Laws of Sacrifice and Offerings and the Law of the Fringe as a Reminder

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 15:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving to you,'"

In chapter 14 of Numbers, the Israelites had been sentenced to wander in the wilderness for forty years and to die there (except Caleb and Joshua) never seeing their promised land.  However, in 14:31, the Lord said He would bring their children into the land, and here He confirmed His promise that they would indeed reach their promised land.  It could be that some years had passed since their sentence was given, as what follows are instructions that would seem to be given to adults rather than children.  However, it is just as likely that the Lord would reiterate His promise and instructions for their conduct to all the Israelites, demonstrating that He was reconciled to them all (even though the elder generation would not see the promised land), and that He would bring to fruition His promise that their children would indeed inherit the promised land.

(3) "'And will make an offering by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering, or a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or in a freewill offering, or in your solemn feasts, to make a sweet savor to the LORD, from the herd or the flock, (4) Then he who offers his offering to the LORD shall bring a grain offering of a tenth deal of flour mixed with one-fourth of a hin of oil.'"

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, giving instructions that he was to pass on to the Israelites when they came into the land of Canaan.  When they offered to the Lord burnt offerings from the cattle or sheep, in the various ways they might offer an offering by fire to please the Lord and be accepted by Him, they were also to bring a tenth part of an ephah of flour, an omer, mixed with a fourth hin of oil.  I've read that the Hebrews didn't maintain a standardized measuring system throughout history, therefore the estimates of how much this actually was vary, and I get a different answer every time I look it up.  One point of view is that it was about as much as a man could eat in one day, perhaps about a quart of flour with about a cup of oil.  However, to illustrate the huge disparity among Biblical scholars, Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, suggested it was about three quarts of flour mixed with about four and a half pints of oil.  The range is so varied, all we can determine from these instructions is the fact they were specific and understood by the people at that time.

(5) "'And a fourth of an hin of wine for a drink offering you shall prepare with the burnt offering or the sacrifice, for each lamb.'"

With the burnt offering of each lamb, they were to offer a fourth of a hin of wine.  A liquid hin of wine seems to be different from a hin of oil, and in this case, I believe the amount of wine to be about three pints.  Dr. Gill would say it was the same as a fourth of a hin of oil, about four and a half pints. 

(6) "‘Or for a ram you shall prepare as a grain offering two tenth deals of flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. (7) And for a drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine as a sweet savor to the LORD.'"

For a burnt ram offering, the people were to prepare a grain offering with two omers of flour mixed with a third of a hin of wine.  Based on the first conversion used for verse 4 above, this would be about two quarts of flour and about a cup and a third of oil.  They were also to offer a third of a hin of wine which would have been about two quarts of wine.  These they would offer as pleasing and acceptable to the Lord.  Dr. Gill wrote it was "the quantity of six quarts of fine flour, and about three pints and a quarter of a pint of oil."  Once again, with the conversions so varied, the only certain message is that as the quality of the sacrificial animal had increased, so was the amount of accompanying offerings to be increased.

(8) "‘And when you prepare a young bull for a burnt offering, or for a sacrifice to fulfill a vow, or for a peace offering to the LORD, (9) Then shall be offered with the young bull a grain offering of three tenth deals of flour mixed with half a hin of oil. (10) And you shall bring for a drink offering half a hin of wine for an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD.'"

If the people brought a young bull for a burnt offering, they were also to bring a grain offering of three omers of flour mixed with half a hin of oil and half a hin of wine to be pleasing and acceptable to the Lord.  Once again, we see a proportional increase of the accompanying offerings relative to the quality of animal sacrifice.

(11) "‘Thus it shall be done for each bullock, for each ram, or for each lamb or kid. (12) According to the number that you prepare, so you shall do with every one according to their number.'"

It was to be done as dictated above for each young bull, each ram, and each lamb or kid goat.  If two animal sacrifices were offered, then the accompanying offerings were to be doubled, with one set as described above per animal sacrifice.

(13) "‘All who are born of the country shall do these things in this manner, in offering an offering made by fire, of a sweet savor to the LORD.'"

All people born of the Israelites were to do as instructed above when offering burnt offerings to be pleasant and acceptable to the Lord.

(14) "‘And if a stranger sojourns with you, or whoever is among you throughout your generations, and would offer an offering made by fire of a sweet savor to the LORD, just as you do, so shall he do.'"

Any non-Jew alien among them throughout their generations who desired to offer a burnt offering to the Lord was also required to do it just as the Israelites were to do.  I believe there are two important messages in this.  First, God invited all people to come and join His people in worship of the one true God.  Secondly, however, if they did, they must conform to the rules the Lord set forth.  I can't help but think of our present-day immigration battle.  Liberals love to throw God's word back at whom they consider to be hypocritical conservatives, that God welcomed all foreigners.  Even now the gift of everlasting life through the blood of Jesus Christ is offered to all people.  However, they seem to conveniently forget the second part, that the foreigners must conform to the rules and requirements of the people they are joining, that is to assimilate.  In our country, we have the freedom of religion, so immigrants are not required to worship as we do, but they should be required to obey the laws and come here legally and seek to assimilate and become Americans.  If only we followed the wisdom of God!

(15) "'One ordinance shall be both for you of the congregation, and also for the stranger who sojourns with you, an ordinance forever throughout your generations; as you are, so shall the stranger be before the LORD. (16) One law and one custom shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.'"

One ordinance or set of rules were to be for both the Israelites and the foreigners who dwelt among them throughout their generations.  While at first glance, this looks like a repetition of what the Lord had already said, it actually is a statement that the stranger was to be treated just as the Israelite, and accepted by the Lord, if he conformed to the laws the Lord set forth for them.

(17) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (18) “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you come into the land to which I bring you, (19) Then it shall be that when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall offer up a heave offering to the LORD.'"

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, telling him what to say to the children of Israel.  He was to tell them that when they came into the land to which the Lord was bringing them, the land of Canaan, when they were to eat of the bread of the land, they were first to offer up a heave offering to the Lord, as described in the following verse.

(20) "‘You shall offer up a cake of the first of your dough for an heave offering; as a heave offering of the threshing floor, so shall you heave it.'"

