Map Time

I want you to grasp this map.  This is where we are! The Israelites were in Egypt (Goshen) and went south, through the parting of the Red Sea and down to Mt. Sinai.  Then took an 11 day journey and reached the entrance of the Promise Land (find Kadesh Barnea).  Sent the 12 Spies in and failed to trust the Lord that they could take the Land. Soooo you will see they wandered…for 40 years and now look on the right side of the map they go through Edom,  have a few battles, the Moab (yes yes…the King wanted Balaam to curse them and the whole talking Donkey Day.. the Phinehas stabbing the couple having … ..and now they sit on the River bank across from Jericho where Moses is going to take 7 days reciting to this completely NEW Generation what there parents were told and how they failed SO THAT they don’t make the same mistake twice.

A Great Map to look at is also in the Handouts Section labeled The Exodus.

Numbers 35-36

• Towns for the Levites
• Cities of Refuge
• Inheritance of Zelophehad’s daughters

Click here for reading

The Levites were given 48 towns but 6 of them were called Cities of Refuge. (just the thought that Jesus is our Priest and he gives a city of refuge to flee to makes me goosebumpy)  I think the chapter is pretty easy to understand but what I loved about it was,  we were not to JUDGE the act, the motive or the person.  They were to flee to Jesus, sorry I mean the priest, and the priest would decide who is guilty and who is not.

Inheritance:  Go back to Numbers 27.  One of the Tribes from Joseph’s line had only daughters, and until now the land was divided by a lot system to the men.  So the Lord told them that the woman could inherit land, but we read here something important:

This is what the LORD commands for Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they please as long as they marry within the tribal clan of their father. No inheritance in Israel is to pass from tribe to tribe, for every Israelite shall keep the tribal land inherited from his forefathers.

So they do inherit the land, they married their cousins.  No this is not Kentucky, (Just kidding Stephanie F. !)  The Lord was very clear that land was not to pass from tribe to tribe.

And that my friends is the end of Numbers

Numbers 33-34

Click here for reading

How long have you owned a Bible and you would never have read this chapter, right?   The Lord is having Moses record this for a reason…to see where we have been.  Sometimes we have to look back to know how to better go forward.  Let me tell you how cool it is to read now.  Get your pen out and look for places you recognize and write in the margin the significance of some of the places.  (I knew them all by memory….just kidding, I used the cross references in the margin) but seriously, some of them I actually did know and that was a great moment for me in my heart.

 Numbers 33

Vs 3: Passover, yup I remember that. Vs 3 makes sense.

Vs 5: Succoth, during the Exodus they stopped there and made the bread so quickly that they didn’t wait for it to rise. (they now celebrate the Feast of Unleavened Bread).

Vs 6: Etham….the Parting of the Red sea!

Vs 8: Marah….remember the bitter water.  God turned the Marah water sweet.

Vs 9: After the sweet water God brought them to the Springs and the Palm trees to hang out.

Vs 12: Desert (or Wilderness) of Sin.  This is when God brought the Israelites all they needed to survive in the Desert….Manna and Quail!

Vs 14: Rephidim….no water to drink.  The Lord told Moses to put his hand on the Rock and he brought forth water by Faith.

Vs 15.  Mt. Sinia…(no need to look up that one…10 commandments!)

Vs 16. Kibroth Hatttaavah…after their whining and complaining God gave them what they asked for…too much Quail!

Vs 17: Hazeroth after the quail incident they stayed here.  Here is where Miriam and Aaron complained about Moses wife (for no good reason) so God gave her leprosy for a week.

Vs 37 (self explanatory)

Vs 40: King Arad.  This was where they asked the Lord to help them in battle…and the Lord did, and they WON and then 2 minutes later was complaing! SO he gave them the plague of the snake bites…..the bronze snake story.

Vs 43: Oboth.  On their way, near the outskirts of Moab (picking up bad habits I am sure)

Vs48: Plains of Moab near Jericho…we met up with Balaam and the Donkey

Vs 49: Shittim….not a good day. Gave a new meaning to the word Shittim!!  This was the day Phinehas stabbed the couple while….you know.

Well here we are.  God now tells Moses the South, West, North and Eastern boarders of the Land they are to inherit (exciting isn’t it)  It says divide it out to the 9 and 1/2 tribes (2 1/2 tribes are Transjordan from yesterday’s readings).  And a leader is appointed to all 12 tribes. 

