Refusing to Obey and Follow

Deuteronomy 1:19-46
    19 “So we departed from Horeb, and went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God had commanded us. Then we came to Kadesh Barnea. 20 And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’  22 “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’  23 “The plan pleased me well; so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe. 24 And they departed and went up into the mountains, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spied it out. 25 They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us.’  26 “Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; 27 and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.” ’
    29 “Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, 31 and in the wilderness where you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.’ 32 Yet, for all that, you did not believe the LORD your God, 33 who went in the way before you to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day.
    34 “And the LORD heard the sound of your words, and was angry, and took an oath, saying, 35 ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD.’ 37 The LORD was also angry with me for your sakes, saying, “Even you shall not go in there. 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there. Encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.  39 ‘Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there; to them I will give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the Way of the Red Sea.’
    41 “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain.  42 “And the LORD said to me, ‘Tell them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.” ’ 43 So I spoke to you; yet you would not listen, but rebelled against the command of the LORD, and presumptuously went up into the mountain. 44 And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and drove you back from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you.  46 “So you remained in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you spent there.

When God delivered His people from their cruel taskmasters (Exodus 1:11, 3:7), they gladly followed until they reached the Red Sea, where they complained against Moses and against God’s mighty deliverance from horrific bondage (Exodus 14:11-12).  Moses was told in Exodus 14:15 to tell the people to move forward as He already had commanded; they complained and Moses faltered in the authority given him for them to trust and obediently follow.  Again, they complain here and are unwilling to go forward into the promised land of God’s great gift of grace; they are unbelieving and disobedient to the LORD and His servant.  Because of this, their fear and mistrust of rebellion earned the wages of sin, namely death (Romans 6:23), as they were condemned to wander in the desert for forty years until all who rebelled died off and were replace by their children who were given the chance to enter in their place.  Even now many gentiles enter the eternal heavenly kingdom because of Israel’s disbelief and disobedience to His Messiah, the Christ.  The LORD had led them visibly in towering smoke and fire, yet they disbelieved and refused to follow.  Many now still hear the gospel and refuse to hear and believe to deliverance from sin and its eternal punishment as their just due, and are likewise refused entrance in their hardened hearts and blinded eyes.  The new generation of Israel in the wanderings had no knowledge up front of good and evil, and were taught by God (Hebrews 5:14) as they were to enter into the promise.  The offending parents tried to feign repentance by admitting sin, but God knew their hearts by their actions and words.  Their resultant arrogance in an unsanctioned battle only brought defeat, just as those who now cry Lord, Lord and are not known by Him will not wage successful battles and not enter the kingdom.  Only those who know and believe truly in their innermost being will (John 17:3); let us therefore follow in trusting obedience to this gospel.

Explaining the Law of God to Follow

Deuteronomy 1:1-18

DEUTERONOMY    1 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain opposite Suph, between Paran, Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea. 3 Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them, 4 after he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.
    5 On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to explain this law, saying, 6 “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying: ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the mountains of the Amorites, to all the neighboring places in the plain, in the mountains and in the lowland, in the South and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the River Euphrates. 8 See, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—to give to them and their descendants after them.’
    9 “And I spoke to you at that time, saying: ‘I alone am not able to bear you. 10 The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude. 11 May the LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times more numerous than you are, and bless you as He has promised you! 12 How can I alone bear your problems and your burdens and your complaints? 13 Choose wise, understanding, and knowledgeable men from among your tribes, and I will make them heads over you.’ 14 And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have told us to do is good.’ 15 So I took the heads of your tribes, wise and knowledgeable men, and made them heads over you, leaders of thousands, leaders of hundreds, leaders of fifties, leaders of tens, and officers for your tribes.
    16 “Then I commanded your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother or the stranger who is with him. 17 You shall not show partiality in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid in any man's presence, for the judgment is God's. The case that is too hard for you, bring to me, and I will hear it.’ 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do.

Moses began explaining the Law of God after forty years of the people’s wandering and learning to follow.  The LORD had kept His word of forty years and then the land promised as the country for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in Canaan.  He directed them to the place to enter, and commanded them to look at the land, then go in to take it as promised.  Moses could no longer handle all the responsibilities of leading this people and dealing with all the issues and conflicts, for God’s promise to the fathers to multiply them as to Adam in order to fill the earth made this too much of a burden for one man.  They chose leaders (elders) from all the tribes who were wise, understanding, and knowledgeable.  They judged the cases fairly and without prejudice or influence, not fearing anyone because they did these things before the LORD God.  The judgement was and is truly His; He uses men to enact His justice.  If cases were too difficult, however, they brought them to Moses, much like our Supreme Court.  God commanded through Moses and the leader elders under him for this people who had become as numerous as stars and grains of sand.  But He also led and guided them and gave wisdom.  He continues to do so in the church of Jesus Christ today fo all His people, using elders and other leaders as gifted and led by Him for His glory. 