From the first dough of the first grain they harvested, they were to make a cake for a heave offering.  It was to be a heave offering of the corn or grain on the threshing floor when they had gathered in their harvest.  Similar to what had been instructed in Leviticus 23 when they were to bring the first fruits of their harvest to the priest and he waved them before the Lord, so the people were to heave up a cake from the first dough of their harvest.  A wave offering was one that was waved back and forth; a heave offering was one heaved up and then down and up again, etc.  The idea in both cases is that the first belongs to the Lord.  Actually, it all belongs to the Lord, and it is only by His grace, that we have anything, so by offering up the first to Him, the people demonstrated their acknowledgment of God's blessings and their thankfulness for them.

(21) "'Of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD a heave offering throughout your generations.'"

Not only when they first came into the land of Canaan (v. 18), but continually throughout their generations, they were to offer up their first dough.

(22) "'And if you have erred, and not observed all these commandments which the LORD has spoken to Moses, (23) All that the LORD has commanded you by the hand of Moses, from the day the LORD commanded Moses, and henceforward among your generations; (24) Then it shall be, if it is committed by ignorance without the knowledge of the congregation, that all the congregation shall offer one young bullock for a burnt offering, for a sweet savor to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the ordinance, and one kid of the goats as a sin offering.'"

If the people erred unintentionally through oversight or ignorance, and strayed from what the Lord had commanded through Moses they do, at any time throughout their generations, then the entire congregation, upon the realization it had been omitted, was to offer a young bullock for a burnt offering to be acceptable to the Lord.  They were to bring the required grain and drink offerings along with it (v. 8-10), with the addition of one kid goat as a sin offering.

(25) "'And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it is ignorance; and they shall bring their offering, a sacrifice made by fire to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD, for their ignorance.'"

With the offering of the burnt offering and sin offering described above, the priest would make atonement for all the congregation, and their unintentional sin would be forgiven them.  What a perfect illustration of the coming Christ who would atone for the sins of the people with His blood sacrifice, and their sins would be forgiven them.

(26) "'And it shall be forgiven all the congregation of the children of Israel, and the stranger who sojourns among them; seeing all the people were in ignorance.'"

All the people would be forgiven, the children of Israel and the foreigners who dwelt among them, because of the atoning sacrifice offered, since all the people had acted unintentionally.  Again, what a beautiful picture of Jesus Christ this is!  His gift of salvation through His blood sacrifice is offered to all!

(27) "'And if any soul sin through ignorance, then he shall bring a female goat in its first year as a sin offering.'"

If any individual soul, or person, sinned unintentionally through ignorance or a misunderstanding of the commandment above, then he was to bring a yearling female goat as a sin offering. 

(28) "'And the priest shall make an atonement for the soul who sins ignorantly, when he sins by ignorance before the LORD, to make an atonement for him; and it shall be forgiven him.'"

The priest would then make atonement for the person who had sinned ignorantly.  It should be noted that the original word translated as "ignorance" in the above verses was "shegagah" which means "mistake" or "inadvertent transgression", or "unintentionally", as most translations define it.  However, the word translated as "ignorantly", "shagag", Strong's defines as "stray", "deceived, err, go astray, sin ignorantly".  Perhaps the meaning is essentially the same; obviously to err is to make a mistake, and one would sin unintentionally if he had been deceived or taught by someone who had strayed from the original commandment, but I couldn't help but wonder if one who went astray from what he knew to be correct was included in this group.  Maybe that is not the case, but if it was, I think the sense is that this person is one who did not willfully sin.  I may be letting my New Testament grace view take over here, when in actuality, these people had to adhere to the law.  That's the reason Jesus had to die, to pay for our sins because it was impossible to adhere 100% to the laws.  Therefore I have to believe that going astray in this case must mean by ignorance or deception only, and not what we call backsliding when the person himself knew what to do.

(29) "‘You shall have one law for him who sins unintentionally, both for him who is born among the children of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.'"

This one law that pertained to the individual person who sinned unintentionally, applied to both the Israelite and the foreigner who dwelt with the Israelites alike.

(30) "'But the soul who does anything presumptuously, whether he is born in the land, or a stranger, the same reproaches the LORD, and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.'"

The word translated as "presumptuously" was actually two words, "yad" meaning "hand" and "room" meaning "high".  The person who sinned with a high hand, through pride, exalting himself in a bold and haughty manner, with no regard or fear for his Lord; that person reproached the Lord, that is, blasphemed Him.  The original word "gadaph" was defined by Strong's as "to hack (with words), that is, revile: - blaspheme, reproach."  Brown-Driver-Briggs defined it as "to revile men, blaspheme God."  The person who so blasphemed the Lord, whether he was an Israelite or a stranger who dwelt among the Israelites, was to be cut off from his people, either by the civil magistrate or by the immediate hand of God.  There was no sacrifice that could atone for this willful sin.

(31) "‘Because he has despised the word of the LORD, and has broken His commandment, that soul shall utterly be cut off; his iniquity shall be upon him.'"

Because the person who sinned presumptuously despised the word of the Lord and willfully broke His commandment, he was to be completely cut off and his iniquity forever upon him, with no atonement to remove it.

(32) And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day.

While the Israelites were in the wilderness, there was a time when they found a man who gathered sticks on the Sabbath day.  I don't think it necessarily happened immediately after God gave these commandments to Moses at this time, but may have been cited here as an illustration.

(33) And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron, and to all the congregation.

Those who had found that man who was gathering sticks on the Sabbath brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation.

(34) And they put him in ward, because it was not declared what should be done to him.

They put the man in a type of prison or at least under guard until it was decided what should be done to him.  It had already been established in Exodus 31:14 and Exodus 35:2 that whoever did work and defiled the Sabbath would be put to death, but this may have been the first such case and they did not know in what manner he should die.  Dr. John Gill wrote that some believed that it may have been a "matter of doubt whether gathering of sticks was a breach of the sabbath, or at least such a breach of it as required death."

(35) And the LORD said to Moses, "The man shall be surely put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp."

Moses had obviously consulted the Lord about what was to be done with this man, and the Lord made it clear that this was indeed an offense that demanded death.  The congregation was to stone him with stones outside the camp.  I am sure others feel as I did when first reading this that it seems so harsh, and it made me shudder to think I would have to throw stones at a person and kill him!  I can also hear the chants about the Lord commanding us not to kill.  First of all, it has been established in this study that the word "kill" in the commandment actually meant "murder".  A lawful execution is not murder.  I believe the people had to take part to show that they wanted no part of someone who defiled and blasphemed their Lord.  Most importantly, people had to learn that they were sinful and never good enough to approach the pure and holy God of the universe.  All such incidences in the Old Testament proved that man was worthy of death and needed a savior, specifically their Savior Jesus Christ.  Without such lessons, they may never have known their need.