Note: Levites do not get land allotted to them.  The Levites are the priests and are supported by the offerings ands tithes.  The line of Joseph has 2 tribes….if you don’t remember why, ask in comments and I will answer…otherwise I will assume you know.

(Here are the boundaries of the intended Promise Land, verse curresnt Israel today)

Sorry

This morning I as doing too much at one time and posted tomorrows blog for today.

Numbers 31-32

Chapter 31:Vengeance on the Midianites.  Midianites may sound familiar from the past few months.  Moses father-in-law, Jethro was a Midianite, so obviously Moses’s wife was too.  But these people,  unfortunately were nomads that were responsible to leading the Israelites astray in chapter 25. (The Phinehas/stabbing/sex/ chapter)  Balaam (our Donkey rider) we find out in 21:15 was the influence behind the Moab women coming into the tribe.  SO the Lord has the Israelites take vengeance, take all their belongings, split it up and then they realize in 21:49

 “Your servants have counted the soldiers under our command, and not one is missing.  So we have brought as an offering to the LORD the gold articles each of us acquired

There have been a great many moments so far in the bible where God has done some great things and the people immediately worship him.  The ones I can think of is the alter Noah made after the Ark was opened or the Song of Praise they sang as soon as they crossed the Red Sea.  Today 12,000 men went to battle and not a single causally in God’s army.  SO they came with an offering. 

Transjordan Tribes.  I enjoyed this chapter.  I found humor in Moses “quick to assume” personality.  Do you blame him after the Spies incident.  Good Golly, he was probably saying “not again!”.  But it was not the case.  The Israelites did trust in Lord in the taking of the land, so the land on the East side (the right)was granted to them.  Below is a map, the Jordan River is in the Middle and 32:33 says

Then Moses gave to the Gadites, the Reubenites and the half-tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and the territory around them.

Now these maps are starting to make sense (for the fist time in my life)

Numbers 28-30

• Instructions for Offerings
• Vows

Click here for Reading

OK, before you roll your eyes and say…”we are reading this again”, consider the circumstances.  The Lord is going to have Joshua be their Shepherd.  These are all the new generation people.  They were not at the base of Mt. Sinai to learn about this the first time, and from the way they are acting I am assuming their parents didn’t do a good job telling them how to be holy or live a holy life.  So I encourage you to read it and try to “get it”  There were 5 types of offerings (Burnt, Grain, Fellowship, Sin, and Guilt)  3 were voluntary 2 were mandatory.  Each one had a reason.  SO as you read it try to pick out why we make these sacrifices.

The 2 paragraphs that interested me were Daily Offering.  “See that you present to me at the appointed time the food for my offering by fire”. I could not help but to think of praying at the dinner table as my daily offering.  A voluntary worship.

The Other was the Day of Atonement.  This time when I read it I saw that it was a Sin Offering.  A Mandatory offering.  The ONLY way to have sins covered “atoned” is from a Sin Offering.  Why did God allow Jesus to be sacrificed for our sin…because he had to be.  It was not a choice.  In order for us to be set free from sin, a Sin Offering had to be made.  That was our day of Atonement.

Vows: When we make a VOW it is binding.  So if say to anyone OR to the LORD….”I am going to….” then do it.  The part I like about this was actually 2 things:

1.  Parents can override their childrens’ decisions.  The Lord is saying Parents…BE parents!  We are the decision makers….not them.

2.  When a daughter gets married it is now the responsibility of “them”.  It is NOT, well…that is your obligation….not mine”  All the way back in Genesis,  God said something like you LEAVE your parents and a marriage now becomes the UNION.

Numbers 26-27

• The second census
• Zelophehad’s daughters
• Joshua to Succeed Moses

Click here for the reading

A second census of the New Generation.  The only 2 original men are Joshua and Caleb.  Why? Because they were the only ones that trusted God  when it was time to enter the promise land.  The reason for the census is stated in verse 53

 The LORD said to Moses, “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names.  To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those listed. Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

Tribe	First Census	Second Census
Reuben	46,500	43, 730
Simeon	59, 300	22,200
Gad	45,650	40,500
Judah	74,600	76,500
Issachar	54,400	64,300
Zebulun	57,400	60,500
Ephraim	40,500	32,500
Manassah	32,200	52,700
Benjamin	35,400	45,600
Dan	62,700	64,400
Asher	41,500	53,400
Naphtali	53,400	45,400
Total	603,550	601, 730

 If you read (instead of skimmed, well??) you may have noted that the descendant of Gilead (26:33):  Zelophehad only had daughters.  Well if the reason for the census was for land distribution in the promise land this is a problem since it was being divided according to the number of men.  Zelophehad’s daughters were 7th (If I counted correct) generation to the JOSEPH.  The Lord would want this family to have land.  SO in Chapter 27 the Lord grants them land AS LONG as the land Will REMAIN in the family.