Equally Yoked Inheritance

Numbers 36:1-13
    1 Now the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near and spoke before Moses and before the leaders, the chief fathers of the children of Israel. 2 And they said: “The LORD commanded my lord Moses to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel, and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters. 3 Now if they are married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then their inheritance will be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and it will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so it will be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they marry; so their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” 5 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: “What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. 6 This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father's tribe.’ 7 So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father's tribe, so that the children of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Thus no inheritance shall change hands from one tribe to another, but every tribe of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”
    10 Just as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; 11 for Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father's brothers. 12 They were married into the families of the children of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of their father's family.
    13 These are the commandments and the judgments which the LORD commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

Here we find that the inheritance of the tribal familial line of Manasseh had to be preserved by the women remaining equally yoked within the family only.  This determined counsel of the LORD kept the inheritance from going to another family line since they were women, and the laws to inherit were only through the male bloodline as begun in Adam.  These married their cousins to keep it in the family line as God judged and commanded through Moses to the people.  There is a shadow paralleling this inheritance for we who  in Christ; we are to marry only other believers regenerated by grace in Christ by His Spirit’s working.  To be unequally yoked is not about inheriting the kingdom, but about worshipping no other God (the first command from Exodus 20:3-4).  2 Corinthians 6:14-15 commands us to find our inheritance along with fellow believers and not worldly worshippers of other gods.  We see in 1 Corinthians 7:12-16 that if we have found ourselves so unequally joined to an unbeliever, we are not to divorce but let God work through the believer for the children.  This is not a justification to seek an unequal union, however, but to make the best of a bad situation if it occurs.  The call then is to be married within God’s family for all to enjoy the inheritance in Christ by grace through faith to His glory alone.  This is the equally yoked inheritance of command and promise.  Amen.

Priestly Inheritance and Refuge Cities

Numbers 35:1-34
    1 And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying: 2 “Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites common-land around the cities. 3 They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals. 4 The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. 5 And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities. 6 “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities. 7 So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be forty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land. 8 And the cities which you will give shall be from the possession of the children of Israel; from the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.”
    9 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 10 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 11 then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. 12 They shall be cities of refuge for you from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment. 13 And of the cities which you give, you shall have six cities of refuge. 14 You shall appoint three cities on this side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall appoint in the land of Canaan, which will be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be for refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there.
    16 “But if he strikes him with an iron implement, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 And if he strikes him with a stone in the hand, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which one could die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The avenger of blood himself shall put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he shall put him to death. 20 If he pushes him out of hatred or, while lying in wait, hurls something at him so that he dies, 21 or in enmity he strikes him with his hand so that he dies, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.
    22 “However, if he pushes him suddenly without enmity, or throws anything at him without lying in wait, 23 or uses a stone, by which a man could die, throwing it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, while he was not his enemy or seeking his harm, 24 then the congregation shall judge between the manslayer and the avenger of blood according to these judgments. 25 So the congregation shall deliver the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall return him to the city of refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the manslayer at any time goes outside the limits of the city of refuge where he fled, 27 and the avenger of blood finds him outside the limits of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, 28 because he should have remained in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. But after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
    29 ‘And these things shall be a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death on the testimony of witnesses; but one witness is not sufficient testimony against a person for the death penalty. 31 Moreover you shall take no ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death. 32 And you shall take no ransom for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he may return to dwell in the land before the death of the priest. 33 So you shall not pollute the land where you are; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land, for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of him who shed it. 34 Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, in the midst of which I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.’ ”

The priests were given their own land apart from the people and cities which could not be taken away, which pattern is seen somewhat in churches given tax-free status on property now.  These priests also were given six cities to offer refuge, giving temporary sanctuary for accused murderers until they were cleared of charges or sentenced to death if found guilty by trial.  This was to keep the people from seeking vengeance before proving guilt or innocence.  Notice how the emphasis was on the falsely accused for protection in these cities.  They were not to harbor murderous criminals, but to protect the innocent unless proven guilty, and to keep law and order in the process so justice was done without further murdering as revenge.  There are examples of manslaughter as opposed to meditated murder, showing death was warranted for those intending to kill, not by accident in the heat of the moment or unintentionally.  Murderers, however, were not to use these cities of sanctuary to hide in.  This is the pattern for much of the western systems of law and justice we see today, even if that is slowly being changed today in some areas such as calling places to harbor those committing crimes as sanctuary cities; but that was not their purpose.  There may be sanctuary in church buildings still as well, a morphed application of these Levitical cities from the Middle Ages, bit that again should have been for protecting accused murderers until proven innocent.  We see then that we have been given good patterns instituted by God for the laws for our governments, but they are not always followed.

Executors of Inheritance Boundaries

Numbers 34:1-29
    1 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. 3 Your southern border shall be from the Wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom; then your southern border shall extend eastward to the end of the Salt Sea; 4 your border shall turn from the southern side of the Ascent of Akrabbim, continue to Zin, and be on the south of Kadesh Barnea; then it shall go on to Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon; 5 the border shall turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and it shall end at the Sea. 6 “As for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your western border.  7 “And this shall be your northern border: From the Great Sea you shall mark out your border line to Mount Hor; 8 from Mount Hor you shall mark out your border to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be toward Zedad; 9 the border shall proceed to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your northern border.  10 ‘You shall mark out your eastern border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; 11 the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; the border shall go down and reach to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth; 12 the border shall go down along the Jordan, and it shall end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.’ ”
    13 Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. 14 For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. 15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”
    16 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 17 “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you as an inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 And you shall take one leader of every tribe to divide the land for the inheritance. 19 These are the names of the men: from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; 20 from the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud; 21 from the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon; 22 a leader from the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli; 23 from the sons of Joseph: a leader from the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod, 24 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan; 25 a leader from the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach; 26 a leader from the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan; 27 a leader from the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi; 28 and a leader from the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.”  29 These are the ones the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance among the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