(36) And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him with stones, and he died, as the LORD commanded Moses.

The congregation did just as the Lord had commanded Moses they do, and they took him outside the camp and stoned him to death.  Once again, this incident may have been inserted here to illustrate what was to be done with a person who sinned presumptuously and despised the word of the Lord.

(37) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (38) “Speak to the children of Israel and tell them to make fringes on the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a blue cord on the fringe of the borders."

I have read that the outer Jewish garment was ordinarily a rectangular piece of cloth.  The Lord told Moses to tell the people to make fringes, or what actually turned out to be tassels, on the borders of their garments.  The original word "kanaph" that was translated as "borders" more precisely meant the extreme quarters, or corners.  They were to put tassels in the corners of their outer garments with a blue twined thread in each tassel.

(39) "And it shall be to you a fringe that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them, and that you not seek after your own heart and your own eyes, after which you use to play the harlot."

The tassel with the blue cord, blue perhaps considered a heavenly color, was to be looked upon to remind them of the commandments of the Lord that they should do them and not go after the desires of their sinful hearts or the sinful pleasures seen by their eyes.  The reference to playing the harlot in this case meant committing idolatry, committing adultery in that they took what was to be the Lord's alone and gave in to worldly affections.

(40) "That you may remember and do all My commandments, and be holy to your God."

Finishing the thought started in verse 39, the tassel with the blue thread was to remind them not to follow the sinful desires of their hearts, but to recall and do all the Lord's commandments, so that they would be holy and sinless in His presence.

(41) “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God; I am the LORD your God.”

God declared He was their one and only true Lord, the One who brought them out of captivity in Egypt to be their Lord.  As their Lord God, He had the sovereign right to enact laws and demand the observance of them.

In the last chapter of Numbers, the Lord had determined to destroy the children of Israel because of their rebellion, but upon Moses's intercession, He did not utterly destroy them, and in His mercy, it appears He took this opportunity to reiterate some of the laws regarding offerings.

A Prayer of Moses

I am following a chronological Bible study, the order of which was suggested by Skip Andrews.  It is supposed that this psalm refers to the sentence passed on the Israelites that they would remain in the wilderness forty years and die there, never entering their promised land, as studied in the last post on Numbers 14.

(Psalm 90:1) [A Prayer of Moses the man of God.]
Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

This psalm is identified as a prayer of Moses.  He began by recognizing that the Lord had been the people's resting place throughout their generations.  Even when they had no real dwelling place of their own, their Lord was their resting place, refuge, and defense.

(2) Before the mountains were brought forth,
Or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
Even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.

Before the earth was ever formed, before the mountains and the dust of the earth were formed, before the inhabited world as they knew it, from eternity before time began to eternity that will continue after time has ended, always and forever, with no beginning and no end, Moses declared God to be the one true God.

(3) You turn man to destruction,
And say, “Return, you children of men.”

There are several ways to look at this verse.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, described it as God turning man to destruction or death, and returning him to dust.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, said it appeared to be "a clear and strong promise of the resurrection of the human body" after death.  My first thought and the view of still other commentaries is that God turns men to destruction to turn them back to Him.  I have come to learn that is the ultimate motive of God, to bring His children back to Him, back to their only source of life and salvation.  How many times does a terrible tragedy bring people to God?  How many times have people had to hit rock bottom and get to the end of themselves before they turn to God?  Does God cause that tragedy?  Or does He just use it?  That is a debate among Christians.  I have people in my own family who believe God never does anything bad, so He would never cause a tragedy.  But if that tragedy brought people to their only hope of salvation, was it bad?  Didn't even Jesus say if your eye or arm or foot offends you, cut if off, for it is better to enter heaven maimed than to be whole in hell? (Matthew 5:29-30 and 18:8-9; Mark 9:47)  If He tells us to cut off our arms to save ourselves, would He not lovingly cut them off for us to save us?  I believe scripture is pretty clear that God will use any means necessary to turn us back to Him.  How awesome and truly loving is that?!

The original word that was translated as "destruction" was "dakka", and it literally meant "crushed" like powder, figuratively "contrite".  In fact, in the two other places in scripture where the word was used, it was defined as "contrite".  I believe the true meaning is that God brings man low, in whatever form it takes, whether maimed or depressed or without anything, to bring him back to Him.  Maybe it is the death of one or several people that will bring others to Him.  Does God sacrifice some to save others?  There was a time in my life when I believed this wasn't fair, especially considering the early death of my father.  But God is always fair and just and loving, so we don't have to worry about that.  Because God knows everything that has been, is now, and will be, He knows whether or not a person would have accepted Him or His son Jesus Christ.  If He takes out evil people to save others, that is good.  If He takes out His own people who do accept His gift of salvation, then you can be sure those people have eternal life with Him, so that is definitely good!  If He apparently takes out people who just haven't come to Him yet, again He knows the heart and what would have happened, so you can be sure He will be fair and just.  You don't have to figure out whether or not God is just; it's His very nature; He can't help but be!  Perhaps a person dying young is fulfilling their purpose in the kingdom of God, and will have a rich reward in heaven.  I think about the incident where Jesus and His disciples saw a man that was blind from birth.  The disciples asked Him who it was who sinned, the man himself or his parents, that he should be blind.  Jesus said that neither did, that he was blind so that the work of God could be revealed in Him at this time, when Jesus healed him.

This brings me to another revelation I've had.  I know people who believe that we are all "healed", in their minds, they believe we are all physically healed, so that no time should we ever be in poor health, if only we would accept His word that we are healed.  In the case of the blind man above, that just isn't true.  He could never be healed until the point where God's purpose was fulfilled.  That was this man's purpose for the kingdom of God!  Jesus healing him at that point was an illustration of how Jesus alone can save us from hell.  When Jesus comes into our lives, He heals us from death and destruction.  That doesn't mean we don't die physically, so why should it mean that we have to be physically healed if we trust Jesus?  In both cases, I believe it is a healing and salvation from eternal death.  That's not to say that God doesn't still presently heal people; and if that is their purpose, that through their healing, people are brought to Him, then He will do it.  However, sometimes people may be brought to Him through the death of a loved one, and that was His purpose for the one who died.  We should not mourn for those who have gone to their reward in Heaven.  We mourn our loss, but there is no need to mourn for them.  When we truly understand that this world is not where we receive our rewards, but it is in heaven, we can willingly accept and delight in God's purpose for our lives.  The sixth chapter of Matthew continually speaks about how people who do things for worldly praise, have their own reward, but those who do things for God will be rewarded by Him, and His reward is everlasting!

