Numbers 24:1-14 - Hearing God with Eyes Wide Open

Numbers 24:1-14

1 Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the LORD to bless Israel, he did not go as at other times, to seek to use sorcery, but he set his face toward the wilderness. 2 And Balaam raised his eyes, and saw Israel encamped according to their tribes; and the Spirit of God came upon him.

3 Then he took up his oracle and said:

“The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
The utterance of the man whose eyes are opened,
4 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

5 “How lovely are your tents, O Jacob!
Your dwellings, O Israel!
6 Like valleys that stretch out,
Like gardens by the riverside,
Like aloes planted by the LORD,
Like cedars beside the waters.

7 He shall pour water from his buckets,
And his seed shall be in many waters.
“His king shall be higher than Agag,
And his kingdom shall be exalted.

8 “God brings him out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox;
He shall consume the nations, his enemies;
He shall break their bones
And pierce them with his arrows.

9 ‘He bows down, he lies down as a lion;
And as a lion, who shall rouse him?’
“Blessed is he who blesses you,
And cursed is he who curses you.”

10 Then Balak’s anger was aroused against Balaam, and he struck his hands together; and Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and look, you have bountifully blessed them these three times! 11 Now therefore, flee to your place. I said I would greatly honor you, but in fact, the LORD has kept you back from honor.”

12 So Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not also speak to your messengers whom you sent to me, saying, 13 ‘If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD, to do good or bad of my own will. What the LORD says, that I must speak’? 14 And now, indeed, I am going to my people. Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”

The third prophetic message to God’s adversary was not motivated by using his own powers of ‘sorcery,’ but by turning to God for the wisdom as the Spirit of the LORD came on him to move his heart and mind to move his lips.  This oracle followed.  He spoke first of himself as a man with eyes opened up to hear the words of God and see the sight shown him, falling in worship before the Almighty when the oracle was shown to him.  He praise the nation of the people chosen by God who would see prosperity to fill the earth as promised through Adam and Abraham.  This kingdom would be lifted up to rule over all!  They were led out of Egypt n the strength given by the LORD to consume His enemies as they conquered the promised land set before them by promise.  Those who curse His people would have the curse on them and those who blessed them would prosper with them.  When Balak the Moab king heard this it was too much; he had hired the prophet to curse his enemy who was blessed by God and so drove him out as if to dishonor him.  We see that the seer had one last prophecy to proclaim, one that spoke of the Messiah to come in the future.  He spoke as though it was impossible to hold back the words (Jeremiah 23:28-29, Acts 4:20) to utter before men as a witness to what God was doing and would do with and through His people.  He spoke of the latter days to make it clear to them and to we who now read these words.  We must also hear God with eyes wide open as He opens the written word of God to us by His Spirit living in us as our Helper to hear and see with once blind eyes and deaf ears opened by Him in our saving conversion to eternal life.  

Numbers 23:1-30 - Cannot but Speak what God Says

Numbers 23:1-30

1 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build seven altars for me here, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.”

2 And Balak did just as Balaam had spoken, and Balak and Balaam offered a bull and a ram on each altar. 3 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stand by your burnt offering, and I will go; perhaps the LORD will come to meet me, and whatever He shows me I will tell you.” So he went to a desolate height. 4 And God met Balaam, and he said to Him, “I have prepared the seven altars, and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.”

5 Then the LORD put a word in Balaam’s mouth, and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 6 So he returned to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, he and all the princes of Moab.

7 And he took up his oracle and said:

“Balak the king of Moab has brought me from Aram,
From the mountains of the east.
‘Come, curse Jacob for me,
And come, denounce Israel!’

8 “How shall I curse whom God has not cursed?
And how shall I denounce whom the LORD has not denounced?

9 For from the top of the rocks I see him,
And from the hills I behold him;
There! A people dwelling alone,
Not reckoning itself among the nations.

10 “Who can count the dust of Jacob,
Or number one-fourth of Israel?
Let me die the death of the righteous,
And let my end be like his!”