Moses articulated the plan God had for dividing the inheritance of the promised land in Canaan, defining its overall boundaries and individual divisions.  Numbers 33:54 defined each one’s lot given according to the size (number) of each tribe, and so the division of land would allow each person an equal share by the population distribution.  God made certain everyone would be given an equal share to avoid conflict and charges of favoritism against God and against those assigned too divide the land by His command and direction.  He chose a priest, Joshua the faithful, and one man from each tribe, making an impartial and balanced group because they all had a stake in the inheritance and nobody was not represented.  This pattern of representation is seen in church elders, as well as in lesser form in some government and judiciary systems.  God set the patterns for us to learn from and apply in secular and sacred realms.  Representation of course must be based on God’s commands and laws for it to be good and effective.  This is especially true in the church, where elders take guidance from God above all as they look out for the interests of others (Philippians 2:4, Acts 16:4, 1 Peter 5:5), who are in a sense executors of the inheritance we have in Christ and His kingdom which begins here and into eternity.  From this we learn that God sets boundaries in His word and these executors give His guidance by explaining and enforcing them within the church for true equity and reduction of strife. 

Conquer and Divide to Inherit

Numbers 33:50-56
    50 Now the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, 51 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places; 53 you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess. 54 And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone's inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall be that those whom you let remain shall be irritants in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall harass you in the land where you dwell. 56 Moreover it shall be that I will do to you as I thought to do to them.’ ”

Instructions were given to Israel through Moses to conquer the land God was giving them, and to divide it by families.  The division was according to the number of each tribe, for God was being equal in the inheritance for each and all.  But this meant that they had to do exactly as they were commanded; they had to push them all out of the land, else or kill them.  They also had to destroy all places where false so-called gods were worshipped, lest they be misled and follow after them instead of the living God, the LORD who is and was and is to come, the One who simply exists because He exists.  Mere stones and images carved to resemble the creatures of the creator instead of the Creator of those idols were not alive and could not help anyone (Isaiah 44:10, 15-18).  If they did not drive out the worshippers of the creature rather than the Creator (Romans 1:25), then those would harass and mislead the people of God in the future; they had to be decisively and definitively dealt with as they were told, or suffer the consequences.  History would sadly reveal their disobedience in this matter.  The inheritance would be soiled and taken away by the disobedience of deaf and blind sin.  We can learn about God’s commands for holiness and obedience out of love as He tests our hearts, knowing we who are in Christ cannot be tossed away from our inheritance in heaven, yet can be weighed down by unrepentant sin and suffer the consequences of even repentant disobedience.  When the books of our lives are opened, we will suffer loss, yet not our inheritance in Christ for eternal life (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).  We must therefore conquer sin in mortification by the Spirit in us and divide right from wrong in laying up treasures in the heavenly kingdom (Romans 8:13, Hebrews 5:14, Matthew 6:19-20).

Remembrance of the Journey

Numbers 33:1-49
    1 These are the journeys of the children of Israel, who went out of the land of Egypt by their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2 Now Moses wrote down the starting points of their journeys at the command of the LORD. And these are their journeys according to their starting points: 3 They departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the day after the Passover the children of Israel went out with boldness in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4 For the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had killed among them. Also on their gods the LORD had executed judgments.
    5 Then the children of Israel moved from Rameses and camped at Succoth. 6 They departed from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness. 7 They moved from Etham and turned back to Pi Hahiroth, which is east of Baal Zephon; and they camped near Migdol. 8 They departed from before Hahiroth and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, went three days’ journey in the Wilderness of Etham, and camped at Marah. 9 They moved from Marah and came to Elim. At Elim were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees; so they camped there.
    10 They moved from Elim and camped by the Red Sea. 11 They moved from the Red Sea and camped in the Wilderness of Sin. 12 They journeyed from the Wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. 13 They departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. 14 They moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.
    15 They departed from Rephidim and camped in the Wilderness of Sinai. 16 They moved from the Wilderness of Sinai and camped at Kibroth Hattaavah. 17 They departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. 18 They departed from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah. 19 They departed from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon Perez. 20 They departed from Rimmon Perez and camped at Libnah. 21 They moved from Libnah and camped at Rissah. 22 They journeyed from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah. 23 They went from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher. 24 They moved from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah. 25 They moved from Haradah and camped at Makheloth. 26 They moved from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. 27 They departed from Tahath and camped at Terah. 28 They moved from Terah and camped at Mithkah. 29 They went from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah. 30 They departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. 31 They departed from Moseroth and camped at Bene Jaakan. 32 They moved from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad. 33 They went from Hor Hagidgad and camped at Jotbathah. 34 They moved from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. 35 They departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. 36 They moved from Ezion Geber and camped in the Wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 37 They moved from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the boundary of the land of Edom.
    38 Then Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the command of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month. 39 Aaron was one hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.
    40 Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.  41 So they departed from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah. 42 They departed from Zalmonah and camped at Punon. 43 They departed from Punon and camped at Oboth. 44 They departed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab. 45 They departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad. 46 They moved from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim. 47 They moved from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48 They departed from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.