(4) For a thousand years in Your sight
Are as yesterday when it is past,
And as a watch in the night.

I believe the meaning is that a thousand years in God's sight are gone in the blink of an eye when compared to eternity.  As soon as it has occurred, it is gone in the past as yesterday.  A watch in the night was just a portion of the night.  As a night was divided into three watches, a single watch was only a portion of the night, an even smaller portion than a 24-hour day.  A thousand years to God are not only as a day, but as a small portion of a day.

(5) You carry them away as with a flood;
They are as a sleep;
In the morning they are like grass which grows up.

Those thousand years are swept away as in a mighty torrent, or perhaps it means that men who are turned to destruction (v. 3) are carried away in an instant in comparison to an eternity with God.  They (the years or men's lives) are as a sleep, the sense being they pass as quickly as time during a sleep.  I had difficulty with the last part of this verse.  Some commentaries suggest that the lines should have been separated as "They are as a sleep in the morning" and "They are like grass which grows up".  Either way, I still struggle with grass that grows.  This doesn't create an image for me of time passing as quickly as the blink of an eye, but then again, grass grows visibly each day, much faster than the life of a man or a thousand years.  The original word that was translated as "grows up" was "chalaph" and literally meant "slide by", by implication meaning "hasten away", "spring up", or even "change".  Indeed, grass springs up and fades away quickly, especially when compared to eternity.

(6) In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
In the evening it is cut down and withers.

It's not my experience with the grass in my yard, but perhaps in the hot desert climates, grass springs up from the dew in the morning, and withers from the heat of the day and is brought or cut down in the evening.  Certainly that is the meaning of this verse--in the short period of a day, what was so green and flourishing in the morning, is, at the close of the day, dried up. So it is with man's life in God's eternity.

(7) For we are consumed by Your anger,
And by Your wrath are we troubled.

This verse could be seen two different ways.  It could be a continuation of the idea that man's life is but a quick flicker in God's eternity.  Death originally occurred because of sin against God; therefore mankind is consumed or brought to death by God's displeasure beginning with His sentence given to Adam:

"In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return.” - Genesis 3:19

Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. - Romans 5:12

By God's wrath, man is troubled.  Since the fall of Adam in the Garden of Eden, man has been plagued with troubles.  It could also be that Moses was beginning to lament their present situation.  The people were indeed to be consumed by God's anger, and would die in the wilderness, never entering their promised land.

(8) You have set our iniquities before You,
Our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.

The causes of all trouble, consumption, and death--that is, the sins of man--are before the Lord as the evidence according to which He as a righteous Judge proceeds.  Even the secret sins of man's heart are in full view of the Lord, and in accordance with these, God righteously judges man.

(9) For all our days are passed away in Your wrath;
We end our years like a sigh.

The original KJV translated this verse as, "For all our days are passed away in thy wrath: we spend our years as a tale that is told."  The italicized words are ones the translators added for what they thought would be a clearer understanding.  Most all the other translations were similar to what I transcribed above.  When I looked at the Strong's definitions of the words in question, in each case the first meaning seems to be the most appropriate.  The word translated by KJV as "spend" was "kalah" and the first definition was "end", followed by "cease, be finished, perish"; indeed it was translated as "end" or "consumed" most often in the Bible.  One of the last definitions and one that is used almost the least often in scripture is "spend", so I feel very comfortable accepting the translation "end".  The word that was translated as "tale" by KJV and "sigh" by most of the other translations was "hegeh" and it literally meant "muttering (in sighing, thought, or as thunder)".  It was used only three times in scripture, translated as "mourning", "sound", and "tale".  However, consider the root word "hagah", which means "to murmur (in pleasure or anger); by implication to ponder: - imagine, meditate..."  That word was used much more often in scripture and was most often translated as "meditate"; although "mourn" and "speak" were also translations, many other words like "imagine", "study", "mutter", and "utter" were used.  In keeping with the theme of the lines thus far, I believe the meaning is that man's life is ended because of God's righteous anger against his sin, and that his life passes away as rapidly as a thought or a sigh.

(10) The days of our lives are seventy years;
And if by reason of strength they are eighty years,
Yet their strength is labor and sorrow;
For it is soon cut off, and we fly away.

Moses apparently stated a fact that the life of man was on average about seventy years or perhaps eighty for the stronger men.  It is a fact that by Moses's time men lived a much shorter time than in the days before the flood when men lived hundreds of years.  However, we will find later that Moses himself lived to be 120, Aaron was 123, Miriam was 130, and Joshua was 110 when they died.  It does seem that men lived an average of 120 years in Moses's time.  In Genesis 6:3, God proclaimed that the days of man would be 120 years.  Why would Moses proclaim the days of man would be 70 to 80 years?  This question caused Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, to state that this psalm could not have possibly been written by Moses, at least this Moses.  While all transcriptions attributed it to Moses, the man of God, Mr. Clarke wrote if that were true, it would have to have been another Moses.  I don't see that that must be the case.  Once again, Moses could be lamenting their present circumstance.  Those who were numbered in the wilderness of Sinai, from twenty years and upwards, were now condemned to die in the wilderness sometime in the next 38 years.  Some would necessarily die in their 50's and 60's, but an average could certainly be 70 and probably no more than 80.  At this time in Moses's life, 70-80 years could have seemed the average lifespan to him; even in our current time we would say that is the average lifespan, even though many people live past 100.

Although the days of their lives be 70 years, maybe longer by reason of strength, that strength was only through toil and sorrow, and it was soon cut off anyway, and they flew away, either intimating they disappeared as quickly as a bird flies away, or maybe referencing that they flew away to heaven.  Interestingly, the word translated as "sorrow" is "aven" and means "in vain, nothingness".  This reminds me of the lines in Ecclesiastes that declare all is vanity or nothingness.  The sense of these lines by Moses above probably is something to the effect of "The days of our lives; what are they?  Just toil and sorrow and then they are cut off!"

