Day #62

Sermon - Audio
Num 18-20 - Audio
Num 18-20 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment


We are about 15% of the way through the Bible! Everyone is doing a great job with keeping up with our reading and discussions. I encourage you to keep exploring God's story!

18

v1 - Basically this verse is stating that Aaron, his family, and the Levites will now will pay all the penalties for ritual errors and sin connected with "drawing near" to God. They are fully responsible. This was done in response to the people being upset over the deaths in the affair of Korah. The Lord responds by handing exclusive responsibilities out to make sure that sanctuary stays undefiled.

v8-v20 - The Priests’ Income. The income of priests is derived from the sacrifices and similar offerings. Most of the privileges listed here are mentioned elsewhere in the law, but here the rights are all brought together. First, there are the parts of those sacrifices that only priests could eat: the cereal, sin, and guilt offerings (vv. 8–10). Second are those sacrifices and other offerings that all clean members of the priestly families could eat (vv. 11–19). These include parts of the peace offerings (v. 11), firstfruits of the harvest (vv. 12–13), and firstborn animals (vv. 17–18). Firstborn humans and unclean animals cannot be sacrificed but instead must be redeemed. That means the parents must give five shekels for their firstborn son (v. 16; see also Ex. 13:1–2, 11–16). -ESVSB-

v19 - The "covenant of salt" was an irrevocable and binding agreement. The metaphor compares salts flavor-enhancing and long-lasting qualities to an important and binding agreement.

v21-24 - 18:21–24 The Levites’ Income. The income of the Levites comes from the tithe given by the other tribes. It is their reward for (1) their transporting of the tabernacle, (2) their service in the tent of meeting (v. 21), and (3) their shouldering the risk associated with holy things, so that the people of Israel do not come near … and die (v. 22). It also compensates them for having no inheritance among the people of Israel (vv. 23–24); that is, unlike other tribes, they had no tribal territory, only 48 cities scattered through the land (35:1–8). “I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel” (18:20; cf. Deut. 10:9). Their tribal “inheritance” is not an allocation of land but their task of serving at the sanctuary for the sake of the people. The Levites do not need an allocation of tribal land because their service in the presence of the Lord, and the tithe of the people of Israel, is their more-than-sufficient inheritance. -ESVSB-

19

v1-v22 - Its basic theme is contact with death, the red heifer rites being adapted to provide the ingredients for the water which removes the consequences of such contact. There are at least 250 who have died in Korah’s rebellion, and a further 14,700 in the subsequent plague (Num 16:35; 17:14 [Heb]). As part of the process of reconstruction after such disasters it seems entirely appropriate that the author should incorporate here his stipulations about the consequences of contact with death, and how these may be averted. In his view contact on a large scale must have taken place, and it is essential that the community should know how to reconstitute itself as the purified people of Yahweh. -WBC-

v2 - A perfect, virgin, red heifer needed to be brought. This would have probably been a very rare and valuable animal. The heifer's blood was to be included in the offering.

v2-10 - Cedar Wood (It is believed that Jesus cross may have been made of this) Hyssop (Jesus was offered a drink from a Hyssop branch while on the cross) Scarlet (the color of Jesus' blood). Just a thought.

v11-22 - If the people came into contact with a dead body they would be considered unclean for a time period of 7 days and needed to wash twice between that as well. An interesting parallel in John 13 takes place when Jesus tells his disciples, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Jesus' blood is now what purifies us and makes us "clean."

Ashes and Water - "For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God." Heb 9:13,14

Cleansing - "But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:7-9

20

v1 - Thoughts on Miriam: "She was clearly the leading woman of Israel (Numbers 12). It has often been noted that the leading woman of the NT was also called Miriam (English, “Mary”)." -ESVSB-

It's important to note that even Moses' family didn't get to see the promised land.

v2-5 - The people continue to discount God and the grace that they have received from Him. They would rather be back in Egypt than in the presence of Yahweh. This is scary because this is more then likely a newer generation of people as the older had mostly died off at this point. This generation was now compromising their entrance into the promised land.

Q. Is it just me or does anyone else see a pattern with generational sin from Gen-Num thus far?

v20:2-13 - The Rock - "Rebellion at Meribah. Complaints about lack of water characterized the journey from the Red Sea to Sinai (Ex. 15:22–27; 17:1–7), and now they occur again. In both situations Moses struck the rock with his staff. This is what he had been told to do in Ex. 17:6, but on this second occasion he had been told to speak to the rock (Num. 20:8). This deviation from carrying out God’s instruction led to Moses’ being condemned not to bring this assembly into the land (v. 12). Since this seems like a minor error, it has been suggested that it was Moses’ anger (see v. 10) to which God took exception. But v. 12 seems to make it clear that it was carelessness in attending to God’s command that was the real issue: Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people. As the prime mediators of God’s laws to Israel, Moses and Aaron had to be exemplary in their obedience. Their failure to follow the divine instruction exactly led to their forfeiting their right to enter Canaan. Some have suggested that another factor was involved: since God had told Moses in the earlier incident, “I will stand before you there on the rock” (Ex. 17:6), Moses should have known that God was present here on the rock as well; therefore Moses’ speaking to the rock (Num. 20:8) would be actually speaking to God, and therefore when Moses struck the rock with his staff twice (v. 11), it was a serious manifestation of anger against God, and it is not surprising that God punished Moses severely (cf. note on 1 Cor. 10:3–4). Others hold that the emphasis here is on the difference between what God commanded and what Moses did; usually Moses did just what God commanded him, but not here." -ESVSB-

*Moses did not do exactly what God asked.
*Moses more than likely showed anger towards God
*Moses was an example to the nation of Israel, and failed in this instance.
*God is holy and minor disobedience is still disobedience to a holy God.

In Psalm 106:32-33 we see that Moses anger was provoked. - "They angered him at the waters of Meribah, and it went ill with Moses on their account, for they made his spirit bitter,and he spoke rashly with his lips." Even though Moses was provoked into his anger against the people and against God, sin is sin.

It's easy to feel bad for Moses because he seemingly was so faithful to God and put up with these people for so long, and now he would not see the promised land. However, our attitude should be one of thankfulness to God for providing the completion of the promises to Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses, and others through Jesus Christ:
"And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect." Heb 11:39-40 This is our great cloud of witnesses :)

v17-21 - "The King’s Highway is the main trade route from Damascus to Arabia, passing through the Edomite heartlands on the high hills southeast of the Dead Sea. Israel wanted to travel along this road from south to north to bring them to the northern edge of the Dead Sea. Thwarted by the Edomites, Israel turned away, apparently making their way south toward the Gulf of Aqaba (21:4) and then northward through the wilderness east of the King’s Highway (see Deut. 2:1–8)." -ESVSB-

THE PEOPLE ARE COMING OUT OF THE WILDERNESS! The interesting part of this is that the story of the people in the wilderness (38-40 yrs) is only about 6 chapters long, while there stay of 1 year at Mt. Sinai is almost 50 chapters long. Again, the time in the desert must be seen as a punishment to an unbelieving generation. Nothing was really accomplished in the desert besides a generation dying off.

v22-29 - Aaron Dies. The high priest is replaced by Eleazar who continues the functions of high priest. God will eventually send the great high priest, Jesus Christ (Heb 4:14-16) whom each of us has direct access to through the Holy Spirit.

*This has been a great set of chapters. The people are now coming out of the desert that they had been banned to. It's now come time for them to take the land that was promised to them, but wait...they first need to grumble and complain a little more.