about the character of God.

He is absolutely holy.

He wields absolute authority.

And He requires absolute obedience from His people.

Because we live in an age of grace and mercy on this side of the cross, it can be challenging to see God in this way—with His full wrath against sin on display. However, this is precisely what we should remind ourselves of when we look at the cross where Jesus died. Jesus bore the full weight of God’s wrath against the sins of all humanity on our behalf.

The children of Israel received God’s grace as a shadow that pointed to the substance of what Jesus would accomplish. By following God’s numerous laws of sacrificial offerings, they proclaimed to the world, “God said this is the way to His favor and grace, and God means what He says.”

The cross proclaims the same message. God has said, “There is one way, and it is through My Son.” And God means what He says.

As humans, we don’t like being told we can’t do things our way. It offends our nature, and we instinctively rebel. However, the message of scripture is clear from beginning to end.

God made us, and as our Creator, He gets to make the rules. There was one way for the Israelites (sacrifices of faith looking forward) and the same way for us (the sacrifice of Jesus in our place). Not a man (or a woman) will find another way because God means what He says.

 John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”