Please turn to Numbers Chapter 1 and stand as we prepare for the reading of the first three verses. 
Num 1:1-3, Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tent of meeting, on the first of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying, "Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families, by their fathers' households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head from twenty years old and upward, whoever is able to go out to war in Israel, you and Aaron shall number them by their armies. 
You may take your seats.
	We will be reversing our time of Scripture reading this morning. Rather than beginning with the reading of the chapter, we will end our message doing so. We are starting a book of the Bible that has often been less regarded by most people. I know, even as I was looking ahead to our reading of this book, that I wondered about all the seemingly boring repetition of numbers and names within the tribal censuses. Even the name, the Book of Numbers, makes it one that we tend to just gloss over and skim through with little interest. 
	However, it is in the Bible by God’s design, for His purpose and for His instruction to His people. Therefore, it is a book that we should read together with the prayer, as with all the divinely inspired Scripture, for the Lord to reveal His heart and His instruction and His purpose in it unto us. It has to be worth reading since He put it into His Word for us to study even at this very time. It also means that, since it is His Word for us, we cannot do it any disservice by only a cursory reading just to get through it. We must treat it as we are to all of Scripture, with reverence, with respect, and with the prayer that He will open it to us.
	Accordingly, for a few weeks, I want to do something that is unusual for us. Let us spend, together, an extended time with an introduction to this Book of Numbers, through the insight of a commentator who expresses a great love for what the Lord has to say in this Book of the Bible. His name is Dr. Ronald B. Allen, and his writing is in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, with the General Editor, Frank E. Gaebelein. 
I mention this so that I can freely quote and give credit to Dr. Allen in the course of this introductory material and our time throughout the Book of Numbers. I do so, because I have been greatly blessed and my heart has been caused to embrace this Book of the Bible after I gained a better understanding of what it involved, as explained by Dr. Allen. Accordingly I do not want to take credit for the manner in which the Lord used him to make this Book all the more accessible and wonderful. Therefore, I hope you will bear with me in this endeavor, as we share a heavily quote enriched development of this Book of Numbers in order that we can all learn to more fully appreciate this Book as vital in the Word of God.
	We will start with a wonderful, initial quote from Dr. Allen. Quote …we contend that the Book of Numbers is sublime. It forms an essential link in that forward-directedness from Adam to Jesus. In the most unusual of ways, it heightens our appreciation of and response to the person of Yahweh. For Christians, this book is even more rewarding; for we find ourselves confronting in new ways the meaning of our salvation in Jesus Christ. He who is the goal of all history is the goal of the Book of Numbers. End Quote.    
	Dr. Allen then goes on to explain the following, which should fully flavor our consideration of this text as we proceed through it. Quote, The theme of the Book of Numbers is worship. It is generally known that the book contains important materials for the worship patterns of Israel. Documentary-critical scholars, for example, are convinced that much of the book is the work of priests – so pervasive are “priestly” elements in this book. But it is not just that the Book of Numbers contains worship materials such as the famous Aaronic Benediction (Num 6) or instructions on the Passover (Num 9). Finally, we discover that the pulse of the book is worship. It is the worship of God by Moses and those who align themselves with him. By God’s grace it may become a book of worship for us as well. End Quote.
	That is the reason that we want to spend this time in His Word, to cause us to come into greater revelations of what it means to worship God more perfectly, in Spirit and in Truth. It is entirely possible that the Holy Spirit has made this singular Book of the Bible a glorious guide into the heart of what worship entails and represents within the Body of Believers. But it will take commitment and it will take effort and it will take prayer and it will take study in order to become more than just a list of the numbers of the Tribes of Israel. This is no easy task, as detailed in the following quote. 
	Quote, In a day marked by pop art, quick fixes, and fast foods, the Book of Numbers is particularly troublesome. It simply does not appeal to the person who is unwilling to invest time and energy in the study of Scripture. Often the modern reader first will be discouraged just by the name of the book. “Numbers” seems to be a particularly inappropriate title for a part of the revelation of God. The title seems as interesting as a book named, for example, “Telephone Directory” or, perhaps, “Principles of Arithmetic.” A suspicion of increasing dullness settles in long before finishing the first chapter. By the fifth chapter the reader may have dropped out altogether. Numbers is not “fast food” literature! Indeed, some wonder whether it is any kind of literature at all. End quote.  
	To garner the necessary and proper attitude to approach this Book of the Bible, please open to 2 Tim 3:14-17, so we can read, together, the basis and the foundation for our reading of The Book of Numbers, and in fact, every Book of the Bible. 2 Tim 3:14-17, You, however, continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them; and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work. 