(11) Who knows the power of Your anger?
Even according to the fear of You, so is Your wrath.

Who can truly comprehend or measure the power of God's anger?  That anger that had been expressed in His judgments against men's sins in truly awesome and powerful ways in the past?  Consider the drowning of the whole world in Noah's time, the burning and destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the immediate striking dead of men in the wilderness, etc.  Who could possibly understand the expanse of His power under any circumstances, but Moses contemplated His power expressed in anger.  Even as God was awesome, great, and powerful beyond man's comprehension, so was His wrath.

(12) So teach us to number our days,
That we may gain a heart of wisdom.

Moses prayed that the Lord instruct them to estimate their days correctly, understanding how quickly they pass, and the uncertainty of when they might suddenly end, that they might gain a wise heart.  They should live wisely in God's favor looking forward to eternity, understanding that life on earth is short and uncertain.  They should live every day as if it were their last, so to speak.

(13) Return, O LORD!
How long?
And let it turn You concerning Your servants.

Moses pleaded with the Lord to return to His people, showing mercy and sparing them.  He wondered how long this expression of His wrath would last.  He pleaded that the Lord turn from His expression of wrath against His people, withdrawing His judgment, and showing mercy to them.

(14) Oh, satisfy us early with Your mercy,
That we may rejoice and be glad all our days!

Moses prayed that the Lord satisfy them with the answer to their prayers by showing mercy soon, literally in the morning, presumably the next morning.  He asked this that the people might rejoice and be glad all their lives, remembering God's love, grace, and mercy, at this time in their lives.

(15) Make us glad according to the days You have afflicted us,
The years we have seen evil.

The prayer seems to be that the people be glad in proportion to their affliction.  Considering all their time in captivity and their time in the wilderness, Moses was praying that their joy be so great as to make up for all their years of affliction.  In fact, as stated in Romans 8:18, "For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us", there really is no comparison between the evils of this world and the joy and gladness in Heaven.  However, I imagine Moses was praying for the people's hearts to be joyful in great measure comparable to the great misery they had endured in this present life.

(16) Let Your work appear to Your servants,
And Your glory to their children.

I believe the meaning is that Moses asked that the Lord's great work in what he prayed for at that time, God's mercy in withdrawing His judgment on His people, be done, and seen, and truly appreciated by His people.  In addition, His glory, displayed in the acts of providence and grace for which Moses prayed, would be known and celebrated by their children.  Put simply, Moses's prayer was that all the glory be given to God in answering his request.

(17) And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us,
And establish the work of our hands on us;
Yes, establish the work of our hands.

The word translated as "beauty", "noam", literally means "agreeableness".  Moses prayed that the pleasure of the Lord be upon His people, and that He would guide them in their work and endeavors.  The fact that this last part was repeated suggests an intense desire that God would enable them to carry out their plans; in this case, it was surely that they be allowed to reach their promised land.

According to Albert Barnes, if this was truly a prayer of Moses, as stated in verse 1, then it was "the only one of his compositions which we have in the Book of Psalms".  We had a song of Moses recorded in Exodus 15, and there is another song of his recorded in Deuteronomy 32.  Whereas the original word "mizmor" translated as "psalm" literally means "song" or "poem set to notes", this particular psalm was said to be a "tephillah", meaning "intercession", "supplication", "prayer".  However, this prayer was very poetic, and it seems appropriate that it be considered among the psalms.  The next post will return to Numbers 15, after this intermission of poetic prayer and supplication by Moses.

The Israelites Are Sentenced to Wandering in the Wilderness for Forty Years

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 14:1) And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.

At the end of the last chapter and post, ten of the twelve men who had spied out the land of Canaan that the Lord had already stated He was giving them and driving out its inhabitants, came back with a bad report that the land was filled with giants and fortified cities and that there was no way they could go up against those people.  At the news of this, the people cried throughout the night.  So it appears that none of the congregation believed as Caleb did in the last chapter, that all they had to do was to go in and possess the land the Lord had already given them.  They all believed the bad report rather than the word of their Lord God.

(2) And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!"

Once again, as seen before, a few sowed discord, and soon the entire congregation was complaining about Moses and Aaron, and actually saying to them that they wished they had died in Egypt or in this wilderness rather than to be brought to this moment in time.  Spoiler alert--be careful what you wish for!

(3) "And why has the LORD brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should be prey? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”

Incredibly, the people start complaining against the Lord, too.  Why had He brought them to this land only to be killed, not just them, but their wives and children to be innocent victims of beasts of prey.  After all the miraculous things they had seen the Lord do for them, they now thought it better that they return to their life in bondage in Egypt.  It's just unbelievable to me when I read this, but I know in so many ways that while God is carrying us through difficult situations, we may become frightened and doubtful, and long to go back within our comfort zones, unwilling to possess the great things the Lord is trying to give us.  It's easy to see that those degenerate Israelites acted so foolishly and in rebellion to their Lord; it's often that we cannot see ourselves accurately.  But what a wonderful lesson to remind us that we should always remember the continual blessings of our Lord, and never doubt Him by allowing our hearts to be troubled by our present situations.  The same Lord who has brought us to this present time is well able to continue to carry us through!  Why do we always try to put limits on God?  I know in my case, sometimes it's not that I doubt that He can do something, but that He will do it in a particular case.  Sometimes I feel unworthy to expect that He will do something for me.  Then I am reminded that of course, I am unworthy!  We are all unworthy! (Rom. 3:10 and 23)  But He loves us in spite of that!  He cares about every hair on our heads (Luke 12:7); He works all things to the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28); He wants to prosper and not harm us (Jer. 29:11).  God is all good, all loving, all faithful, and sees all things that are and will be, so we can completely trust Him.  Regarding the limits we put on God, I recall a perfect analogy in the book, The Case for Christ, by Lee Strobel, that I read some years ago.  Just as we cannot comprehend the mind and abilities of God, and may not recognize what God is doing in our present situation is actually good, compare that to the mind and abilities of a person with a wounded bear.  The bear will feel attacked when it is shot with a tranquilizer gun, not realizing that the man is actually doing that to save it.  Our simple human selves cannot comprehend the mind of God and what He is doing to save us, but we know that we can always trust Him.

(4) And they said one to another, "Let us make a captain, and let us return to Egypt."