11 Then Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and look, you have blessed them bountifully!”

12 So he answered and said, “Must I not take heed to speak what the LORD has put in my mouth?”

Balaam’s Second Prophecy

13 Then Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place from which you may see them; you shall see only the outer part of them, and shall not see them all; curse them for me from there.” 14 So he brought him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

15 And he said to Balak, “Stand here by your burnt offering while I meet the LORD over there.”

16 Then the LORD met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth, and said, “Go back to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” 17 So he came to him, and there he was, standing by his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab were with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the LORD spoken?”

18 Then he took up his oracle and said:

“Rise up, Balak, and hear!
Listen to me, son of Zippor!

19 “God is not a man, that He should lie,
Nor a son of man, that He should repent.
Has He said, and will He not do?
Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

20 Behold, I have received a command to bless;
He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it.

21 “He has not observed iniquity in Jacob,
Nor has He seen wickedness in Israel.
The LORD his God is with him,
And the shout of a King is among them.
22 God brings them out of Egypt;
He has strength like a wild ox.

23 “For there is no sorcery against Jacob,
Nor any divination against Israel.
It now must be said of Jacob
And of Israel, ‘Oh, what God has done!’

24 Look, a people rises like a lioness,
And lifts itself up like a lion;
It shall not lie down until it devours the prey,
And drinks the blood of the slain.”

25 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all!”

26 So Balaam answered and said to Balak, “Did I not tell you, saying, All that the LORD speaks, that I must do’?”

Balaam’s Third Prophecy

27 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Please come, I will take you to another place; perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.” 28 So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, that overlooks the wasteland. 29 Then Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars, and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” 30 And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on every altar.

After Balaam made it to the battlefield of Balak with Moab set against God’s people, he made sacrifices to the LORD and began to prophesy, but not as asked or expected by the earthly king.  He had to be true to his heavenly King of kings.  God met Balaam and gave him the words to proclaim.  He spoke out loudly how he had been summoned to curse and denounce whom God had not cursed and denounced.  He proclaimed how Jacob’s children sat alone among the nations before them and how prosperous they were destined by promise to become.  This angered the king who hired him to curse and not bless, but Balaam blessed them bountifully as God had put the words in his mouth to speak truthfully.  The king then tried to take him where only part of the army of Israel was visible, as if that would change the prophecy by ignoring the better part of them.  The result was the same.  God had the seer proclaim what He had again instructed him, uttering those famous words of His character in Numbers 23:19 that He was not a liar like men and did not go back on His word of promise as mortals often do.  The command to bless God’s chosen stood firm and resolute to bless His people as an irreversible promise of the Almighty.  God had seen them as righteous in Him who brought them out of the bon of Egypt with a strong and outstretched arm (Jeremiah 32:17, 21) as a demonstration of what God had done for all to witness.  What He promised He made good!  The people would arise and conquer as a hunting lioness until the prey was overtaken and devoured, a prophetic statement of the victory over the ungodly nations being judged in the promised land to be given to God’s people by the force of His might enabling them to conquer the nations there such as Moab before them then.  When Balak was distraught at the prophecy of God’s word by Balaam, he tried to tell him not to say anything good or bad In his utter frustration, yet the seer replied again that he could only speak (1 Thessalonians 2:4) what God had told him.  He and we cannot but speak what God says according His word (Acts 4:19-20)  that we now have solidified for us in the scriptures.  He then went to a third location for a third proclamation with another seven altars with their respective offerings.  That follows in the next chapter of this book.

Numbers 22:22-41 - Unseen Sovereign Correction and Protection

Numbers 22:22-41

Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel

22 Then God’s anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam’s anger was aroused, and he struck the donkey with his staff.

28 Then the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”

30 So the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?”

And he said, “No.”

31 Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. 32 And the Angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live.”

34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”

35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

36 Now when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab, which is on the border at the Arnon, the boundary of the territory. 37 Then Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you, calling for you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?”

38 And Balaam said to Balak, “Look, I have come to you! Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.” 39 So Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth. 40 Then Balak offered oxen and sheep, and he sent some to Balaam and to the princes who were with him.

