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Read Numbers Chapter 9

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1And the LORD spake unto Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after they were come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

2Let the children of Israel also keep the passover at his appointed season.

3In the fourteenth day of this month, at even, ye shall keep it in his appointed season: according to all the rites of it, and according to all the ceremonies thereof, shall ye keep it.

4And Moses spake unto the children of Israel, that they should keep the passover.

5And they kept the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month at even in the wilderness of Sinai: according to all that the LORD commanded Moses, so did the children of Israel.

6And there were certain men, who were defiled by the dead body of a man, that they could not keep the passover on that day: and they came before Moses and before Aaron on that day:

7And those men said unto him, We are defiled by the dead body of a man: wherefore are we kept back, that we may not offer an offering of the LORD in his appointed season among the children of Israel?

8And Moses said unto them, Stand still, and I will hear what the LORD will command concerning you.

9And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

10Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If any man of you or of your posterity shall be unclean by reason of a dead body, or be in a journey afar off, yet he shall keep the passover unto the LORD.

11The fourteenth day of the second month at even they shall keep it, and eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

12They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it: according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.

13But the man that is clean, and is not in a journey, and forbeareth to keep the passover, even the same soul shall be cut off from among his people: because he brought not the offering of the LORD in his appointed season, that man shall bear his sin.

14And if a stranger shall sojourn among you, and will keep the passover unto the LORD; according to the ordinance of the passover, and according to the manner thereof, so shall he do: ye shall have one ordinance, both for the stranger, and for him that was born in the land.

15And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.

16So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night.

17And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

18At the commandment of the LORD the children of Israel journeyed, and at the commandment of the LORD they pitched: as long as the cloud abode upon the tabernacle they rested in their tents.

19And when the cloud tarried long upon the tabernacle many days, then the children of Israel kept the charge of the LORD, and journeyed not.

20And so it was, when the cloud was a few days upon the tabernacle; according to the commandment of the LORD they abode in their tents, and according to the commandment of the LORD they journeyed.

21And so it was, when the cloud abode from even unto the morning, and that the cloud was taken up in the morning, then they journeyed: whether it was by day or by night that the cloud was taken up, they journeyed.

22Or whether it were two days, or a month, or a year, that the cloud tarried upon the tabernacle, remaining thereon, the children of Israel abode in their tents, and journeyed not: but when it was taken up, they journeyed.

23At the commandment of the LORD they rested in the tents, and at the commandment of the LORD they journeyed: they kept the charge of the LORD, at the commandment of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

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Explanation

Numbers 9

In short

God tells Israel to celebrate Passover in the wilderness, with special arrangements for those who are unclean or traveling. The passage then describes how a cloud above the tabernacle guides all Israel's movements: when it lifts they travel, when it settles they camp, for as long as God directs.

What the text says

In verses 1-5, God commands Moses that Israel must keep the Passover at its appointed time, on the fourteenth day of the first month. Israel does exactly this in the wilderness of Sinai.

Verses 6-8 show that some men are unclean from touching a dead body and ask Moses why they cannot participate. Moses tells them to wait while he asks God.

In verses 9-13, God provides a solution: anyone unclean or far away on a journey may keep Passover a month later, on the fourteenth day of the second month, following the same rules. But verse 13 states that anyone clean and at home who refuses to keep Passover "shall be cut off from among his people."

Verses 14 mentions that foreigners living among Israel may keep Passover too, under the same rules as native-born Israelites.

Verses 15-23 describe the cloud that covers the tabernacle. By day it looks like a cloud, by night like fire. When the cloud lifts, Israel travels. When it stays, they camp. They move or rest only at God's command shown through the cloud's movement, whether for days, months, or a year.

Takeaways

  • God made the Passover available even to those unable to observe it at the normal time, but refusal without reason had serious consequences.
  • Israel's entire movement through the wilderness was controlled by God's visible sign, the cloud, leaving them no independence in their travels.

Explanation written with the help of AI. The Bible text above is not changed. Context and interpretation are flagged as such; always come back to the text itself.