Summary #10

Weekly Summary
Numbers 22 to Deut 2

We rejoin our story with Balaam admitting that his donkey had more prophet powers than he did, and going with Balak, who wanted him to curse the Israelites. Instead, there were seven prophesies of doom for those surrounding Israel, and seven words of blessing for the Israelites. This was enough for even Balak, and he and Balaam parted ways.

Hanging out in Moab had a bad effect on the Israelite men, who began playing around with the Moabite women, indulging in pagan rites and worshipping their gods. The Lord has Moses put an end to this, telling each tribe that they must put to death the men who were doing this. One man even took a woman right into the meeting, where they were summarily killed by Eleazar the priest's son. What follows is another plague, this time killing 24,000. At this point, the Midianites are identified as the enemies of Israel, ith the command to kill them.

After the plague, another census is taken, and the adult men of Israel number over 600,000 - and none of them were counted as adults when they had been counted before, fulfilling the word of God that none of those men, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, would survive the wilderness and see the promised land. During this census, some daughters of a man who had no sons appealed to be given the family inheritence, and, defying all local patriarchal custom, the Lord gives property rights to women. Later we see that they must also preserve the tribal lands by marrying within their tribe, but this is truly revolutionary.

The Lord reminds Moses that he, too, will die before they enter the promised land, and has him name Joshua as his successor. God then has Moses remind the people of all the offerings and Festivals that they are to celebrate (Especially in the seventh month... they must have gotten NOTHING done in the seventh month...). He also goes over the rules for men and women and vows. (upshot: keep them, and if you're married, you have a say in what your wife vows.)

Next comes a new stage for the Israelites: they are commanded to take vengeance on the Midianites by going to war against them. They arm themselves, and defeat them roundly, killing the five kings of Midian, along with Balaam, who had tried so hard to prophesy against them. They killed all of the men, but were supposed to kill all of the adult women, too. They took all kinds of plunder, which was divided up between the fighting men, the rest of the tribes, and the Lord, through the priests. When the officers had counted their men, and found that they had not lost a single man, they presented an additional gift to the Lord.

Even as they approached the promised land, two of the tribes decided that the land they were sitting on currently would be better for their tribes than the land that God had promised, and asked if they could just stay there. Moses took them to task, asking if the other tribes would then have to fight on without them as they took the new land. The leaders of the two tribes - Reuben and Gad -- put their heads together and then promised that they would situate the women and children in this land, then the men would go with the rest of Israel and fight, then return back to their land after the alnd had been won. Moses took their oath, and gave them the land.

EXcerpting the highlights from the last 40 years in the desert, Moses gives the challenge to the people of Israel: drive out ALL of the people in this land, and destroy every idol. Take posession of the land and settle it. The land is to be distributed among the tribes, and the boundaries are set. They're ambitious, but they're set, including towns for the Levites, cities of refuge, and the area already allotted to the two tribes on the other side of the Jordan.

This brings us to the end of Numbers, and we dip our toes into Deuteronomy. Moses recounts the 38 year journey of the Isrealites, and the success and failures that they had. We stand here on the edge of the promised land, the place that God had promised to a people he had promised to make great and numerous, and we wonder: What next?

Day #69

Sermon - Audio
Num 35-36 - Audio
Num 35-36 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

35

Background - Analysts have been in general agreement that this section belongs to the priestly material in the book of Numbers. The section bears obvious witness to the priestly view of the Levites, and makes further provision for their support. The Levites have no territorial possession in Israel, and Deut 18:6 makes it clear that they were scattered among various Israelite tribes (WBC-OT).

v1-v8 = Cities for the Levites. After the censuses for the secular tribes always come the censuses of the Levites (chs. 1–3; 26). The second census was for determining the size of the tribes so as to give them an appropriately sized territory. But the Levites were expressly excluded from inheriting land (26:52–62). Nevertheless, they had to live somewhere and needed land to graze the livestock they received in tithes from the other tribes. Arrangements for the other tribes were discussed in 34:16–29, so now the Levites’ needs are broached. Basically the Levites are assigned 48 cities (in reality, little villages) and their immediately surrounding grazing land. The grazing land stretched for a thousand cubits (500 yards [457 m]) from the city wall (35:4). This meant that if the “city” was very small, the grazing lands would stretch two thousand cubits in each direction (v. 5). Commentators assume that in the case of larger settlements, the pasturelands would still stretch 1,000 cubits outward from the city wall, but overall the total size of the settlement would be bigger. Among the Levitical cities are six cities of refuge, whose function is described in vv. 9–34. Forty-two other cities of refuge had to be chosen elsewhere, to make a total of 48. Big tribes had to have more Levitical cities, and small tribes had to have fewer cities (v. 8). Joshua 21 reports the fulfillment of this command, but most tribes ended up with four Levitical cities each (ESVSB).

