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A. Having Been Redeemed
from God's Judgment by the Passover
and Saved from the Slavery and Tyranny
of Egypt by the Saving Power of the Triune God

God's people were made ready to take possession of the God-promised land by being redeemed from God's judgment by the Passover and by being saved from Egypt by the saving power of the Triune God (Exo. 12, 14). After they were redeemed by the Passover, they were saved personally by the Triune God. As Exodus 14 reveals, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all involved in the salvation of the children of Israel. The Father, the Son, and the Spirit were all engaged in rescuing God's people out of the tyranny of Pharaoh. In Exodus 14 the Triune God protected them and fought for them. Without the personal involvement of the Triune God, it would have been impossible for the Israelites to be released from the hand of Pharaoh. God in His divine Trinity was directly and personally engaged in the rescue of His people.

B. Having Enjoyed the Heavenly
Provision and the Divine Care
in Their Initial Journey in the Wilderness

God's chosen and redeemed people enjoyed the heavenly provision and the divine care in their initial journey in the wilderness (Exo. 15—17). In Exodus 15:27 they came to Elim, where there were twelve springs and seventy palm trees, all of which refer to Christ. In Exodus 16 the people enjoyed Christ as the manna, and in Exodus 17 they enjoyed Him as the rock smitten to flow out living water. Furthermore, the children of Israel enjoyed the divine care. In their initial journey in the wilderness, God was to them a nursing mother, feeding, nourishing, and cherishing them. This provision and care made them ready to enter into the good land.

C. Having Received the Divine
Revelation and Training in Knowing God,
in Being Built Up Together with God
as His Dwelling on Earth for His Expression
and Testimony, and in the Building Up
of the Priesthood for the Divine Service

In Exodus 19—40 and Leviticus 1—27 the children of Israel received the divine revelation and training in knowing God, in being built up together with God as His dwelling on earth for His expression and testimony, and in the building up of the priesthood for the divine service. All this took place at the foot of Mount Sinai, where the people were given the law as a portrait of what God is in His attributes. They were built up together with God and they began to function in the divine service. This was a further means of God's making them ready to take possession of the good land.

D. Having Been Formed
into a Priestly Army to Journey with God
and to Fight with God for His Interest on Earth

The book of Numbers records how God's chosen and redeemed people were formed into a priestly army to journey with God and to fight with God for His interest on earth (Num. 1—4, 9:15—10:36; 12:16; 20:1—21:35; 31:1-54; 33:1-49).


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Life-Study of Numbers   pg 197