Balaam’s First Prophecy

41 So it was, the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might observe the extent of the people.

We see the unseen correction by God for Balaam’s errors and His protection from cert destruction on the way to Balak against God’s word.  The Angel of the LORD came to face the errant prophet on a narrow path with his sword drawn to execute the wrath of God on the man ready to curse Israel for profit after having been warned not to already.  The unseen angel was seen by the donkey the man rode, the same faithful animal who tried to stop the judgment and death on his master.  When the man began to beat the poor donkey to urge him on, the LORD gave it speech to answer the man for his abuse of his faithfulness.  Then the LORD opened Balaam’s eyes to see the Angel with drawn sword waiting to enact God’s wrath on his perverse disobedience and distemper against the faithful steed who saw it all and attempted to save his master and several times.  Only then when the man’s eyes were opened to the hidden realm and saw this sight did he repent of the sin to journey there against God’s word and will.  He was told not to turn back but speak only as God commanded him with the king when he arrived on the battlefield.  He told Balak, “Now, have I any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I must speak.”  The next day he was brought to a high place of pagan worship to see the numerous people there.  The tale continues next time.  Do we also read or hear God’s word and act in opposition to what we know we are to do?  Thankfully, we have the Spirit of God within us to remind us of His word and will even when we are unable to see the chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17) surrounding us for protection or the angels seen and exposed (Ephesians 6:12) ruling in heavenly places as by talking donkeys here.  God leads us (Isaiah 30:21) and keeps us for His glory by His Spirit according to His word for us to follow.  May we not then kick against the goads as we ride onward in life by heeding His correction and protection. 

Numbers 22:1-21 - Heeding God’s Word

Numbers 22:1-21

Balak Sends for Balaam

1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: “Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner’s fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

9 Then God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

10 So Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.’”

12 And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you.”

14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.’”

18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”

20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

This fear of God’s chosen and mighty people approaching his land filled Balak the Moabite king with dread that they will be next to be locked up like grass by ravenous oxen.  As they camped across from Jericho, he was desperate to stop them anyway he could as he thought of the recent destruction of the Amorites.  Balak therefore sent messengers to get Balaam to come and stop these people come out of Egypt through the parted sea that drown the mighty army with her chariots.  He asked this man of God to come and curse God’s own people in how desperation and dread!  They went and offered the seer money and the answer he gave the next morning was based on the word of God to him, that he could not go and do such a thing.  God had told Balaam that He had blessed the people he was asked to curse and so he told the messengers that he had no permission from the LORD to go with them to curse whom God had blessed.  The king sent even higher worldly authorities under him to persuade Balaam to come and curse them but he refused them at any price.  The odd thing happened in a dream that night as if God told him to go with them and speak the prestige words He would tell Balaam to say.  He arose in the morning and went with them, not understanding that this was a test of listening and heeding God’s original word of command to not go because Jesus had blessed Israel and did not go back on His word.  If Balaam had understood the character of God and His immutable word, he would not have complied with the erroneous request to go, dream or no dream.  This would anger the LORD but in His sovereignty it would still work for the good of God’s people and mercy for the seer who could not yet see these things.  Do we ever know what God’s word tells us not to do and find a reason to do it anyway and credit that erroneously to God in opposition to what we know He already told us as it is written?  May we not repeat the mistake of Balaam (2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Revelation 2:14) who caused others to stumble by changing God’s word for personal gain, but heed what we read and hear from God and trust that over any dreams or other urging or reasoning.  We are to heed God’s word and stay the course of faithfulness in trusting and obedience to all He shows us in the scriptures.

Numbers 21:10-35 - Journeying Victoriously to the Promised Land

Numbers 21:10-35

From Mount Hor to Moab

10 Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD:

“Waheb in Suphah,
The brooks of the Arnon,
15 And the slope of the brooks
That reaches to the dwelling of Ar,
And lies on the border of Moab.”

16 From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:

“Spring up, O well!
All of you sing to it—
18 The well the leaders sank,
Dug by the nation’s nobles,
By the lawgiver, with their staves.”

