Notes on the book of Numbers by Charles Henry Mackintosh
"Notes on the book of Numbers" by Charles Henry Mackintosh is a Christian biblical commentary written in the late 19th century. The work treats Numbers as the “wilderness book,” reading Israel’s journey as a type of the Christian’s walk, worship, and warfare. It emphasizes the plenary inspiration of Scripture, the believer’s assurance of sonship (“pedigree”), allegiance to Christ alone as the true standard, and the Spirit’s sufficiency for church life, while drawing
practical lessons from the Levites’ calling and service. The opening of this commentary begins with publishing notes and a preface that frame Numbers as a divine history of Israel’s wanderings under God’s presence, guided by the cloud, trumpets, and ordered encampments, with special focus on the Levites. The author then introduces Numbers I–II by contrasting the Pentateuch’s themes, defending Scripture’s authority against infidelity and superstition, and urging Christians to know their spiritual “pedigree” and rally under Christ alone, before outlining three arenas of conflict (Romans 7, Galatians 5, Ephesians 6). The next section recasts Israel’s camp as a type of the Church—separated from the world, wholly dependent on God—and argues for the all-sufficiency of Jesus’ name and the Holy Spirit for ministry and worship. It closes by presenting the Levites as workers set apart by grace and cleansed for service, linking their story to self-judgment and the summons, “Who is on the Lord’s side?” (This is an automatically generated summary.)