Astonishingly, the people actually decided among themselves to appoint a captain, rejecting Moses, and selecting a new leader who would lead them back to Egypt.  What madness!  Not only were they going back to bondage, but suggesting they leave the care and provision of their Lord?  Who was going to feed them every day as had been the case in their journey to this point?  Or did they expect that even after they had rejected their Lord, His word, and His servant Moses, that He would bless and provide for them all the way back into their captivity?  I liken this one to our country and the motto that "God Bless America".  We ask Him to bless us even though we kill millions of innocent babies, celebrate homosexuality and immorality in all sorts of forms, etc.  What madness!  It comes down to a simple choice between life everlasting with our Lord or death with the ways of the world:

"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live." - Deuteronomy 30:19

"Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage." - Galatians 5:1

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." - Psalm 14:12

"You adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." - James 4:4

Once again, if we are an enemy of God, can we expect Him to bless us?  Can we survive without the blessing of God?  Consider these verses:

"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD..." - Psalm 33:12a

"The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God." - Psalm 9:17

"For the nation and kingdom which will not serve You shall perish, and those nations shall be utterly wasted." - Isaiah 60:12

"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people." - Proverbs 14:34

What's a person to do when his country has gone mad and is wicked?  There will be blessed people within a cursed nation:

"If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?...Upon the wicked he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and an horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup. For the righteous LORD loves righteousness; his countenance beholds the upright." - Psalm 11:3, 6-7

"But in every nation whoever fears Him and works righteousness is accepted by Him." - Acts 10:35

"And it came to pass, when God destroyed the cities of the plain, that God remembered Abraham, and sent Lot out of the midst of the overthrow, when He overthrew the cities in which Lot had dwelt." - Genesis 19:29

Now back to the 14th chapter of Numbers:

(5) Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

Obviously, Moses and Aaron recognized the madness of what the people suggested, and fell on their faces in prayer for this ungrateful lot.

(6) And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had searched the land, tore their clothes.

Joshua and Caleb who had been among the twelve spies who searched out the land, obviously recognized the blasphemous madness of the people, too.  They tore their clothes in mourning over what they heard.

(7) And they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, “The land we passed through to search, is an exceedingly good land. (8) If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey."

Joshua and Caleb pleaded with the people, assuring them that the land was indeed an exceedingly good land flowing with milk and honey.  They pointed out that if the Lord delighted in them, He would bring them into the land and give it to them, recognizing that provoking the Lord in this manner after all He had done and promised to them, was not the way to bring the promise to fruition.

(9) “Only do not rebel against the LORD, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their defense has departed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."

Joshua and Caleb continued pleading with the people, trying to reassure them that with their Lord with them, they had nothing to fear.  Having complete faith in what the Lord had told them, that He would drive out the inhabitants from before them to give them this land, they reasoned those inhabitants were merely bread to them, meaning either they could be devoured as bread, or maybe that all their substance would now be the provision (bread) for the Israelites.

(10) But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.

Incredibly, the people would not listen to the wisdom of Joshua and Caleb, and started calling for them to be stoned!  It was at this point that the Lord intervened, and His glory in a visible manifestation appeared in the tabernacle before all the people.

(11) And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people provoke Me? And how long will it be before they believe me, with all the signs which I have shown among them?"

The Lord spoke to Moses.  The word "provoke" generally means to us to incite anger, but the original word "naats" also meant "scorn, despise, blaspheme", which would understandably provoke.  With all the visible miraculous signs God had shown the people, He asked how long it would be before they would believe and trust in Him.

(12) “I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, declaring He would strike the people with pestilence and disinherit them, and make from Moses a greater nation with whom He would continue His covenant.

(13) And Moses said to the LORD: “Then the Egyptians will hear it, for by Your might You brought these people up from among them, (14) And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land; they have heard that You, LORD, are among these people; that You, LORD, are seen face to face and Your cloud stands above them, and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. (15) Now if You kill these people as one man, then the nations which have heard of Your fame will speak, saying, (16) 'Because the LORD was not able to bring this people to the land which He swore to give them, therefore He has killed them in the wilderness.’"

Moses answered the Lord, interceding for this ungrateful and undeserving people.  Perhaps it was also (maybe more so) because he did not want such actions to diminish His Lord in the eyes of the world, as suggested by his words.  He reasoned that if the Lord killed His people and disinherited them, the Egyptians, from whom the Lord had rescued His people, would hear about it.  Word would spread to Canaan.  These other people had heard that the Lord was seen among His people, visible in the pillar of cloud and fire, leading them through the wilderness to their promised land.  Moses reasoned that if the Lord killed all His people in one fell swoop, then the other nations would believe that it was because He was unable to bring them into the land He had sworn to give them.

(17) "And now, I beseech You, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, (18) ‘The LORD is longsuffering and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation.’"

Moses begged the Lord to let His power be shown to the world as great.  Moses prayed according to the word of His Lord (Exodus 34:6-7), in which he held as truth that the Lord was patient and merciful, forgiving iniquity and sin.  Also remembering His word, Moses realized this by no means meant the guilty should be let off completely scot-free.  His prayer appears to be (although he realized the Lord would visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generations) that He not utterly destroy them, thus destroying their succeeding generations.  He knew the people must be punished, but pleaded that they not be utterly destroyed.

(19) "Pardon, I beseech You, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your mercy, and as You have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”

Moses pleaded with the Lord to forgive them according to the greatness of His mercy.  I believe the suggestion here is that the greatness of the Lord's mercy was much greater than the great sin of the people.  He acknowledged that the Lord had exercised His great capacity to forgive these people on multiple occasions from the time they left Egypt until now, and he pleaded that He do it again.

(20) And the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word."

The Lord agreed to pardon the people according to Moses's prayerful request, not completely, to be sure, but in that He would not utterly destroy them.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it this way, "Here is a whole nation rescued from ruin by the effectual fervent prayer of one righteous man", a direct reference to James 5:16.

(21) “But truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD."

The Lord continued speaking with Moses, in the form of an oath, that all the earth indeed would be filled with His glory.  Perhaps this was also in answer to prayer.  Moses had shown great concern for the glory of His Lord.  In this response, the Lord assured him that in whatever manner He chose to deal with this people, the earth would indeed know that it was by His power and glory.

(22) "Because all those men who have seen My glory and My miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice, (23) Surely they shall not see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who provoked Me see it."

