Numbers Chapter 1 Contemporary English Audio Drama (CEV)

⌚Verse Time Stamps⌚ [COMING SOON] Numbers Chapter 1 Summary: The LORD told Moses to count the Israelite armies. The number of men over twenty years old was 603,550. The Levites were not counted. 📘 Contemporary English Version (CEV) ABOUT THE BOOK The book of Numbers continues the history of the people of Israel after they escaped from Egypt, and it tells what happened during the forty years when the Israelites lived in the desert on their journey from Mount Sinai to Canaan. This book is named “Numbers” because it begins with Moses counting the Israelites to find out the number of people in each of Israel’s twelve tribes. Numbers can be divided into three parts. In the first part (1.1-10.10) the Lord has Moses count the people, and then Moses instructions for setting up Israel’s camp and for assigning the Levites their duties. This part ends with everyone celebrating Passover and offering sacrifices to the Lord. The second part (10.11-21.20) includes events that happened while the Israelites were on their way to Moab, a nation living east of the Jordan River. This was a very difficult journey through the desert, and the people often complained and even rebelled against Moses and against God. The Israelites refused to enter Canaan after hearing about the nations that lived there, and so the Lord punished the Israelites by making them remain in the desert for forty years. This part of Numbers ends with the people camped in Moab near Mount Pisgah. The third part of the book (21.21-36.13) begins with the Israelites conquering the land just east of the Jordan River, from the border with Moab in the south Lake Galilee in the north. Then the king of Moab hired the foreign prophet balaam to curse the people of Israel. But the Lord told Balaam to bless the Israelites, and Balaam obeyed. The Israelites prepared to cross the Jordan River and conquer the land of Canaan, although some of the people decided to settle east of the Jordan River. The Israelites were counted a second time, then the Lord appointed Joshua to be Israel’s next leader and chose other leaders to help Joshua divide the land among the tribes. The book concludes with the Lord giving the Israelites more laws. Numbers is about people who were rebellious and discouraged and who refused to believe that the Lord would take care of them. But the book also shows how the Lord protected them in war and gave them food and water in the barren desert. The Lord wanted the Israelites to realize that he did not want them to be destroyed; he wanted to bless them, just as Aaron prayed: “I pray that the Lord Will bless and protect you, And that he will show you mercy And kindness. May the Lord be good to you And give you peace.” (6.24-26)