Numbers 10:2
"Make two trumpets of hammered silver to be used for calling the congregation and for having the camps set out.
Make two trumpets of hammered silver
The instruction to make two trumpets signifies the importance of communication and order within the Israelite community. The use of silver, a precious metal, indicates the value and sacredness of these instruments. Silver was often used in the tabernacle, symbolizing purity and redemption. The process of hammering suggests craftsmanship and care, reflecting the divine nature of the instructions. In the ancient Near East, trumpets were commonly used in military and religious contexts, highlighting their role in both worship and warfare. The duality of the trumpets may symbolize the unity and cooperation required among the tribes of Israel.

to be used for calling the congregation
The primary function of the trumpets was to gather the people, emphasizing the need for unity and collective action. This reflects the communal nature of Israelite society, where the congregation was called together for worship, instruction, or to prepare for travel. The sound of the trumpet was a clear and authoritative signal, cutting through the noise of daily life. This practice is echoed in the New Testament, where the trumpet is associated with the gathering of believers at the return of Christ (1 Thessalonians 4:16). The call to gather also prefigures the call to worship and assembly in the Christian church.

and for having the camps set out
The trumpets also signaled the movement of the Israelite camps, indicating the importance of order and obedience in their journey through the wilderness. This reflects the nomadic lifestyle of the Israelites during their 40 years of wandering, where they relied on divine guidance for their movements. The orderly setting out of the camps underscores the discipline required to follow God's leading. This concept is mirrored in the Christian life, where believers are called to follow Christ's leading with discipline and readiness. The movement of the camps can also be seen as a type of the Christian journey towards the promised land of eternal life.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Moses
The leader of the Israelites, who received God's instructions on how to organize the camp and communicate with the people.

2. Israelites
The congregation of God's chosen people, who were to be gathered and directed by the sound of the trumpets.

3. Trumpets
Instruments made of hammered silver, used for communication and signaling within the Israelite camp.

4. Tabernacle
The central place of worship and the dwelling place of God's presence among the Israelites, around which the camp was organized.

5. Wilderness Journey
The context in which these instructions were given, as the Israelites journeyed from Mount Sinai towards the Promised Land.
Teaching Points
Divine Communication
God provides clear instructions for communication within His people. Just as the trumpets were used to convey messages, we should seek clarity in our communication with God and others.

Order and Organization
The use of trumpets for organizing the camp reflects God's desire for order. In our lives, we should strive for orderliness in our spiritual practices and community interactions.

Symbolism of Silver
Silver, often associated with redemption, reminds us of the purity and value of God's instructions. We should value and adhere to God's guidance in our lives.

Community Gathering
The trumpets called the congregation together, emphasizing the importance of community worship and fellowship. We should prioritize gathering with fellow believers for worship and encouragement.

Readiness to Move
The trumpets signaled when it was time to set out, teaching us to be attentive and ready to move in obedience to God's direction in our lives.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does the use of trumpets in Numbers 10:2 reflect God's desire for clear communication with His people, and how can we apply this principle in our daily communication with God and others?

2. In what ways does the organization of the Israelite camp through the use of trumpets parallel the need for order in our spiritual lives and church communities?

3. Considering the symbolism of silver, how can we ensure that we value and adhere to God's instructions in our personal and communal lives?

4. How does the concept of gathering the congregation with trumpets in Numbers 10:2 relate to the importance of community worship and fellowship in the New Testament church?

5. What lessons can we learn from the readiness to move at the sound of the trumpets, and how can we cultivate a similar readiness to respond to God's direction in our lives today?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Exodus 19
The use of trumpets at Mount Sinai when God descended upon the mountain, signifying divine communication and presence.

Leviticus 23
The Feast of Trumpets, which highlights the significance of trumpets in Israel's worship and calendar.

1 Corinthians 14
The importance of clear communication within the church, drawing a parallel to the clarity needed in the sound of the trumpets.

1 Thessalonians 4
The trumpet call of God at the return of Christ, symbolizing gathering and movement, similar to the purpose in Numbers 10:2.
Significance of the Silver TrumpetG. Wagner.Numbers 10:1-10
The Institution of the Silver TrumpetsC. H. Mackintosh.Numbers 10:1-10
The Law of the Silver TrumpetsJ. Bayley, Ph. D.Numbers 10:1-10
The Silver TrumpetsDean Law.Numbers 10:1-10
The Silver TrumpetsW. Jones.Numbers 10:1-10
The Silver TrumpetsHenry, MatthewNumbers 10:1-10
The Silver TrumpetsW. Binnie Numbers 10:1-10
The Trumpet GospelBuffalo Christian Advertiser.Numbers 10:1-10
The Trumpets of ProvidenceJ. Parker, D. D.Numbers 10:1-10
The Use of the TrumpetsD. Young Numbers 10:1-10
People
Aaron, Abidan, Ahiezer, Ahira, Ammihud, Amminadab, Ammishaddai, Asher, Benjamin, Dan, Deuel, Eliab, Eliasaph, Elishama, Elizur, Enan, Gad, Gamaliel, Gershon, Gershonites, Gideoni, Helon, Hobab, Issachar, Kohathites, Manasseh, Merari, Merarites, Moses, Nahshon, Naphtali, Nethaneel, Ocran, Pagiel, Pedahzur, Raguel, Reuben, Reuel, Shedeur, Shelumiel, Simeon, Zebulun, Zuar, Zurishaddai
Places
Paran, Sinai
Topics
Assembly, Beaten, Breaking, Calling, Camp, Camps, Causing, Community, Company, Congregation, Convocation, Forward, Getting, Hammered, Horns, Journeying, Mayest, Moving, Piece, Serve, Sign, Silver, Summoning, Tents, Trumpets
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Numbers 10:2