And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.

King Sihon Defeated (Deuteronomy 2:26–37)

21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say:

“Come to Heshbon, let it be built;
Let the city of Sihon be repaired.

28 “For fire went out from Heshbon,
A flame from the city of Sihon;
It consumed Ar of Moab,
The lords of the heights of the Arnon.

29 Woe to you, Moab!
You have perished, O people of Chemosh!
He has given his sons as fugitives,
And his daughters into captivity,
To Sihon king of the Amorites.

30 “But we have shot at them;
Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon.
Then we laid waste as far as Nophah,
Which reaches to Medeba.”

31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

King Og Defeated

(Deut. 3:1–22)

33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land.

This account of the journey of Israel towards the promised land, stopping between Moab and the land of the Amorites and then the well at Beer for water until they arrived in the land of Moab.  There they asked per to pass through the land by way of the King’s Highway and promised not to dwell along the way or take food or water.  Their simple request was vehemently denied by force but was answered by God using Israel to utterly defeat and destroy the ungodly and take their cities for the LORD.  The people who worshipped the false Moabite god Chemosh perished before His wrath on their sins against Him at the hand of His army entering into the promised land to follow before them and then drove out the Amorites at Jazer afterwards.  On the way from there to Bashan east of the Jordan that was known for its fertile ground, their king Og attacked God’s people.  Moses was assured by God of their success in defeating them and so they wiped them out and took their land as well, eliminating more of the godless enemies of the LORD to give glory to His name and an end to more set against Him and His word and worship.  These immoral idolaters worshipped a blood-thirsty deity and so were condemned by God for their human sacrifices and worship of false gods, and so were eliminated by God’s word to His people.  They therefore left no survivors to perpetuate the idolatry and immorality of those people.  God was not instructing genocide, but enacting judgment on the evil idolatry and immorality of the people who were on the land promised to Abram and his descendants that true worship and morality governed by the Law might take their place.  One day we who are in Christ will similarly take possession of the world after it is burned clean in judgment (Psalm 9:8, Acts 17:31, Acts 10:42) and made new for eternal worship apart from the very presence of sin as the sinful unrepentant and unconverted idolaters will face final judgment (Jude 1:15) and be removed from the promised land of the heavenly country where God will come to inhabit the New Jerusalem as King among us beyond all time.  His gospel will prevail and no ungodly will inhabit or inherit that promised land.  He Himself will defeat the ungodly set against Him (2 Peter 2:9) and His word for He will establish His kingdom in righteousness on all the earth.  We are therefore sojourning out of the freedom from our bondage to sin as Israel from Egypt through the way made through the true Red Sea as our baptism into Christ (1 Corinthians 10:1-2) that we may find victory in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57) and be led into that promised land to dwell safely apart from the presence of sin with such idolatry and immorality at last.  We are journeying victoriously to that promised heavenly land as Israel was as a foreshadowing so long ago! 

Numbers 21:1-9 - Look, Trust, and Live!

Numbers 21:1-9

Canaanites Defeated at Hormah

1 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” 3 And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah.

The Bronze Serpent

4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses: “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and our soul loathes this worthless bread.” 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died.

7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people.