God instructed Moses to write down everyplace along His people’s journey out of bondage and through the wilderness wandering.  It began with the day after Passover where the LORD had executed His judgement on the sins of Egypt against His people, setting them free from over four hundred years of bondage and forced servitude when the Pharaohs forgot Joseph and the promises to God’s people in their land.  He recorded when and where they crossed the Red Sea, journeyed in the wilderness of Sin, where He provided water and rest, and each place they started out from as the LORD moved them.  For forty years they wandered because they refused to enter the promised land out of disbelief and fear until a new generation approached the land and Aaron died.  Finally they camped by the Jordan River.  What we learn here is that we who are in Christ have been freed from sin’s bondage and are led through life in sanctifying change to conform to the image of Christ.  We rebel and are slow to believe at times, yet because we have His Spirit now living in us, the promise of a heavenly country and eternal forgiveness are the water along our journeys to refresh and encourage us.  We have His word more clearly and these examples to teach us to mark every point in our lives as if a journal, which are also our books to be read in the final day.  We believe and our journey should be unlike Israel’s in that way, for we have His word and Spirit to follow.  We have had our sin passed over by he Lamb of God and are most wonderfully led from that bondage into the liberty of the children of God (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18, Romans 8:21, 2 Corinthians 3:17)! 

Commitment Across a Distance

Numbers 32:1-42
    1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” 6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7 Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? 8 Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 So the LORD'S anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ 13 So the LORD'S anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. 14 And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
    16 Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”
    20 Then Moses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, 21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the LORD and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.”  25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; 27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”
    28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30 But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”  31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”
    33 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. 34 And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35 Atroth and Shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim, 38 Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.  39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. 41 Also Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair. 42 Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.

We see here the commitment across the distant side of the promised land’s River Jordan by the tribes of Reuben and Gad.  They found the land across the river better suited for their inheritance and committed to supporting all battles of God’s people until each war was won; they would live further away, but always commute and commit to the work needed to gain the inheritance of the other tribes in their support to fight alongside.  At first Moses thought they were going to stay on the east of the Jordan and abandon God’s task as in the wilderness where all but Joshua and Caleb were faithful and trusting the Lord, but when he heard this committed plan, he agreed and  only warned of the consequences if they did not do as they promised.  We see now where it may be necessary to live a good distance from the church body we are committed to to be where we must be for our “inheritance,” yet still faithfully participate and support the work by a longer commute as required.  This is still being part of the work and fight for the souls of the lost by the work of the ministry of the gospel, as long as the commitment is kept.  We may live East of the Jordan but we all are East of Eden because of our sin and require faith in the Lord Christ and obedient following as disciples once called out into the ever nearing light of the promised land with Him in eternity.  We commit across the distance of the already and the not yet in our progress as pilgrims in a strange land (Hebrews 11:13, 16, Ephesians 2:19).

Spoils Distributed for God’s Work

Numbers 31:25-54
    25 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 26 “Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast—you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation; 27 and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation. 28 And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle: one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; 29 take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the LORD. 30 And from the children of Israel's half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock, and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.” 31 So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
    32 The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, 33 seventy-two thousand cattle, 34 sixty-one thousand donkeys, 35 and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately. 36 And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep; 37 and the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. 38 The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was seventy-two. 39 The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD'S tribute was sixty-one. 40 The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD'S tribute was thirty-two persons. 41 So Moses gave the tribute which was the LORD'S heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
    42 And from the children of Israel's half, which Moses separated from the men who fought— 43 now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, 44 thirty-six thousand cattle, 45 thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, 46 and sixteen thousand persons— 47 and from the children of Israel's half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
    48 Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; 49 and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing. 50 Therefore we have brought an offering for the LORD, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD.” 51 So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments. 52 And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the LORD, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53 (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

The spoils of war were divided between those who fought the battles and those who remained behind to guard their own goods lest they become someone else’s plunder.  But those who went to fight had to then give a portion like a tithe to those who did the the work of God’s house (the Levitical priests).  When the battle went well as here, the warriors gave offerings of precious metals taken for their atonement on top of the portion of animals and other plunder they were obligated to give.  These were to be remembered before the LORD for His victory and their atonement by the sacrifices to their God.  We similarly give of what we have been entrusted with as a stewardship, but warriors for the gospel and not in physical combat to take lives; no, we war to gain life for those under the sway of the evil one and of their own dead and sinful nature.  We give to God’s work, whether the ones who are on the front lines as pastors, elders, and missionaries, or as those guarding the supplies of prayer and needed finances to keep the work going.  All give generously and especially those who labor in the word and its teaching to disciples (1 Timothy 5:17, 2 Corinthians 8:3, 12-15, Ephesians 4:12).  These examples then are for us to give generously and willingly to God’s work in whatever role we are given (Luke 6:38). 