What I think is cool: is that as I read it I “get it” (well most of it ha snort ha) Like in verse 62 it says the male Levites were not counted because they received no inheritance”… Last year I would have been like why? Now I understand that the priests are supported by the tithes of the camp.    In verse 58, the Levite clan….Amran, Jochebedm Miriam,…Nadab and Abihu who had died….I know what they are talking about!  That is so cool.

Joshua to Succeed Moses:  Let me just highlight the character of Moses for a minute.  After all he has been through shepherding these people through the desert, they have threatened to stone him to death, their lack of faith caused him not to get into the promise land, their complaining weakened his faith when it came time for the Lord to give them water (the final test that he failed) and NOW the Lord says….”Your not going to touch the promise land.  You can go up and look at it, but you cannot touch it”  SO here we are with the Lord saying…it is soon time for you to go up the mountain as Aaron did (to die).  Let me ask you….how would you react?? Like Moses?

Moses said to the LORD, “May the LORD, the God of the spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community  to go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them in, so the LORD’s people will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

All I can say is  back in Leviticus God gave us Laws.  Leviticus 19: 18 says

” ‘Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself. I am the LORD.

Numbers 23-25

• Balaam’s first Oracle
• Balaam’s second Oracle
• Balaam’s third Oracle
• Balaam’s final Oracle
• Moab Seduces Israel

Click here for reading

So what man intended for evil God used for good.  An oracle is a divine communication or revelation.  So God used Balaam’s mouth to speak.  First, three times Balaam  blesses Israel with increasing anger to Balak (Moab King). 

Their King will be greater than Agag (that was the title for the King of the Amalekites). Look at 1Sam 15:8,  which was also prophesied back in Exodus 17:14-16)

 “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed”. 

But the fourth oracle was the big one, :

 ¹⁷ “I see him, but not now;
       I behold him, but not near.
       A star will come out of Jacob;
       a scepter will rise out of Israel.
       He will crush the foreheads of Moab,
       the skulls  of all the sons of Sheth.

This a prophecy of the Messiah Jesus.

Chapter 25. A little background here, this is the whole next generation of  Israelites that are living now and they are neighboring nations  that are not holy people.  So once again who we hang with or near is a huge influence on us. We will later read in chapter 31 that bringing Moab woman into camp was advice from Balaam the sorcerer above, and he will be put to death for it,  but it does not help the people here.  Recap: The Israelite men were invited to the camp to have sex with Moabite woman to HONOR the moab god.  Baal of Peor was a god that should not have been worshiped.  God showed his power over all the false gods in Egypt with the plagues.  Baal of Peor was the fertility false god of the Canaanites, so even the sex they were having was a worship to a false god. Recap: So Phinehas stabs them both at the same time.  Click here and then on “24,000 killed” if you want to see this whole scene acted out my professionals.

Often I pray for the Lord to anger me for what angers him.  I want things of the “world”  to break my heart if they break His, sadden me if it saddens Him.  If you pray that, it will change your whole heart.  Phinehas was a priest with a zeal for the Lord.  The Lord’s judgement was swiftly put on all the people in the form of a plague.  In order to honor God,  as a priest  Phinehas made a sacrifice,   an “atonement for their sin”.  Oh he did alright.  He shed blood to save the others.  Just like at the Golden Calf, the priests needed to shed the blood of their brothers in order to cleanse the camp.  Blood is the only atonement.  And when he did the plague stopped immediately.

The priest is the ONLY one who can make atonement.  He is the only one who can shed the blood.  Jesus is our High Priest now.