v8 - It's interesting to think about the Levites being pretty much evenly distributed through the land. I wonder if this is because God wanted people that are "set apart" to spread around His people, much like Christians are called to spread around the world and help restore every area for Him...Just a thought.

v9-v15 - 6 of the 48 Levitical towns would serve as an asylum for anyone who murdered someone unintentionally (involuntary manslaughter). City elders assessed each case individually to determine the nature and cause of the victim’s death. The killer’s guilt was atoned only through the death of the high priest, so the killer was obliged to remain inside the city until the high priest died. This was only for unintentional murder. If we remember in Genesis 9:6, "Whoever shed’s man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God, God made man."

v13-v14
1. Joshua 20:7-8 records the actual choice of the cities.
2. Deuteronomy 19:3 talks about the roads/structure built to them.

v16-v28 = There needed to be a differentiation between murder and killing. Intentional death and unintentional death needed to be sorted out. There are various distinctions given here including the type of weapon used and the intent of their heart in the action that caused the death. A congregation would choose between the "murderer" and the "avenger"(person sent from the family in which the death took place who would avenge or "redeem" by killing the other person.) If the congregation found that person not guilty of murder they would be safe inside these cities of refuge, but not outside of them until the high priest past on. Once the high priest died his trespasses are no longer held against him.

Hebrews 6:17-20 = "So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."

Thoughts

1. Jesus is our high priest who has gone before us and payed the price for our sins. As sinners and broken people we run to the promises found in Jesus Christ and hold fast to the hope that is set before us, not just in the future, but as we live now in the mission of reconciliation.

2. The city walls are the only protection these people have. The psalmists use various language like "refuge," "city," and "protection/help." God is our only refuge.

v29-v34 = More than 1 person was needed in order to convict someone of murder. If someone was convicted of an intentional murder their life would be required. No ransom would be paid, maybe because God wanted people to know that money could not replace a life. Justice required a life. This is again a look back at Gen 9:5-6

v33-v35 = The notion that bloodshed and other transgressions pollute the land, thereby endangering its inhabitants with divine wrath, is common in the Bible (see Gen. 4:10–12; Lev. 18:28; 2 Sam. 21:1–14; Ezek. 36:17–19; Hos. 4:2–3). (JSB) The notion that bloodshed and other transgressions pollute the land, thereby endangering its inhabitants with divine wrath, is common in the Bible (see Gen. 4:10–12; Lev. 18:28; 2 Sam. 21:1–14; Ezek. 36:17–19; Hos. 4:2–3). (ASB)

36

Background - This set of passages is returning back to Numbers 27:1-11 where the daughters of Zelophehad were concerned that their father’s inheritance would vanish, because there were no sons in their family.

v5-12 = Women could marry whom they pleased and their property rights would be retained, as were the men’s, within the boundaries of the tribe so long as they married within the clans of the tribe. They could marry outside the tribe, but in that case they would forfeit their property rights. The conclusion upholds Zelophehad’s daughters as examples of faithfulness to the Lord’s instruction; when they married they “did as the LORD commanded.” (ASB)

v13 = Numbers ends with Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, at Jericho...ready to claim their inheritance!

Day #68

Sermon - Audio
Num 33-34 - Audio
Num 33-34 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

There are 12 Steps in the recovery process. It is always tempting to not be thorough in our house cleaning and cut the recovery process short. The same is true for all of our spiritual growth. Taking a moral inventory, getting honest with other people and ourselves can be very painful. The pain of self-examination leads to healing and growth. But, when our character defects get buried beneath layers of denial and self-justification the sin that destroys our lives has a chance to grow once again. The story of Israel's conquest of Canaan is far more than an example for our own personal spiritual growth. God calls our community to follow Him faithfully into the future. A community of faith that cannot examine its own shortcomings, admit them, and obey God will fail in its calling to be God's people.

Num. 33:1-4 As the Lord demonstrated his power over the gods of Egypt; he would demonstrate his Lordship over all creation by defeating the gods of Canaan too. Moses kept at the Lord's command an itinerary of the journey of Israel from Egypt to the plains of Moab. The purpose was to probably remind the people of God's faithfulness as they now faced the challenge of going into Canaan. It was important to reaffirm this truth as Israel prepared for the spiritual challenges that would come in the future.

Numbers 33:55-56 Here God warns his people to completely cleanse the Promised Land of the nations in the land. This will become one of the major themes in Joshua. The Israelites failed to completely push out the Canaanite people, and, as a result, became like them. The New Testament also warned Christians of the dangers of associated too closely with people who will draw us away from the Lord and what he wants for our lives. (1 Corinthians 10.1-33; Hebrews 3.1-4.16).

Numbers 34.1-29 The boundaries given in this chapter were based on a vibrant faith in God. The Israelites had to trust that God would help them conquer the Promised Land. This chapter also recalls God's promise of Abraham (Genesis 17.8). Those who were obedient to God would see the fulfillment of this promise that had been made hundreds of years earlier.

