Can anything good come from Numbers?

God's Word is amazing! Numbers is one of the dryest books in the Bible yet when we chew on it slowly - it is proundly nourishing. This morning's reading was 3:1-4:33 regarding the Levites and how they were to take care of the tabernacle. God gave specific instructions on how they were to dismantle the tabernacle, who was to do what and who was to carry things. Only Aaron and his sons were to go in and cover the ark with the covering veil and all the holy articles. All the holy articles were to be covered with a blue cloth (and then sea cow hides - except the ark. It doesn't say that the ark was covered with sea cow hides); however, the table of shewbread was to be covered with a scarlet cloth and the bronze altar of sacrifice was to be covered with a purple cloth. After everything was covered then the other Levites were allowed to go in and carry the objects. Only the Kohathites were to carry the holy objects and they had to be carried on their shoulders. The Gershonites were in charge of taking down the curtains and the tent itself (They could use ox carts to carry everything). The Merarites were in charge of taking down the poles and frames (They could use ox carts to carry everything). The fascinating thing to me is that the table of shew bread was covered with a scarlet cloth and the altar of sacrifice was covered with a purple cloth. All the other articles were covered with a blue cloth. The blue coverings declared...these things are heavenly, divine, of grace and unearthly (Jesus was God. He was from heaven). But the scarlet covering for the table of shewbread declares...this is about sacrifice, about blood, of humility and down to earth things (Jesus is the bread of life, who gave his body for us. It's about the body of Christ at communion). The purple covering for the altar of sacrifice declares...this is about a God-man (blue and scarlet makes purple. Jesus was both from heaven and from earth.) who became the sacrificial lamb - whose blood covers our sin. Its a wonder to me that Mark and John say that when the soldiers mocked Jesus they covered him with a PURPLE robe and scoffed, "Hail King of the Jews." Interesting enough, Matthew says they covered him with a SCARLET robe. Little did they know they were showing the world that Jesus was the true bread from heaven and the sacrificial lamb who takes away the sin of the world. I am totally blown away!

God, Your Word is amazing to me. It shows to me that everything instruction you give us is for a great purpose. As simple as something like color can tell us about your great work in Jesus. Lord, open my eyes to what you are telling me. Open my eyes to understand your work through Jesus and what you are still doing through him today. Lord, your ways amaze me.