Numbers 21-22

•  Bronze Snake
• Sihon and Og
• Balaam and the talking Donkey

Click here for chapters

Chapter 21: The Israelites relied on the Lord, and the Lord was faithful.  How do they repay the Lord? They complained! (By the way if you learn nothing else from these past chapters get this…the Lord loathes grumbling and complaining ….adjust the mirror! Seriously, look at how grumbling about lack of stuff affects the Lord)

(remember that plane that crashed in the Hudson River, and everyone survived? Uhhhh someone on the plane is suing the airlines…just a thought that popped into my head after reading 21)

Anyway, the bronze snake was just a bronze snake.  It had NO POWER.  The healing of the people was their Faith. This is also a foreshadow that would later be used in one of the most popular conversation in the Bible.  John 3.   Jesus was talking to a VERY educated Pharisee on the ruling council named Nicodemous,  who would obviously know the story of the the bronze snake from his scriptures . I urge you to read it.

(John 3:14,15) No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.

We have all been bitten by the deadly snake called sin.  We must look up to Jesus who was raised up on the Cross to save us.  It is Faith.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” is the very next verse in John.

So they did,and Faith was renewed and we are given a second chance, a tougher route but nevertheless, a route.  And with the Lord leading them, they obeyed and did not attack as instructed, yet they were attacked and while defending themselves the Lord allowed them to conquer the Ammorites and then the Lord said in 21:34 “Do not be afraid….” and the Lord had them conquer Bashan from their King Og  too.  So the land on the East of the Jordan now belonged to the Israelites.

Chapter 22  1.  Let’s just state the obvious…that is hysterical!  An ass talking to an ass.  Ok, let’s see who we are dealing with here.  Moab.  Sounds familiar doesn’t it…go back to Genesis 19:37  Lot’s descendants.  Ahhhh now that makes sense now. So the King of Moab, Balak,  hires a sorcerer named Balaam to curse the Israelites….well you know the story.  But I got really stuck on the WHY (as usual) God was mad.  I think first and foremost that we forget that even if our actions say one thing, we have to always remember God knows our motives and our hearts.  He knows when we are “headed down the wrong path” as stated in verse 32.  When we are on the wrong path on the inside, often we won’t see God redirecting us…even if it is so obvious, even a donkey could see.

Numbers 18-20

• Duties of Priests and Levites
• The water of Cleansing
• The New Generation

Click here for reading

Water from the Rock.   Was Moses treated unfairly? No.  Let me state my case: Flip back to Exodus 17 (click on it) .  God told to put their hand on the rock and water would come out.  God was testing their faith and they passed.  So they called the place Massah (testing). 

So here we are 37 years later.  A whole new generation of people, all except Moses, Aaron and Miraim…the three  people SHOULD trust in the Lord.  Out of ALL these people they were the ones that saw it happen the first time (exodus 17), they were the only 3 that saw the plagues, the parting of the  Red Sea, the provision,  and Mt. Sinai….but what happened?  What happen was Moses was human, and like us all,  after a while we lose faith.  Moses was told to speak to the rock and water would come out.  So what is the big deal that he struck it with his staff??

The big deal is that Limestone holds water.  To strike as Moses said “Must WE bring you water out of this rock”was not only an acknowledgement of  WE but hitting the rock was not a true faith that the Lord would do as he said God said SPEAK to it.  That would be like building a boat at the parting of the Red Sea just in case God couldn’t do it…they could do it themselves.  This is a HUGE moment in the Bible.  All the Lord has provided and done…and Moses not only took credit for the water but hits is to make sure (not once but….twice!!).  The reality is you either believe and trust or you don’t. 

Well that is really the end of the blog for today.  It is just such a personal read, you really need to just sit still for a minute on this one.    But here are all the other things that caught my eye (or my heart)

20:2 they gathered in opposition (turn on the news these days)  What would have happened if instead they had gathered in prayer.  Hmmmm.

20:5 it has no grains or figs, grapevines or pomegranates.  And there is no water…. oh how we complain about today…we won’t be able to go to Disney and get manicures, and play golf,  get my hair done as often, have my cleaning lady….oh yeah and buy groceries.

20:20 You may not pass through….and Israel turned away from them.  Lack of faith…it was there land to take!  When the Lord says GO…We should GO! or we will miss the Promises he made for us!

So in these chapters almost 40 years is over.  And it says in verse 16 they are on the edge of the territory, they are in Kadesh.  (I personally feel like I am in Kadesh).  Both Aaron and Miraim have died and before the year is over Moses too will pass away.