Day #67

Sermon - Audio
Num 31-32- Audio
Num 31-32 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Numbers 31 - The Moabite Midianites seduced the Israelites to worship Baal as read about in the story of Baalam in Numbers 23-25. Deut. 13 states that worshipping other gods is a capital offense, thus a brief and fierce battle is launched against them.

v. 13-18 - The end of the Midianite nation. The men were all completely wiped out according to v. 7. Moses further commanded that every male child be killed to prevent future military threats. Also every non-virgin female must be put to death since they have already been contaminated by sexual contact. (Could the plague talked in v. 16 possibly have been a sexually transmitted disease?)

v. 19-24 - Even though this was a war ordered by God (also known as a holy war), the soldiers still had to follow a ceremonial cleaning of themselves and their plunder as commanded in Lev. 11:25.

v. 48-54 - Even though a census was unpopular, it was necessary in determining how much ransom needed to be paid for their safe homecoming.

Numbers 32 - This was the land conquered in Numbers 21 - the conquest of Kings Sihon and Og. The tribes of Reuben and Gad put in their bid for the land. Moses is shocked and must feel that once again the people aren't trusting God to provide.

v. 6-15 - Moses tries to help the Israelites remember what happened with the spies in Numbers 13-14.

v. 16-19 - Moses may have misunderstood their intentions thinking that they no longer wanted to fight for fellow Israelites to conquer Canaan and that they were discouraging Israel to cross over into the promised land.

v. 20-32 - The Reubenites and Gadites clarified their intentions, outlining a plan for their man, not just to go with their fellow Israelites, but to be deployed in advance of them. Moses accepts their offer but warns them that if they fail to live up to their promise, they will be assigned land in Canaan instead.

Day #66

Sermon - Audio
Num 28-30 - Audio
Num 28-30 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Numbers 28-29

John Witvliet (of the Calvin Worship Symposium) insists that worship includes both habits and moments. Obedience includes at least a dose of ritual, and often profound moments of worship rise out of your habits. Example: if you have a habit with your spouse for a Saturday date night, some dates will be more heartfelt than others. In order to keep the Israelites disciplined in their devotion, God “schedules” daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly food offerings. To keep with the marriage metaphor: perhaps you try to have dinner together every day, have some Saturday date nights, and do something special for your anniversary and Valentines Day.

Interestingly, in post temple times the Jews replaced these sacrifices with daily prayer times [JPS Torah Commentary]. For us, prayer, bible reading, church can serve much as these daily offerings did in the Old Testament: habits that lead to transformed lives and encounters with God.

28

Vs 3-7 The imagery for the daily offering is that of a daily meal. These are the staple foods for the Israelites. Lamb is the most inexpensive meat and grapes (wine), what, and olive (oil) are the three most abundant crops. So not only is he pulling up a seat to the table (imagery), but he's not a burden to the people. The true God of Israel can be contrasted to the Mesopotamian gods on this point. The dinner list for them includes (from an ancient near eastern source): “4 meals a day of 21 first class rams which had been fed barely for two years, 2 large bulls, 8 lambs, 30 marratu birds, 3 cranes, 5 ducks, 4 boars, 3 ostrich eggs, and 3 duck eggs.” [JPS Torah Commentary]

Additionally, it should be remembered that God is not asking for food because he's hungry. As Psalm 50.9-10 reminds us: “I do not need to take a bull from your household or goats from your sheepfolds. For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me, as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.” Rather he is offering the people of Israel a relationship. Hospitality was an emphasis of their culture, not unlike today that much of our relational life revolves around meal-times.

vs 8 Just a note here that the Jewish day begins as the sun goes down. In other words, the Israelites usher in the new day by presenting an evening meal to the Lord.

Vs 9-10 The “regular burnt offerings” are the 2 lambs described in vs 3-7. The celebration of the Sabbath essentially call for a double offering.

Vs 11-15 The monthly offering includes a sin offering.

Vs 16-25 This is the third description of the Passover (Exodus 12, Leviticus 23)

vs 26-31 The Feast of Weeks (also mentioned in Levitcus 23), first fruits and Shavuot [hebrew for “harvest] (Exodus 23.16) all refer to the same festival. By the time of the new testament, Jewish tradition connects this festival to the giving of the Law at Mount Sinai. Pentecost happens during the festival of Shavuot. We’ve got to understand that the Apostles are thinking “Law” on this day in connection with blessing and sustaining life. It is in this context that the apostles receive the Holy Spirit in Acts 2.1-21. It’s profound then that Galatians 5.22-26 talks about “fruits” of the Spirit which actually seem to be the “spirit” of the law. It is also profound that at this moment, the harvest begins (the “harvest” Jesus talks about in Matthew 9).