8 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

The people journeyed on towards Canaan when the news reached them that Israel was coming for them and their land.  A king of Arad fought them and took some of God’s people prisoner, which led to the people of the LORD vowing to destroy their cities as originally commanded by God if He would deliver the captives to them.  It was a resounding victory because God listened and heard their plea for deliverance and their vow to annihilate the sinful cities of those occupying the promised land belonging to Israel by divine command.  But as they continued on around the Red Sea, the people again became discouraged because it was taking so long.  They lacked perspective and patience for the long term goal of the promise, and once more spoke against God’s appointed leaders, Moses and Aaron.  They asked with entitlement for the best food and conditions as if they had those as slaves of rigor in Egypt!  They whined about the manna bread and lack of abundant water until the LORD had enough and sent serpents to bite and kill many of them for lack of faith and faithfulness to trust the promise and be satisfied with contentment (Philippians 4:11-13) in and with all things given by God’s good providence.  Only as they were dying did they see the error of their ways and confess their sin, begging for Moses to pray for them and their relief.  The solution from God was for Moses to make a bronze snake on a pole for the people to look at and live, trusting the solution of God’s word and not worshipping the snake as an idol.  Those who trusted by faith looked and lived.  This was explained in John 3:14-15 as a picture of Jesus Christ lifted up on the tree of cursing, a cross, for all who are dying from sin’s penalty since Adam to look upon and live forever.  Whoever looks and believes in Him as the Son of God sent to take their consequences of their sins as a sacrifice to cover them once and forever, these will be given eternal life in Him by that trusting faith to believe God’s word of the gospel and look to Him in trust for life (John 5:24, 6:47) and escape the stinging bite of the serpent (2 Corinthians 11:3, 1 Corinthians 15:55-56) from the Garden where we all chose not to believe and still suffer the consequences.  We are called to look to the cross, trust Jesus and His work to cover our sin by His lifeblood shed for us, and know we will certainly live forever according to the unbreakable promise of the gospel as we sojourn through this world to the heavenly promised land (Hebrews 11:16) to come.  This way to reconciliation with our Creator God seems too simple, but the difficulty is in humbling ourselves and our efforts to be good in order to confess our sin that only can be forgiven by Him who earned Heaven for us and then trusting by looking upon Him in believing He has done what we cannot to save us from the eternal consequences.  Look, trust, and live!

Numbers 20:14-29 - Refused Passage

Numbers 20:14-29

Passage Through Edom Refused

14 Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. “Thus says your brother Israel: ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 16 When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King’s Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.’”

18 Then Edom said to him, “You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

19 So the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more.”

20 Then he said, “You shall not pass through.” So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him.

Death of Aaron

22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there.” 27 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

The people of Israel were refused passage through the land of Edom due to past conflicts between Jacob (Israel) and his brother Esau (Edom) that led to this enmity.  They had to travel another route towards Mount Hor on the eastern side of the valley of Arabah, the highest of the whole range of the mountains there.  Because Aaron was one who rebelled against the LORD at Meribah, he was refused passage to enter the promised land and died there on that mountain.  His son Eleazar took his place as priest afterwards, just as the sons of the original rebellion when spying out the promised land were the only ones of the rest of the people to be allowed to enter in (except Joshua and Caleb who remained faithful and true to the LORD in what they saw).  The people mourned Aaron for a whole month before continuing on.  This shows there is a price for accountability for we as God’s chosen people now, yet it does not keep us from the promised heavenly land (1 Corinthians 3:11, 12-13, 14-15).  May we then be true and faithful to build on the foundation of faith in Jesus Christ our Lord and follow in willing obedience to His word until we hear (Matthew 25:23), “well done, good and faithful servant.”  We have been promised the heavenly land and will enter whether we rebel as at our own Meribah or in hesitancy to suffer or die for our Lord or whether we remain faithful, but why would we not desire to be pleasing children and trust Him while doing what we know as revealed in His word to us, especially knowing we will not be refused passage into (Luke 23:43, Revelation 2:7) paradise with Him?  This then gives us the example of Refused Passage to the promised land by those who refused to trust and believe God, knowing we who believe the gospel in Jesus Christ are not so denied the promised heavenly land to come.

Numbers 20:1-13 - Great Gain of Contentment

Numbers 20:1-13

Moses’ Error at Kadesh (Exodus 17:1–7)

1 Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there.

2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink.” 6 So Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of meeting, and they fell on their faces. And the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

7 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals.” 9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him.

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank.

12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”

13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them.