Acceptable Spoils of War

Numbers 31:1-24
    1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.” 3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the LORD on Midian. 4 A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”
    5 So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6 Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe; he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand. 7 And they warred against the Midianites, just as the LORD commanded Moses, and they killed all the males. 8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.
    9 And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, with their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods. 10 They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts. 11 And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.
    12 Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 13 And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp. 14 But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.
    15 And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive? 16 Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. 17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately. 18 But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately. 19 And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day. 20 Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”
    21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses: 22 “Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead, 23 everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; and it shall be purified with the water of purification. But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water. 24 And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

Israel was promised a land of milk and honey, a place of their own under God, but it was not to be taken over without effort on their part.  Moses was given orders to the people for a last battle to fight before his death and which opening the way for the people to enter that land.  They attacked the Midianites (Numbers 25:17-18) and took their spoils of war in the captive women with children and animals and all of value.  These Midianites were the ones who tried to seduce God’s people with the passing pleasures of sin and lifeless idols away from the one true and living God.  Of course, when these spoils of war were brought back to the camp, Moses was furious because they brought the very women as captives who had take some of Israel captive with those sins.  They had brought a plague of God’s wrath on the people, and now they were kept!  Therefore the order was given to kill all but those who were too young to had sexual relations with a man; this was to keep the same seduction of flesh towards the idols of lifeless gods again.  They purified all the acceptable loot which endured fire.  Likewise, we must guard our hearts and works which we hold on to, knowing if the things we thinks and do from the heart are not of value like the precious metals here or jewels (1 Corinthians 3:12-13), that they will be burned when tested on the last day.  We are reminded also in 1 John 2:15-17 to guard against desires feeding our flesh, capturing our vision, or leading to the pride of thinking we know what is best for us but is in opposition to God’s clear commands and examples.  We therefore learn from these passages not to imitate what is evil, but what is good and passes God’s refining tests.  Then we enter the camp as we ought to do, in holiness. 

Family Vows and Commitment

Numbers 30:1-16
    1 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her.
    6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her.
    9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.
    10 “If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”
    16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father's house.

Vows and oaths were made to hold to an agreement, a giving of one’s word.  This is both a vow to the LORD as well as to another.  If even a rash vow is uttered from unthinking lips, it was still to be adhered to as we read here.  How often men make glib promises with no intent on keeping them!  What does the Lord God require?  That we follow through on our promises, especially to Him (Ecclesiastes 5:4-5), or better yet, think before committing to a promise.  We are to count the cost.  The place of women in these times was different than now, so these verses seem to be unnecessarily harsh and one sided to us, yet they speak of vows within a family to keep it together and without trouble in the culture and before God.  The last verse makes this clear by summarizing vows as being between couples, children and parents (while the child lives in the parents’ house).  What we can learn from this is to let our answers and commitments be yes or no as we count the cost of the responsibility and consequences to follow (Matthew 5:37, James 5:12, Luke 14:28).  This is first in our promises to the Lord, and then to others made in His image. 

Feasts Full of Offerings

Numbers 29:1-40
    1 “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. Offerings on the Day of Atonement
    7 “On the tenth day of this seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall afflict your souls; you shall not do any work. 8 You shall present a burnt offering to the LORD as a sweet aroma: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. 9 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 10 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 11 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the sin offering for atonement, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
    12 “On the fifteenth day of the seventh month you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work, and you shall keep a feast to the LORD seven days. 13 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: thirteen young bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year. They shall be without blemish. 14 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each of the thirteen bulls, two-tenths for each of the two rams, 15 and one-tenth for each of the fourteen lambs; 16 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
17 “On the second day present twelve young bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 18 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 19 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings.
20 “On the third day present eleven bulls, two rams, fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 21 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 22 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
23 “On the fourth day present ten bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year, without blemish, 24 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 25 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
26 “On the fifth day present nine bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 27 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 28 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
29 “On the sixth day present eight bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 30 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 31 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
32 “On the seventh day present seven bulls, two rams, and fourteen lambs in their first year without blemish, 33 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bulls, for the rams, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 34 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
    35 “On the eighth day you shall have a sacred assembly. You shall do no customary work. 36 You shall present a burnt offering, an offering made by fire as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one bull, one ram, seven lambs in their first year without blemish, 37 and their grain offering and their drink offerings for the bull, for the ram, and for the lambs, by their number, according to the ordinance; 38 also one goat as a sin offering, besides the regular burnt offering, its grain offering, and its drink offering.
    39 ‘These you shall present to the LORD at your appointed feasts (besides your vowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.’ ”   40 So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

More has been written about the festivals and required offerings in this chapter as in the previous one.  These holy assemblies meant that they stopped their normal work and paid attention to sacrificing to the LORD in the prescribed manners and times which He gave them through Moses.  Each one was detailed on the order of the days and types of sacrifices with complete instructions so there was no doubt as to what and how they were to honor God in their assemblies.  Perfect sacrifices were to be given, not marred or less than their best.  Moses faithfully passed every last word and detail to the people of God what he had been told to instruct them.  Likewise, the servants of Christ now are to glean God’s patterns and commands from the scriptures (Matthew 13:52) as He has given for the church to follow in order to honor Him with sacrifices of praise and the willing obedience of holiness.  With these sacrifices from a broken and humble heart He is well pleased from both those called to shepherd and teach as well as all who are led and taught by God through these means given by Him. 