29

vs 1-8 This is a special monthly offering: Jews now consider this their new year, Rosh Hashana.

Vs 7-11 The Day of Atonement requires the same food sacrifices as the New Year

vs 12-40 The Feast of Tabernacles celebrates the end of the harvest and was an expression of thanksgiving to God. Jeremiah 5.24 shows that God is responsible for the harvest: “Let us revere the Lord our God. It is he who gives us the autumn rains and the spring rains at the proper time.” It is he who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.”

Day one starts with 13 bulls. Each subsequent day has one less bull until the 7^th day when there are 7 bulls sacrificed. If you haven't noticed, there are a lot of sevens (and its multiple 14) in these chapters.

Numbers 30

vs 1-2 Two verses on vows for men. “No one was forced by law to make a vow, but once made, vows had to be fulfilled. Breaking a vow meant a broken trust and a broken relationship. (Life Application Study Bible)

Vs 3-16 The rest show the non-binding nature of vows on women if their father or husband disallow. I don't have much to say about this chapter. If anyone has anything to add, feel free to share your thoughts on the blog.

Vs 9 Widows vows stand. This does show that widows have legal rights.

Vs 15 If the husband confirmed his wife’s vow (either specifically or by silence), then he was responsible to make sure the vow was fulfilled.

Day #65

Sermon - Audio
Num 26-27 - Audio
Num 26-27 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

We return to where the book of Numbers began, namely, a census to determine the number of fighting men for the invasion of Canaan. This new army is one that will be willing to invade, the old army now lies dead in the wilderness. In this census we will see that some tribes have expanded greatly, others have lost many members, and others have stayed relatively the same in size. The tribe that loses the greatest number is the tribe of Simeon (shrinks 63%). It is from the tribe of Simeon that Zimri came (Numbers 25.14). The strong decrease in numbers may reflect that the tribe of Simeon was at the center of Baal worship and so many died in the plague of Numbers 25.

Numbers 26

26.1: the mantle of the priesthood has been passed from Aaron to his son, Eleazer.

26.9: Throughout this section we are reminded of incidents from Israel's history. Each incident reveals a time of sin and rebellion.

26.33-34: We will find out more about Zelophehad's daughters in chapter 27. What one does notice is that just after we are told about these daughters, whose faithfulness will be commended in chapter 27, we are given the census numbers of Manasseh which show a 64% increase since the census in Numbers 1. This seems to indicate that there is a depth of faithfulness in this tribe.

26.46: Asher's name means "happy", his daughter's name, Serah, means "princess". Was Asher a happy man because his daughter was like a princess to him?

26.51: The people of Israel actually decrease in number during their 40 years in the desert. Their lack of faithfulness has led to them not fulfilling the creational mandate.

26.53ff: The land is distributed according to tribal size and by lot.

Numbers 27

The names of Zeophehad's daughters means: sickness, comfort, partridge, queen, and favorable. Since names reflect some reality in Hebrew, one wonders what kind of family this was. One thing we know is that these five women take the covenant and their inheritance seriously.

27.3: Imagine saying this about your father, "He died for his own sin". In this case his death reflects his rebellion as part of those who didn't want to enter the land. While he failed, his daughters are living rightly before God.

27.7: A powerful statement about the importance of family land, but also of God giving women a place in the community.

27.8ff: The way an inheritance is dealt with when there are no sons is laid out. The importance of the land staying in the clan is emphasized. This land needs to be there so the clan can carry out its calling by God to use the land to bring him glory.

27.17: A continuing concern of God is that his people have a shepherd to watch over them. Shepherds are leaders of the people and are to take their task seriously and the people are to take them seriously. One of the great laments of Ezekiel 34 is that the shepherds are not doing their job. Jesus looks at the crowds and sees that they are like sheep without a shepherd. John 10 tells us that Jesus is the shepherd of his people. What the people need, God provides through his son.

27.18ff: Joshua, who has been Moses' assistant is given the job of leading and shepherding the people. What is worth watching as the story unfolds is what it means for him to shepherd the people vs. what we think a shepherd/leader is supposed to do.

27:20–21: "...some of your authority." Joshua will not have the direct communication with God that Moses had (12:1–8). Instead he will have to be instructed by Eleazar the high priest, who will use the Urim and Thummim to determine God’s will (27:21). The Urim and Thummim were some sort of sacred lot and were part of the high priest’s equipment (see Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; cf. note on 1 Sam. 14:41–42). ESV Study Bible

27.22: Moses continues to follow God's instructions, even as he gets ready to die for failing to follow God's instructions earlier.

Summary #9

Weekly Summary
Numbers 8-22

After setting up and consecrating the tabernacle, God gives Moses direction about how the Levites will serve. He then institutes the celebration of the Passover, telling the people to keep all of the instructions as they were given two years prior, when they were in Egypt. Provisions were made for people who were traveling, or who were unclean.