     4363   silver

Numbers 10:1-7

     5213   assembly

Numbers 10:2-3

     7206   community

Library
November 17. "The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord Went Before Them" (Num. x. 33).
"The ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them" (Num. x. 33). God does give us impressions but not that we should act on them as impressions. If the impression be from God, He will Himself give sufficient evidence to establish it beyond the possibility of a doubt. How beautifully we read, in the story of Jeremiah, of the impression that came to him respecting the purchase of the field of Anathoth, but Jeremiah did not act upon this impression until after the following day, when his uncle's
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth

Hobab
'And Moses said unto Hobab ... Come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel.'--NUM. x. 29. There is some doubt with regard to the identity of this Hobab. Probably he was a man of about the same age as Moses, his brother- in-law, and a son of Jethro, a wily Kenite, a Bedouin Arab. Moses begs him to join himself to his motley company, and to be to him in the wilderness 'instead of eyes.' What did Moses want a man for, when he had the cloud? What do we
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Hallowing of Work and of Rest
'And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, Lord, and let Thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate Thee flee before Thee. 36. And when it rested, he said, Return, O Lord, unto the many thousands of Israel.'--Num. x. 35, 36. The picture suggested by this text is a very striking and vivid one. We see the bustle of the morning's breaking up of the encampment of Israel. The pillar of cloud, which had lain diffused and motionless over the Tabernacle, gathers itself
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Publication of the Gospel
The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it [or of the preachers] P erhaps no one Psalm has given greater exercise to the skill and patience of commentators and critics, than the sixty-eighth. I suppose the difficulties do not properly belong to the Psalm, but arise from our ignorance of various circumstances to which the Psalmist alludes; which probably were, at that time, generally known and understood. The first verse is the same with the stated form of benediction
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 2

Letter Lv. Replies to Questions of Januarius.
Or Book II. of Replies to Questions of Januarius. (a.d. 400.) Chap. I. 1. Having read the letter in which you have put me in mind of my obligation to give answers to the remainder of those questions which you submitted to me a long time ago, I cannot bear to defer any longer the gratification of that desire for instruction which it gives me so much pleasure and comfort to see in you; and although encompassed by an accumulation of engagements, I have given the first place to the work of supplying
St. Augustine—The Confessions and Letters of St

How the Humble and the Haughty are to be Admonished.
(Admonition 18.) Differently to be admonished are the humble and the haughty. To the former it is to be insinuated how true is that excellence which they hold in hoping for it; to the latter it is to be intimated how that temporal glory is as nothing which even when embracing it they hold not. Let the humble hear how eternal are the things that they long for, how transitory the things which they despise; let the haughty hear how transitory are the things they court, how eternal the things they
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

The Second Coming of Christ.
^A Matt. XXIV. 29-51; ^B Mark XIII. 24-37; ^C Luke XXI. 25-36. ^b 24 But in those days, ^a immediately after the { ^b that} ^a tribulation of those days. [Since the coming of Christ did not follow close upon the destruction of Jerusalem, the word "immediately" used by Matthew is somewhat puzzling. There are, however, three ways in which it may be explained: 1. That Jesus reckons the time after his own divine, and not after our human, fashion. Viewing the word in this light, the passage at II. Pet.
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

The Country of Jericho, and the Situation of the City.
Here we will borrow Josephus' pencil, "Jericho is seated in a plain, yet a certain barren mountain hangs over it, narrow, indeed, but long; for it runs out northward to the country of Scythopolis,--and southward, to the country of Sodom, and the utmost coast of the Asphaltites." Of this mountain mention is made, Joshua 2:22, where the two spies, sent by Joshua, and received by Rahab, are said to "conceal themselves." "Opposite against this, lies a mountain on the other side Jordan, beginning from
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah
"And thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, too little to be among the thousands of Judah, out of thee shall come forth unto Me (one) [Pg 480] to be Ruler in Israel; and His goings forth are the times of old, the days of eternity." The close connection of this verse with what immediately precedes (Caspari is wrong in considering iv. 9-14 as an episode) is evident, not only from the [Hebrew: v] copulative, and from the analogy of the near relation of the announcement of salvation to the prophecy of disaster
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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