Offerings and Aromas

Numbers 28:1-31 

    1 Now the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time.’ 3 “And you shall say to them, ‘This is the offering made by fire which you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs in their first year without blemish, day by day, as a regular burnt offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, the other lamb you shall offer in the evening, 5 and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering mixed with one-fourth of a hin of pressed oil. 6 It is a regular burnt offering which was ordained at Mount Sinai for a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 7 And its drink offering shall be one-fourth of a hin for each lamb; in a holy place you shall pour out the drink to the LORD as an offering. 8 The other lamb you shall offer in the evening; as the morning grain offering and its drink offering, you shall offer it as an offering made by fire, a sweet aroma to the LORD.
    9 “And on the Sabbath day two lambs in their first year, without blemish, and two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, with its drink offering— 10 this is the burnt offering for every Sabbath, besides the regular burnt offering with its drink offering.
    11 “At the beginnings of your months you shall present a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish; 12 three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for each bull; two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour as a grain offering, mixed with oil, for the one ram; 13 and one-tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with oil, as a grain offering for each lamb, as a burnt offering of sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD. 14 Their drink offering shall be half a hin of wine for a bull, one-third of a hin for a ram, and one-fourth of a hin for a lamb; this is the burnt offering for each month throughout the months of the year. 15 Also one kid of the goats as a sin offering to the LORD shall be offered, besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering.
    16 “On the fourteenth day of the first month is the Passover of the LORD. 17 And on the fifteenth day of this month is the feast; unleavened bread shall be eaten for seven days. 18 On the first day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. 19 And you shall present an offering made by fire as a burnt offering to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year. Be sure they are without blemish. 20 Their grain offering shall be of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah you shall offer for a bull, and two-tenths for a ram; 21 you shall offer one-tenth of an ephah for each of the seven lambs; 22 also one goat as a sin offering, to make atonement for you. 23 You shall offer these besides the burnt offering of the morning, which is for a regular burnt offering. 24 In this manner you shall offer the food of the offering made by fire daily for seven days, as a sweet aroma to the LORD; it shall be offered besides the regular burnt offering and its drink offering. 25 And on the seventh day you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work.
    26 “Also on the day of the firstfruits, when you bring a new grain offering to the LORD at your Feast of Weeks, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. 27 You shall present a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: two young bulls, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, 28 with their grain offering of fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for each bull, two-tenths for the one ram, 29 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 30 also one kid of the goats, to make atonement for you. 31 Be sure they are without blemish. You shall present them with their drink offerings, besides the regular burnt offering with its grain offering.

Various offerings are described and commanded here.  From burnt offerings which were a pleasing and sweet aroma to the LORD, to weekly sabbath ones, to ones starting out each new month, then those of the yearly Passover and finally the offerings of firstfruits which honored God with the first of all He gives, these all were to honor God as well as atone for the people’s sins.  We know now mercy is desired over sacrifice (Matthew 12:7, 9:13), as He calls sinners whose sin is atoned for by God’s sacrifice of Christ alone to make us righteous.  The sacrifices of old only point us to His work and our thanksgiving in prayer to rise up as a sweet smelling aroma to Him in place of animals killed to shed blood in place of ours, the guilty before Him.  We are that aroma of life from death (Ephesians 5:2, 2 Corinthians 2:16) as Christ is our offering and sweet-smelling sacrifice.  Revelation 8:3-4 describe our prayers as that aroma of sacrifice, one of praise and thanksgiving for His death and resurrection (Hebrews 13:15).  Let us lift up such offerings which please Him therefore. 

Pattern of Discipleship

Numbers 27:12-23 

    12 Now the LORD said to Moses: “Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. 13 And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. 14 For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.)
    15 Then Moses spoke to the LORD, saying: 16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 who may go out before them and go in before them, who may lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be like sheep which have no shepherd.”
    18 And the LORD said to Moses: “Take Joshua the son of Nun with you, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him; 19 set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation, and inaugurate him in their sight. 20 And you shall give some of your authority to him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 He shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire before the LORD for him by the judgment of the Urim. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, he and all the children of Israel with him—all the congregation.”
    22 So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and set him before Eleazar the priest and before all the congregation. 23 And he laid his hands on him and inaugurated him, just as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.

Moses previously went against God’s command (Numbers 20:8, 11-13) and doubted Him so as to lessen the renown of His honor, holiness, and glory.  Now the promised consequence was to come to pass; Moses would soon die before the rest of the people entered the land promised to them.  But before this could happen, a successor of God’s choosing had to be put in place.  Moses asked for what He had already been preparing, one disciples by Moses to take his place and continue leading the people of the LORD.  Moses wanted them to have a shepherd so they did not wander as aimless sheep do without guidance.  God put Joshua before him who was a godly man, and set him in place as a leader by the priests.  God then commanded Moses to give him some of his authority to take on some of the role of Moses as one called alongside on the work.  This is the pattern for discipleship we see repeated with Paul and Timothy (2 Timothy 2:2) to take a willing servant whom God enables and calls to the work in order to teach all things God commands to lead and grow the sheep.  Then the sheep to lead was the nation of Israel, now it is of them and all others called together into the church of the living God.  Moses did this as God commanded, and so should we in similar manner disciple others in the faith, whether they are to lead or simply lead others in Christ.  The pattern then is God’s call, our intentional involvement in another’s life to teach and involve them in following Christ and in His work, and then to pass this on so the sheep are not unled or misled.  This is part of the gospel - the call to make disciples, immerse them into the body of Christ, teach them all things to know and obey (Matthew 28:19-20) by His authority (Matthew 28:18) in His presence as the Shepherd of all under-shepherds to glorify Him among all.  Moses and Joshua were used to initiate the pattern, and now we have the Lord’s clearer command in the inauguration and commission of the gospel. 