At Kadesh Moses faltered in his faith in God’s power and glory, not honoring the command to answer the complaints for water with a single strike of God’s rod on the rock for water at His command and provision.  He hit it twice as if to make it his own power or will to bring forth water instead of God.  This was as bad as the contention of the rest of God’s people in their complaining of being led out of Egypt into a barren wilderness, an “evil place” with no food or water.  It was bad for Moses because just like those who spied out the promised land and gave a false report that earned them a promise not to enter that land (only their children), so Moses was prohibited from entering himself for not showing the sovereign power and holiness of the LORD whom he promised to serve himself as he led them into that land flowing with milk and honey after traversing the barren places they then found themselves sojourning through.  Do we complain about the things we have, not honoring and thanking the Lord for all we have been given, are being given, and what is promised in the eternal heavenly country to come?  Then we need to remember Moses at Meribah (Meribah = "strife" or "contention") and confess the sin of discontentment to seek true godliness (1 Timothy 6:6) instead in trust and in the peace of absolute contentment in all the goodness and good things (Romans 8:28) we are daily given (Luke 11:2-3) for his glory and to sustain us as we sojourn through this life until we stand face to face at last (Job 19:26-27) before Him in paradise (Luke 23:43, Revelation 2:7)!  This passage shows us by a bad example the importance of the Great Gain of Contentment in all God gives us.  This is the great gain of contentment in our lot, knowing our Father knows best. 

Numbers 19:1-22 - Purifying the Unclean

Numbers 19:1-22

Laws of Purification

1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying: ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without blemish, in which there is no defect and on which a yoke has never come. 3 You shall give it to Eleazar the priest, that he may take it outside the camp, and it shall be slaughtered before him; 4 and Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood seven times directly in front of the tabernacle of meeting. 5 Then the heifer shall be burned in his sight: its hide, its flesh, its blood, and its offal shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe in water, and shall be unclean until evening. 9 Then a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and store them outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for the water of purification; it is for purifying from sin. 10 And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until evening. It shall be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to the stranger who dwells among them.

11 He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. 12 He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. 13 Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.

14 ‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent: All who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days; 15 and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean. 16 Whoever in the open field touches one who is slain by a sword or who has died, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.

17 ‘And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel. 18 A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, or on the one who touched a bone, the slain, the dead, or a grave. 19 The clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe in water; and at evening he shall be clean.

20 ‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD. The water of purification has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean. 21 It shall be a perpetual statute for them. He who sprinkles the water of purification shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of purification shall be unclean until evening. 22 Whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the person who touches it shall be unclean until evening.’”

This word of the Lord, “the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that person shall be cut off from among the assembly, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD” holds for us today in the truest sense as intended in what appeared to be ritualistic only then.  We are to keep these temples of our bodies holy, clean in spirit and heart and mind (1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 6:19-20, ) to avoid disconnection with the rest of the body who are the living stones (1 Peter 2:4-5) where God lives in us both individually and collectively.  This is where church discipline comes into play, where repeated attempts fail to stop unrepentant sins that defile the body of the individual so that the rest are not tarnished and God’s name is not continued to be defiled.  Our purification from sin is no longer animal sacrifices as in these days of ancient Israel, but is in the already purifying sacred of Jesus Christ whose lifeblood covers all our sins forever; we are, however, still required to repent or turn from them as we ask forgiveness (1 John 1:9) and then receive cleansing and restoration to fellowship with Him and one another.  We are to purify ourselves through avoiding sin and then confessing and forsaking it in true repentance for continuing restoration and forgiveness for our sanctification that is well-pleasing (2 Corinthians 5:9-10) to the Lord through (Philippians 2:12-13, Hebrews 13:20-21) His working in and through us as we avoid and forsake sin as we encounter it along the way towards conformity (2 Corinthians 3:18) to Christ.  Like in the days of old, we are to wash clean both the outside behaviors as their clothing was required in this passage, yet see further to cleanse the inside heart and mind (Matthew 23:25-26, 2 Corinthians 7:1, James 4:8) through righteous thoughts and matching actions.  If we do not pursue holiness, we lose sight of our Lord (Hebrews 12:14) and remain unclean until confession, repentance, and forgiveness are given.  Even those we touch in our words and deeds may be defiled if affected to join us, so repentance and restoration is essential for the health of both the individual and the greater body of Christ (Romans 14:7-8, 12-13) of whom we all who are in Christ are a part.  This is true purification of the unclean.