	Consider these observations by Dr. Allen; Quote, Paul argues that since Timothy knows that the scriptures are the out-breathing of God, Himself, therefore he – and we – should regard them as eminently worthwhile. The Holy Scriptures that have the ability to make one wise to salvation …and that are the product of the out-breathing of God …are profitable for “teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness”.… Indeed, they are the means for the full equipping of the Christian for doing every good work of God ….
	Furthermore, the “holy Scriptures” …and “all Scripture” …these verses directly refer to comprise the Hebrew Scriptures, or what is commonly known today as the “Old Testament.” To be sure, these words by extension include the NT writings, but this is not their principle concern. At the time Paul was writing, the NT was not complete; and many believers did not have access to what was written. The Scriptures that Timothy had studied from his earliest youth were not the writings of Paul or the Evangelists. Timothy was a student of Moses, Isaiah, and David – but particularly of Moses. In classical Jewish thought the Scriptures are first the books of Torah and then the Prophets and the Writings (the emphasis on Torah at the expense of the rest of the OT developed in post-Christian Judaism). 
	Thus the principal teaching of this classic NT passage on inspiration focuses on the place of the Torah in Christian living. Moreover, Paul’s familiar command to “Preach the Word” (2 Tim 4:2) really continues the postulate of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (the chapter division notwithstanding). Interestingly, numerous theologians and preachers who make much of the importance of the inspiration of Scripture from these verses fail to recognize the importance of the Torah as the foundational document of biblical faith.  
	The logic of the passage may be visualized as follows:
		Since the Scriptures make you wise to salvation, …
		Continue in them as you have from your youth.
		Since they are the out-breathing of God,
…these Scriptures are eminently useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.
		…indeed, they may equip the person of God for every good work.
…So preach the Word, a task that begins with the preaching of Torah.
	When one discovers the significance of the Book of Numbers as a creditable unit in the unfolding of the whole of Scripture, then its material becomes essential to building a biblical theology…Even though the title seems uninspiring, and despite those aspects of the book that the modern reader may consider to be less than scintillating, this book of Torah can make one wise to salvation and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness. The Book of Numbers is an essential part of the Holy Scriptures of God. God’s people dare not ignore its teachings. End Quote
	This is a point that many of us truly fail to appreciate. We see the New Testament as the end all of Scripture, with a smattering of the Old Testament read now and again, mostly the Psalms with some of the history of Genesis. But we do not think of the fact that when Paul was encouraging His protégé, Timothy, it was the Torah and the Prophets, the Books of what we now call the Old Testament from which he was being taught. 
When Jesus went into the temple to read Scripture and to teach, it was only the Old Testament books that were available. Later, when He met the two disciples on the road after His resurrection, as recorded in Luke 24:25-27, He instructed them, beginning with the Torah about how the Old Testament taught fully concerning Himself. 
Luke 24:25-27, And He said to them, "O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! "Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?" And beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. 
	The Apostle Paul also encouraged his readers in his Letter to the Romans, Chapter 15, verse 4, with the same truth of the validity of the Old Testament Scriptures that were in the synagogues and temples. Rom 15:4, For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.
It is necessary to study and to read and to receive the instruction of the Holy Spirit as detailed throughout the Old Testament writings as to the person and the ministry of Jesus Christ. The salvation foretold from the beginning is the salvation that is now in place in Jesus. While the people of old looked ahead to the Christ, the readers of this letter now have the hope of exactly Who Jesus Christ is.
	The Apostle Peter also joined in the chorus of the validity and the need to know the Scripture as the foundation of every true believer’s salvation in 2 Peter 1:16-21. It is imperative that every Christian receives the Word of God as exactly that, the Word of God. It is not open to one’s own interpretation nor can it be picked through, choosing only those passages which we like and discarding those we do not think fit our ideals and our concepts. It must be taken as a whole and set before the Holy Spirit, Who inspired it, for the Spirit of God to open it and to quicken it in our minds and hearts. 
2 Peter 1:16-21, For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, "This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased" — and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain. And so we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts. But know this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture is a matter of one's own interpretation, for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God. 
It is on this basis that we will continue our introductory emphasis on the Book of Numbers in order to be encouraged to struggle through the difficulties that it might present. We do so prayerfully into the fullness of how God will use it to reveal a greater measure of His plan and His purpose and His glory in Jesus Christ. So be it. Amen. 
If you would now please open to Numbers Chapter 1 in your Bibles, we will read the first chapter together. 

This morning’s benediction is 2 Cor 3:18. But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. Amen.