During this time in the wilderness, and starting here, the people of Israel depended on the cloud's presence in the tabernacle to determine whether they would stay in a place or move on to the next: when the cloud lifted from the tabernacle, they would pack up and move on; while the cloud rested, they would stay. God also had them make two silver trumpets, that would be blown to assemble the camp, to move people out, to celebrate, and to remember the people before the Lord.

Very soon after these instructions were given, the cloud lifts, and the people take down the tabernacle and set out, and travel for three days. And, just like the last time they had traveled three day, they started complaining. They weren't very happy about the daily provision of manna. God's anger burned against them, and Moses interceded to stay the hand of God against them. To answer the people's plea for meat, God sends quail until it is literally coming out of their noses... because after eating it, many of them become sick and die. During this time, God also tells Moses to gather seventy elders around him to help him govern.

Even Moses' brother and sister turned on him, though, speaking against him because he had married a Cushite woman. God called the three of them-- Moses, Aaron and Miriam-- and showed his support of Moses by afflicting Miriam with leprosy. Moses pled with God to spare her life, and so after she had spent a week outside the camp, she was able to return to the community.

Next comes one of the more familiar stories in the Old Testament: Sending the spies into Canaan to see what the promised land was like. Twelve men were sent, one from each tribe, and the report they brought back was that the land was flowing with milk and honey, and was very fertile, but that the people were strong and large -- too big to conquor. The only one to speak against this and encourage the people to press on is Caleb, from the tribe of Judah, and Joshua, the future leader of Israel. The people, of course, grumble and complain against God and Moses, and God has had enough, and swears to wipe them off the face of the earth and start over again and make a great nation out of Moses' descendents. Again, Moses pleads with God, and says that if he destroys the Israelites, all the other nations will ridicule him. God relents, but prohibits any of the people who saw his glory in Egypt and in the wilderness from entering the promised land, other than Caleb and his descendents, and Joshua and his. Everyone else above the age of 20 would die in the desert. He also struck down the ten spies who brought the bad report.

The rebellions continue... Korah, who was a Levite but not a priest, and 250 others demanded the right to be able to perform priestly duties. Moses offers to let God decide who would perform these duties, and the company assembles the next day. God is ready to destroy the whole people again (still?) but Moses pleads for the innocent bystanders, and instead separates these men from the rest of the Israelite, and the ground opens up and swallows them. Does this satisfy the rest of Israel that Moses is God's chosen leader? Of course not. The next day they accuse Moses of killing of the Lord's people. At this God's anger burns again, and only at Moses' prodding of Aaron to offer atonement for the people keeps the death toll to 14,700.

In an attempt to finally demonstrate that he has chosen Aaron to serve as high priest, God has each of the heads of the tribes to bring a staff, with his name written on it. They leave them in the tent of testimony, and the next day, Aaron's staff has not only budded, but has produced almonds. This finally seems to have some effect on the people, and the staff is returned to the tent to be sign to the rebels that they should stop grumbling... or die.

So, after regulations about the duties of the priest, and laws of purification, the whole company arrives at Zin, where Miriam dies (presumably not of leprosy). Then, guess what? More complaining. Surprised? Then you really haven't been paying attention... This time they complain about the lack of water. Moses and Aaron fall on their faces with this request, and God tells them to speak to the rock, and there will be water enough for the people and the livestock. Moses and Aaron do as God commands.... almost. But instead of speaking to the rock, Moses strikes it twice. Although water came from it, God bars Moses and Aaron from the promised land because they didn't believe him and hold him up in front of the assembly.

Hoping to pass through Edom, Moses sends a request to the King of Edom, but they are turned away, and must go around.The continued up from Kadesh and up to Mt. Hor. Exactly as he had promised, God did not let Aaron go into the promised land. Instead, God commands Moses to take off Aaron's priestly robes and pass on his leadership to his son, Eleazar. When this has been done, Aaron dies, and Israel mourns him for thirty days.

En route to Atharim, Canaan and Israel battle, and many Isrealites are captured. Israel is finally prodded into devoting itself to the Lord, promising to destroy the cities completely if the Lord will deliver them into their hands, and God gives them victory. This devotion lasts almost no time at all, and the people are at it again, impatient with God for dragging them into the wilderness. This time God sends serpents, which bite and kill the Israelites. Moses intercedes, and God tells him to make a bronze serpent and lift it on a pole, and everyone who looks on it will not die.

Resuming their travels, the Israelites come to the Amorites, and when they are denied safe passage through the land, the Isrealites do battle, and defeat the Amorites and destroy their cities. After moving into the land, the Israelites also defeat Bashan as well.