Inheritance

Numbers 27:1-11
    1 Then came the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, from the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph; and these were the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, before Eleazar the priest, and before the leaders and all the congregation, by the doorway of the tabernacle of meeting, saying: 3 “Our father died in the wilderness; but he was not in the company of those who gathered together against the LORD, in company with Korah, but he died in his own sin; and he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers.” 5 So Moses brought their case before the LORD.
    6 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 7 “The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father's brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them. 8 And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall cause his inheritance to pass to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father's brothers. 11 And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the relative closest to him in his family, and he shall possess it.’ ” And it shall be to the children of Israel a statute of judgment, just as the LORD commanded Moses.

Inheritance customs in Israel only allowed for sons to receive possession of land given by God to each family tribe.  Five daughters of Manasseh line lost their father and came to seek a part in God’s provision of the promised land.  They pointed out that their father was not in the rebellion against the LORD while wandering in the wilderness, but died in his own sin.  They did not try to make him look good beyond what he was in order to gain an inheritance, but were honest and sincere in their desire to perpetuate their lineage among God’s people.  The LORD instructed Moses to do what they requested because it was right.  He then clearly spelled out all the conditions of inheritance to avoid further problems, including the next of kin or nearest next of kin as possible.  This became law among His people.  We base our inheritance laws in the earthly realm in western society, but must look further to our spiritual inheritance.  What heavenly country we are promised comes only from Jesus Christ, not our earthly parents.  No, not even others outside our family can provide this eternal inheritance, though through evangelism and witness of the gospel we seem to create children (1 Corinthians 4:15, Philemon 1:10), but ultimately they are begotten by God who uses us as His instruments (1 Peter 1:3).  Our inheritance is therefore from Christ alone (Colossians 3:24, 1 Peter 1:4), and not given by earthly parents or relatives of any sort.  This of course also means that we cannot become Christians, His children, by any other familial inheritance.  An encounter of God’s Spirit by His work alone to give us a regenerated understanding and resultant new birth is necessary.  None of us is a true believer because we are raised in a Christian home or attend church; God must work in our spirit by His Spirit to transform us, though He certainly can and does use those families and places as His instruments of grace to bring the gospel into view for Him to apply to us.  Spiritual inheritance, then, is of God alone through Christ alone. 

Numbered and Not Found Wanting

Numbers 26:1-65 

    1 And it came to pass, after the plague, that the LORD spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying: 2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel from twenty years old and above, by their fathers’ houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.” 3 So Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying: 4 “Take a census of the people from twenty years old and above, just as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.”

5 Reuben was the firstborn of Israel. The children of Reuben were...
12 The sons of Simeon.... 15 The sons of Gad... 19 The sons of Judah...
23 The sons of Issachar... 26 The sons of Zebulun... 28 The sons of Joseph...
35 These are the sons of Ephraim... 38 The sons of Benjamin...
42 These are the sons of Dan... 44 The sons of Asher... 48 The sons of Naphtali...

    51 These are those who were numbered of the children of Israel: six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty.
    52 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 53 “To these the land shall be divided as an inheritance, according to the number of names. 54 To a large tribe you shall give a larger inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a smaller inheritance. Each shall be given its inheritance according to those who were numbered of them. 55 But the land shall be divided by lot; they shall inherit according to the names of the tribes of their fathers. 56 According to the lot their inheritance shall be divided between the larger and the smaller.”
    57 And these are those who were numbered of the Levites according to their families: of Gershon, the family of the Gershonites; of Kohath, the family of the Kohathites; of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58 These are the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the Mushites, and the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begot Amram. 59 The name of Amram's wife was Jochebed the daughter of Levi, who was born to Levi in Egypt; and to Amram she bore Aaron and Moses and their sister Miriam. 60 To Aaron were born Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. 61 And Nadab and Abihu died when they offered profane fire before the LORD.  62 Now those who were numbered of them were twenty-three thousand, every male from a month old and above; for they were not numbered among the other children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given to them among the children of Israel.
    63 These are those who were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho. 64 But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest when they numbered the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had said of them, “They shall surely die in the wilderness.” So there was not left a man of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

This second census (of all over twenty years old) ordained by God showed that they had multiplied to six hundred and one thousand seven hundred and thirty, along with twenty-three thousand priests of the Levites accounted for separately.   This was important to divide the inheritance of the promised land fairly by he number of each familial tribe, and also to demonstrate God’s faithfulness in the promises to multiply His people whom He called as His just as He promised to Abraham and his descendants.  He was and is ever faithful and true.  These numbers notably were from all those born in forty years of wandering in the desert, as all the original ones delivered from Egypt’s bondage died there for their disbelief of rebellious sin in the wilderness.  All except Caleb and Joshua who believed God and their call to the promised country, that is.  This shows us that many are called by the gospel, but few are chosen and few find the way to life in the new heavenly kingdom to come (Matthew 22:14, 7:14).  We are faithful who take Gods at His word (John 6:29, 1 John 5:13) in trust that what He promises, that He absolutely will do (Romans 4:21).  Hebrews 11:1 reminds us that this faith, this trust in God’s faithfulness, is the substance of hope and evidence of the unseen because God said it and promised it (Numbers 23:19).  We have been numbered by God in Christ as promised and will certainly enter into that promised land in eternity and not found wanting because we are in Christ’s grace and righteousness.  Amen.