The Lord went on to proclaim that all those men of His people who had witnessed His miracles, but had rejected and rebelled against Him ten times, would not see the land that He had sworn to their fathers.  Some of the commentaries I study suggested that ten was the number indicating completeness, the sense being that the measure of their provocation was now full.  Others enumerate exactly ten times when the people rebelled against the Lord:  twice at the sea, twice concerning water, twice about manna, twice about quails, once by the calf, and once in the wilderness of Paran.

(24) “But My servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall possess it."

None of the people would see the land except for Caleb, who had a different spirit in him than the other men and had followed the Lord fully.  The Lord would bring Caleb into the land and his descendants would possess it.  Joshua is not mentioned here, but we will see later he is included.  Perhaps as Moses's servant, his faithfulness was taken for granted, but the Lord took this opportunity to recognize Caleb.

(25) “Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valley; tomorrow turn and move out into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.”

Whereas before the Lord had promised to drive out the inhabitants from before them to give them this land, now He proclaimed them an enemy to be feared, and told them to turn back the next day, and move into the wilderness back toward the Red Sea.

(26) And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (27) “How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who murmur against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel, which they make against Me."

The Lord still speaking to just Moses and Aaron, seemed to wearily ask how long He would have to put up with this unfaithful and ungrateful lot who complained against Him, as He had heard all their grumblings.

(28) “Say to them, ‘As I live,’ says the LORD, ‘just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you.'"

It was at this point that the Lord told Moses and Aaron to tell the people what He had decided to do with them.  They were to tell the people that just as they had murmured and wished for, He would do to them.

(29) "'Your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against me, (30) Undoubtedly, you shall not come into the land which I swore I would make you dwell in, except for Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun.'"

The Lord said to tell the people that they would indeed die in the wilderness just as they had called for in verse 2.  All those mighty men who had been before counted, from twenty years old and upward, who had murmured against the Lord, would not come into the land the Lord had promised to give them.  He made an exception for Caleb and Joshua, who had trusted their Lord.

(31) "‘But your little ones, whom you said should be a prey, them will I bring in, and they shall know the land which ye have despised.'"

However, their children, whom the people had said in verse 3 should be prey for the Canaanites, the Lord would bring into the promised land and they would get to know and enjoy the land which their fathers had rejected.

(32) "‘But as for you, your carcasses shall fall in this wilderness.'"

Once again the Lord reiterated that this present generation would die in the wilderness.

(33) "'And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcasses are wasted in the wilderness.'"

The children would have to wander in the wilderness forty years because of their fathers' several acts of infidelity and faithlessness, until the time when the fathers had all died in the wilderness.

(34) "‘According to the number of the days in which you searched the land, forty days, each day for a year, you shall bear your iniquities forty years, and you shall know My breach of promise.'"

The Israelites would be made to wander in the wilderness forty years, a year for each day that they searched out the land, content to wait forty days for the testimony of men because they would not take God's word; and therefore they are justly kept forty years waiting for the fruition of God's promise.  God would never actually breach His promise; the meaning of the original word "tenuah", translated as "breach of promise" here, means more of an alienation for a time, or a turning away for a time.  The only other place in scripture it was used was in Job 33:10 where it was translated as "occasions"; in neither case was it a permanent breach of promise.  All the biblical commentaries I study agree that this would be an additional 38 1/2 years in the wilderness added to the year and a half it had been since they left Egypt, totaling forty years in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt.  In this time a new generation would be raised up, and the children, being brought up bearing their fathers' whoredoms, the punishment of their sins, might take warning not to tread in the steps of their fathers' disobedience.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, made it a point that God made them to wander in the wilderness; they couldn't do anything else!  They would be unable to make for themselves a captain and go back to Egypt (v. 4), but would die in the wilderness as they had wished (v. 2).

(35) "'I the LORD have said, I will surely do it to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me; in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.'"

As the Lord had spoken, He vowed to surely do to all that evil congregation who had gathered against Him, faithless and ungrateful for all He had done, turning from Him, wishing to go back to the bondage in Egypt.  They would all be consumed and die in the wilderness.

(36) And the men whom Moses sent to search the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a slander on the land, (37) Even those men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the LORD.

The ten men of the twelve who had been sent out to spy on the land, the ones who came back with a slanderous report about the land and stirred up the congregation to complain against Moses, even those chosen spies died by the plague before the Lord.  The original word translated as "plague", that is "maggephah", meant "plague, pestilence", and even "slaughter".  Dr. John Gill wrote in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, that the Jews' traditional relating of the story was that the men were eaten by worms that came out of their bodies.  Whatever form it took, I'm sure it was immediate and understood by all to be by the hand of God.

(38) But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were of the men who went to search the land, remained alive.

Joshua and Caleb, two of the twelve spies, were spared and did not die in the plague, because they believed God and did not participate in the delivery of the bad report.  Some of the commentaries I study pointed out that it was very probable that the twelve spies stood together, making it very remarkable that just the ten with the bad reports fell dead before the congregation, and these two remained alive.

(39) And Moses told these words to all the children of Israel, and the people mourned greatly.

Moses told the people what the Lord had told him to tell them about how they would never see the promised land, but would wander in the wilderness forty years and die there.  The people greatly mourned, but whether it was for true repentance, or just on account of the evil that was coming to them, we don't really know.

(40) And they rose early in the morning and went up to the top of the mountain, saying, “Here we are, and we will go up to the place which the LORD has promised, for we have sinned!”

The next morning the people went up to the top of the mountain which was the way the spies had gone into the land of Canaan, saying they were now ready to go into the land the Lord had promised them.  They seemed to acknowledge they had sinned in believing the bad report, but in this action, they were ignoring the word of God that they would not go into the promised land, but would die in the wilderness.

(41) And Moses said, “Why now do you transgress the command of the LORD? For this will not succeed. (42) Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, that you be not smitten before your enemies. (43) For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and you shall fall by the sword; because you have turned away from the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.”

Moses pointed out to the people they were again transgressing the word of the Lord.  He had said they would not enter the promised land, so their attempt to go into it would not succeed.  He told them not to go up the mountain and into the land because the Lord was not with them to protect them from being killed by their enemies, the Amalekites and the Canaanites, the current inhabitants of the land.

(44) But they presumed to go up to the mountaintop. Nevertheless, neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed from the camp.