Enter one of the strangest stories in this week's reading: A king, Balak, summons the magician Balaam to help him defeat the Isrealites. God appears to him, and tells him not to go with the king's emissaries, so he sends them away. When they return, however, he goes back to God, apparently hoping to get a different answer than he had before. God appears to relent, but is not pleased with Balaam when he goes with them. He sends an angel to block the way of the donkey, who sees the angel and will not proceed, despite the repeated beatings from Balaam. Finally, God opens the eyes of Balaam, who sees the angel -- and is berated by that angel for not following God's orders, and for being cruel to the donkey.

And there we leave them... What will happen to Balaam? Or to his donkey? Will the people of Isreal EVER stop complaining? Tune in next week...

Day #64

Sermon - Audio
Num 23-25 - Audio
Num 23-25 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Numbers 23 finds us at an upswing in the book of Numbers. There has been failure after failure by the people of Israel, but beginning in Numbers 22 we find that the old generation is close to dying out and the people are on the way to Canaan. There will be one more major incident of disobedience, but this also becomes a time when zeal for God is shown.

Numbers 23

The goal of Balak is to control Yahweh and control the future. The sacrifices (23.1-4) reflect Ancient Near East beliefs that one could control the deity by offering excellent (and these were the most excellent) sacrifices.

29.7-10: The first curse turns into a blessing. One cannot help but remember God's promise that whoever dishonors Abraham, God will curse (Genesis 12.1-3). Moab and Balak are treading on dangerous ground.

23.8: Since God has not cursed Israel, Balaam cannot curse Israel. One would think this would be enough to get Balak to stop, it is not.

23.9: These words declare the uniqueness of Israel,it is not like other nations because it is God's covenant nation.

23.13: Balak has just confirmed the promise of God to Abraham. Israel has become a great nation so that in this place only a small part of the nation can be seen.

23.19: A wonderful statement of the unchanging promises and trustworthiness of God.

23.21: The king is God, his royal throne is the Ark.

23.27-30: Balak is an incredibly slow learner, but he is also sure of his understanding of the gods, namely, that you can manipulate them. He has never encountered a God like Yahweh.

Numbers 24

24.1: Balaam's usual way of working was to go in search of the words of God, but he realizes that such a search is not necessary: God is determined to bless Israel.

24.2: Israel camping tribe by tribe shows their obedience to God's commands. Also, the word camping (in Hebrew) is the same word that speaks of God dwelling in their midst. One can't help but hear an echo that what Balaam sees is the people of the great King with their tents arrayed for battle.

24.3-4: Balaam declares that his words are from the Highest One, he is being given unique insight.

24.8: These are the words that Balak doesn't want to hear.

24.9: The words of Genesis 12. In these chapters these words and their theme are repeated over and over.

24.10: Striking his hands together may be to ward off the curse that had suddenly come on Balak and his people.

24.15-16: Balaam speaks of an even closer relationship with God and therefore the certainty of his oracle.

24.17: Star and scepter are signs of royalty.

24.18-19: David is the first fulfillment of this promise as he temporarily defeats these people. The prophets speak of another who would complete the promise.

24.20-25: Words against the nations.

Numbers 25 (Parental Warning--if you do this one around the supper table, make sure you read the notes before you share with your kids)

Balaam could not curse the people of Israel, but he was able to give advice on how to get them to curse themselves (this information comes later) by their behavior. The people worship Baal, the Canaanite fertility god.

25.6: This is a picture of sacred prostitution or of having sex to guarantee fruitfulness of the land. This sexual encounter may take place in front of the tent of meeting (the tent inside the "walls" of the tabernacle) showing that Yahweh is being treated like Baal. This encounter also gives us insight into the many regulations about sexual conduct. God was determined not to have his people believe that he was like the other gods of the land.

25.8: Phinehas kills them while they are in the act of intercourse.

25.9: Those who die are the ones who participated in the cult. The number 24,000 is used only here and in the book of Chronicles (1 Chronicles 23 & 27). In both of those instances we find people who are faithfully serving God and their king rather than rebelling against them.

Note: The rabbis were uncomfortable with Phinehas’s act. He set a dangerous precedent by taking the law into his own hands and slaying a man impulsively, in disregard of the law. Some argued that Moses and the other leaders would have excommunicated him were it not for the divine decree declaring that Phinehas had acted on God’s behalf (vv. 12–13). Regarding this, a recent commentator remarks: “Who can tell whether the perpetrator is not really prompted by some selfish motive, maintaining that he is doing it for the sake of God, when he has actually committed murder? That is why the sages wished to excommunicate Phinehas, had not the Holy Spirit testified that his zeal for God was genuine.”

25.13: The word in Hebrew for "jealous" ESV, "zealous" NIV is the same word that is used in Psalm 69 where we are told that "zeal for your house consumed me". This text is applied to Jesus in John 2 when he cleanses the temple. The striking difference between Jesus and Phinehas is that Phinehas kills in his pursuit of zeal, Jesus is killed. Along with this reality is also the fact that the sacrifice that stops the plague in Israel is the sacrifice of the two sinners. One commentator says, "In a situation of extreme crisis, Phinehas had acted in way that made it possible for him to make atonement of Israel. The term "to make atonement" indicates the mediatorial work of the priest that averts God's wrath, usually by some sort of offering. Here the sacrifice is the man and the woman." Again, the contrast to Christ is powerful: Christ turns back the wrath of God by his own death, not by putting another to death (cf. Ephesians 2.1-10).