Consequences of Spiritual and Physical Harlotry

Numbers 25:1-18 

    1 Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. 2 They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the LORD was aroused against Israel. 4 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and hang the offenders before the LORD, out in the sun, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”  5 So Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Every one of you kill his men who were joined to Baal of Peor.”
    6 And indeed, one of the children of Israel came and presented to his brethren a Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 7 Now when Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose from among the congregation and took a javelin in his hand; 8 and he went after the man of Israel into the tent and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her body. So the plague was stopped among the children of Israel. 9 And those who died in the plague were twenty-four thousand.
    10 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 11 “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. 12 Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; 13 and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’ ”
    14 Now the name of the Israelite who was killed, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, a leader of a father's house among the Simeonites. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur; he was head of the people of a father's house in Midian.
    16 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 17 “Harass the Midianites, and attack them; 18 for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.”

Israel stayed for a while among the godless people of Moab, a people descended from Moab, an incestuous son of Lot by his own daughter.  Likewise, these descendants were adulterous in both body and spirit.  They made it easy for the people of God to sin with them in body, which pulled them into spiritual immortality against the LORD as well.  It took a priest to stop the resulting judgement of God by plague to end the punishment by spearing a man bringing such an idolater to the tent of meeting, even as they were mourning their sorry spiritual state.  They were ready to hang all those serving the false god Baal when this man did this, and the priest Phinehas put a quick stop to it by fast thinking and decisive action.  Only twenty-four thousand died.  God then commanded Israel to continue to attack those Midianites who brought this scheming seduction of body and spirit upon God’s people.  We see here that we are not to literally kill those opposing Christ and the gospel, but aggressively and decisively dealing with sin and false teaching in our midst.  The answer is in church discipline within those of Christ’s body, the church, not in physical warfare now (Ephesians 6:12, 1 Timothy 1:18, 6:12, 2 Corinthians 10:4, 6:15, 1 Corinthians 5:13).  We cannot allow wolves to deceive and devour the sheep lest we suffer the consequences. 

Speak Boldly as God Gives the Words

Numbers 24:1-25 

    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.”  15 So he took up his oracle and said:

    “The utterance of Balaam the son of Beor,
    And the utterance of the man whose eyes are opened;
    16 The utterance of him who hears the words of God,
    And has the knowledge of the Most High,
    Who sees the vision of the Almighty,
    Who falls down, with eyes wide open:

17 “I see Him, but not now;
    I behold Him, but not near;
    A Star shall come out of Jacob;
    A Scepter shall rise out of Israel,
    And batter the brow of Moab,
    And destroy all the sons of tumult.

    18 “And Edom shall be a possession;
    Seir also, his enemies, shall be a possession,
    While Israel does valiantly.
    19 Out of Jacob One shall have dominion,
    And destroy the remains of the city.”

    20 Then he looked on Amalek, and he took up his oracle and said:
    “Amalek was first among the nations,
    But shall be last until he perishes.”

    21 Then he looked on the Kenites, and he took up his oracle and said:
    “Firm is your dwelling place,
    And your nest is set in the rock;
    22 Nevertheless Kain shall be burned.
    How long until Asshur carries you away captive?”

23 Then he took up his oracle and said:
    “Alas! Who shall live when God does this?
    24 But ships shall come from the coasts of Cyprus,
    And they shall afflict Asshur and afflict Eber,
    And so shall Amalek, until he perishes.”

25 So Balaam rose and departed and returned to his place; Balak also went his way.

Balaam now speaks God’s words and will as pleasing Him to obey, and then His Spirit filled him to speak with prophetic force for the LORD’s people and for His work, for the present and future.  His eyes were opened, he heard God’s word, he was given eyes to see, and he fell in worship as he saw clearly what was revealed to him.  Balaam then blessed the people of God and the God who delivered them, reinforcing the promises of blessing and cursing to those who bless or curse His people (Genesis 12:3).  Balak did not get this man to curse and overthrow God’s chosen ones (as if one could demand such a thing), and so brashly said that God would not honor Balaam for not speaking curses on God’s people!  Balaam wisely replied that he had to speak only what God told him to say, not according to his or another’s will in opposition to God’s words and will.  He then prophesied with opened eyes of the Messiah’s Coming as evidenced with a star of His imminent arrival to bring victory for His people.  Little did he know the extent of the words given to him, that he would be predicting Christ’s arrival on the earth in bodily form (Matthew 2:1-2).  He then spoke of the imminent destruction of God’s enemies by name and then left Balak’s presence for home.  We see the revelation of God through unlikely lips of unwilling men, and often see ourselves in them, holding back on proclaiming the word of the Lord which is the good news of God’s deliverance in Christ alone by grace alone for His glory and our good (Romans 8:28-30).  We should likewise be living sacrifices with Spirit-led speech, holding nothing back, as the example here of Balaam when others try to move us against God’s will and word (Isaiah 50:4, Jeremiah 23:28-29, 1 Peter 4:11).  It is His word which works, not our effort or wisdom, and so we speak.