25.16-18: God brings punishment on those who would derail his plan to bless the nations. It is another example of those who dishonor Israel will be cursed.

Day #63

Sermon - Audio
Num 21-22 - Audio
Num 21-22 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment


21

v1 - Israel is not the aggressor here, but it was the king of Arad.

v2-3 - "devote their cities to destruction (v. 2). Canaanite cities that resist Israel are to be totally destroyed, according to Deut. 20:16–18 (see note). Hormah was the place this policy was first implemented. Its name, “Destruction,” commemorates this (Num. 21:3)." -ESVSB-

*The cities may have been destroyed for multiple purposes:
1. To make sure that all idols and other items were completely destroyed.
2. To make sure that people knew that God got all the glory, the wars were not for their own profit.

v4-5 - The people begin to complain again. You knew it was coming, and how does God respond this time?

v6 - Fiery Serpents of course! The word "fiery" means poisonous. You think these people would realize that bad things happen each time they complain, but they don't. There was an "antidote" supplied once the people repented:

v7-9 - Bronze Serpent. "The Hebrew term translated “bronze” can also mean “copper” (see ESV footnote). The area through which the Israelites were traveling had copper mines, and archaeologists have found a 5-inch-long (13 cm) copper snake in a Midianite shrine at Timna, so it seems likely that copper is meant here. The redness of copper suggested atonement (see 19:1–10), so symbolically it was well chosen for this occasion. Jesus compares his own death on the cross to the uplifted serpent (John 3:14–15). By the time of King Hezekiah of Judah (c. 715 B.C.), this copper serpent had become an object of worship among the Israelites and had to be destroyed (2 Kings 18:4)." -ESVSB-

Thoughts:

The good - Jesus is lifted up (resurrected and exalted to glory) so whoever believes in him may have eternal life!

The bad - Did you catch the end of that? The people end up worshiping this thing...ugghhh

v14-18 - The Book of the Wars of the LORD was perhaps a collection of ancient songs like the book of Jashar (see Josh. 10:13; 2 Sam. 1:18). The ESV represents the Hebrew text as it exists today for Num. 21:14–15. Because of the difficulty in understanding these verses, some have suggested that the text may have suffered from a copyist’s error. Minor changes to the Hebrew text have been proposed, but none of the suggestions can be verified with any degree of certainty. These verses summarize Israel’s journey through the territory of the Amorites, who lived north of the Arnon on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, as is explained more fully in vv. 21–30. Verses 16–18 celebrate the finding of an abundant well. -ESVSB-

v10-35 - The people travel to Moab. They defeat Og and Sihon. God is quickly giving the people land and defeating their enemies, fulfilling promise after promise.

22

v1-4 - Balak, the king of Moab, is terrified of how Israel has grown and advanced on their way into his land. He wants no part of Israel coming his way.

v5-6 - Balak calls on Balaam who we are now just introduced to. No one really knows who this person is, but it is certain that he believed in the one true God. There were people outside of the Israel who believed in Yahweh. examples - Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18) and Jethro (Exodus 18)

v-7-21 - Now these verses can be a bit confusing, because at first glance we may wonder what exactly Balaam did wrong. When you look closer you will see that Balaam was not all that faithful. God makes it plain to Balaam that it was not his will to curse Israel. Except, Balaam would keep inquiring of God for His will. This was in the best interest of Balaam's pocketbook, honor, and so on. Finally, God gives in to Balaam and tells him to go. The ESVSB states "what more the LORD will say to me. It is hard to think that there was some part of v. 12 that Balaam did not understand. It is likely that he wanted the money and the honor that Balak offered."

2 Peter 2:15-16 - "Forsaking the right way, they have gone astray. They have followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved gain from wrongdoing, but was rebuked for his own transgression; a speechless donkey spoke with human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness."

Some of Balaam's comments may sound so "spiritual," but they are only met for his gain. He doesn't seem to obviously care what God's desire is.

Thought about the donkey - While on the journey to Moab, Balaam’s donkey was more sensitive to God’s moving than was a prophet. God will use whatever means necessary to accomplish His purpose.

The ESVSB states it, "This is a hilarious put-down of Balaam’s pretensions. The international expert on magic cannot see the angel, but his donkey can. and the angel upbraids him for his temper and cruelty." I would agree.

*Balaam's attitude now changes as he will bless Israel instead of cursing them in the next couple chapters...but that's for tomorrow.

Q. What things in our lives are we "spiritualizing" in order to justify them to others and God? This is still sin.

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.

Day #61

Sermon - Audio
Num 16-17 - Audio
Num 16-17 - Daily Reading

Daily Insights - Please Comment

Numbers 16-17

The ongoing problem of "who is in charge" and "why does Moses get to be" is again addressed in this chapter. God's proclamation that people need to take leadership seriously this time take the form of death for those who rebel. Paul tells us that what happens here is to serve as an example to us. 1 Corinthians 10.9 "We must not put Christ to the test, as some of them did and were destroyed by serpents, 10 nor grumble, as some of them did and were destroyed by the Destroyer. 11 Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come."

16.3: The people miss the point that it is not Moses and Aaron who take these positions to themselves, rather God appoints them. We understand this in our own system when we ask the question of ordained leaders, "do you believe in the call of this congregation, you have received the call of God himself?"

16.6-7: A big of humor: Korah and company are challenging Moses' leadership and then Moses tells them how to challenge him--even now Moses leads the people follow.

16.9: Moses points out that God has given Korah and company a great place to serve him, this should have been enough.

16.14: The modern scholar who merely sees these words as belonging to an earlier tradition about going up to the land of Canaan that flows with milk and honey misses the irony here. What is happening is that the text is showing how twisted the thinking of the rebels is. They have turned things completely around. Egypt was the land flowing with milk and honey, not Canaan where they will die. The words of rebellion are seldom original, and always twisted. NET Bible

16.16-24: Both God and Moses have had enough. But even here Moses diligently begs mercy on behalf of the people.

16.28: Moses offers proof of that God has called him to leadership and that those who are challenging him are rebels. The proof is not in what Moses does, but in what God does.

16.31-35: Both earthquake and fire cause the death of many people. However in this case the men opposing Moses and Aaron are consumed, along with their households, by the earth and by a divine fire (God’s kabod, “glory”). The entire community witnesses the event, which demonstrates God’s choice of Moses as leader.

16.38: The reminder is really a warning not to participate in rebellion against leaders.

16.41: These people are significantly slow learners.

16.42: Aaron and Moses are phenomenally forgiving people and willing to take up the case of those who cause them a lot of pain.

17

v1-13 = Aaron’s Blossoming Staff. This experiment is a symbolic reenactment of the Korah episode, which showed who had the right to approach God (16:5). The chief of each tribe puts his staff in front of the ark for a night to see what will happen to it. Nothing happened to the staffs, except for Aaron’s, which “produced blossoms” and “bore ripe almonds” (17:8) overnight (hence miraculously). It may well be that flowering almonds are significant. Their white blossoms symbolize purity, holiness, and God himself, which are all associated with the priesthood. –ESVSB-

Heb 9:4 references this staff.

V2 – “father’s house, is actually the “whole tribe” here.

V5 – This a definitive word from God going out to stop the grumbling immediately.

V10 – “rebels” is actually “house of rebellion” or “sons of rebellion.”

V10 – The staff is to remain in the tabernacle as a sign to these “sons of rebellion”

V10 - The author provides here a triple reinforcement of the essential message of Num 16—that the sons of Aaron alone are the true priests of God. There is no explicit reference to the Levites, but the point is made emphatically that with regard to the priesthood all except the sons of Aaron are aliens. – WBC-

V13 – Numbers 1:51 gives the instructions of how the tabernacle will be put up and down.

V8-13 – There are some ideas on the representation of Christ in Aaron’s staff. This is all Perspective: While all the other rods remained as they were. Aaron’s rod became a living branch. In some places there were buds, in others blossoms, in others fruit, at the same time; all this was miraculous. Thus Aaron was manifested to be under the special blessing of Heaven. Fruitfulness is the best evidence of a Divine call; and the plants of God’s setting, and the boughs cut off them, will flourish. This rod was preserved, to take away the murmurings of the people, that they might not die. The design of God, in all his providences, and in the memorials of them, is to take away sin. Christ was manifested to take away sin. Christ is expressly called a rod out of the stem of Jesse: little prospect was there, according to human views, that he should ever flourish. But the dry rod revived and blossomed to the confusion of his adversaries. The people cry, Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish! This was the language of a repining people, quarrelling with the judgments of God, which by their own pride and obstinacy they brought upon themselves. It is very wicked to fret against God when we are in affliction, and in our distress thus to trespass yet more. If we die, if we perish, it is of ourselves, and the blame will be upon our own heads. When God judges, he will overcome, and will oblige the most obstinate gainsayers to confess their folly. And how great are our mercies, that we have a clearer and a better dispensation, established upon better promises! –Henry-

In Numbers 16 & 17 we see a complete neglect of the order and laws that God has setup for the people of Israel. This neglect brings consequences. It’s interesting to see that God still shows mercy on His people by showing them a sign of the priesthood He has chosen. God has made this clear in the past, but He allows it to be reinforced again.