Incredibly, in an audacious and presumptuous manner, the people continued up the mountaintop, ignoring Moses's warning.  A flood of thoughts come to me when I consider how often we continue with our godless ways, ignoring what God has said about certain topics like life and marriage and sexual purity and idolatry.  Again I think of how we dare to say, "God Bless America" when we are a country killing innocent babies and celebrating homosexual marriage, a thing God called an abomination.  God cannot bless this country, yet we think we can continue in our ways without His blessing?  Indeed the actions of the Israelites at this point are perfect illustrations of our current ways.

Neither the ark of the covenant nor Moses departed from the camp.  I believe the point here is that the cloud of the Lord which rested over the ark was not taken up indicating they should move forward.  Neither the Lord nor Moses were with them, yet they moved forward anyway.

(45) Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and smote them, and beat them back as far as Hormah.

Sure enough, the Amalekites and Canaanites who dwelt in that mountain came down and killed the Israelites, and drove those they did not kill back to Hormah.  Bible scholars are not sure where this was exactly, but you can be sure it was far enough back into the wilderness to prevent the people from thinking they should try that again.  It was probably "into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea", as the Lord had told them to go in verse 25.  I like the words of Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, regarding this episode:

How vain is the counsel of man against the wisdom of God! Nature, poor, fallen human nature, is ever running into extremes. This miserable people, a short time ago, thought that though they had Omnipotence with them they could not conquer and possess the land! Now they imagine that though God himself go not with them, yet they shall be sufficient to drive out the inhabitants, and take possession of their country! Man is ever supposing he can either do all things or do nothing; he is therefore sometimes presumptuous, and at other times in despair. Who but an apostle, or one under the influence of the same Spirit, can say, I can do All Things Through Christ who strengtheneth me?

This chapter told how it came to be that the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, when they could have reached their promised land in a much shorter time.  Matthew Henry summed up this chapter this way:  "This chapter gives us an account of that fatal quarrel between God and Israel upon which, for their murmuring and unbelief, he swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest."

Twelve Spies Search the Promised Land

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 13:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Send men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give to the children of Israel; of every tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a ruler among them.”

The last post ended with the Israelites' journeying from one place to another, naming several various places they had stopped along the way.  At this point it appears they are nearing their destination, as the Lord instructed Moses to send men into the land of Canaan to explore the land He was giving to them.  The commentaries I study point out that in a future passage when Moses was recounting this time, we discovered that it was really the people themselves who wanted to check out the land before they actually took possession, and the Lord here was giving them permission rather than commanding them to do so.  The people did not trust God that it was a good land and that He would put them in possession of it.  They wanted to check it out for themselves first, and God allowed it, instructing Moses to send a leader from each tribe.

(3) And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran; all those men heads of the children of Israel.

As commanded by the Lord, Moses sent prominent men from each tribe out from them in the wilderness of Paran.  These men were not the princes of each tribe, but appear to have been considered leaders in their tribes.

(4) And these were their names: of the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

Here begins a list of the leaders chosen to go search out their new land.  First named was Shammua, the son of Zaccur, who was chosen from the tribe of Reuben.

(5) Of the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

From the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat, the son of Hori, was chosen.

(6) Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. (7) Of the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph. (8) Of the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun.

From the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, was chosen; Igal, the son of Joseph, was chosen from the tribe of Issachar; and from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea, who is Joshua, the son of Nun, was chosen.  The commentaries I study all point out there is no further significance attributed to most of these chosen leaders; only Caleb and Joshua will be mentioned again.  Actually, we have already learned that Joshua was a trusted servant of Moses.

(9) Of the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu. (10) Of the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi. (11) Of the tribe of Joseph, that is, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.

From the tribe of Benjamin was chosen Palti, the son of Raphu; from Zebulun, Gaddiel, the son of Sodi; and from the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's son, Gaddi, the son of Susi, was chosen.

(12) Of the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli. (13) Of the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael. (14) Of the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi. (15) Of the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

From the remaining tribes, Dan, Asher, Naphtali, and Gad, were chosen Ammiel, Sethur, Nahbi, and Geuel, respectively.

(16) These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

In summation, it is stated that the preceding list of twelve men were indeed the names of the men Moses sent to spy out the land the Lord was giving the people.  It is stated here that Moses called Hoshea, Joshua, which is how we had come to know him even before this time.  Hoshea meant "deliverer" or "salvation"; Joshua, or "Yehoshua", meant "Jehovah is salvation" or "Jehovah-saved".  Evidently, he had been born Hoshea, but it was Moses who had renamed him Joshua.  It could have been partly out of affection for his protege, but it certainly placed honor on him, and would be an encouragement to him in this and all his future services with the assurances of God's presence.  It could possibly be seen as prophetic of Joshua's succession to Moses in the government.  Joshua is the same original name (Yehoshua) as Jesus, of whom Joshua was symbolic.  Joshua was the savior of God's people from the powers of Canaan, as we'll soon see, and Christ is the savior of God's people from the powers of hell.

(17) And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way southward, and go up to the mountains, (18) And see what the land is like, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; (19) And whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are tents or strongholds; (20) And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood there, or not. And be of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land." Now the time was the time of the firstripe grapes.

Moses sent the twelve men to spy out the land of Canaan, directing them southward and up into the hill country of southern Canaan.  He told them what to look for:  what the land was like, rich or poor; whether the people were strong or weak, and whether their numbers were few or many; whether the people dwelt in tents or fortified cities; and whether there was timber for building, fuel, etc.  He told the men to be of good courage, and not be afraid as they spied on this unknown land; after all, they had the power and protection of God.  Moses also told them to bring back samples of the fruit of the land, for it was the time that the grapes and surely other fruits were ripening.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote that Moses's send-off, to "be of good courage", was probably not only meant to be an encouragement to them, but was a suggestion that they bring back a good report, with the samples of the fruit of the land, which would bring encouragement and excited anticipation to the people.

(21) So they went up and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, as men come to Hamath.

The spies went up the mountains in the south as directed by Moses.  The wilderness of Zin was not the same as the wilderness of Sin from Exodus 16:1.  Sin was nearer Egypt; this wilderness of Zin was on the south side of Canaan.  From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; from what I have read, Rehob was a city in the northwest part, and Hamath, a city in the northeast.  The way the verse reads, it seems they went northward to Rehob, and then went eastward along the route that men took to Hamath.

(22) And they ascended by the south, and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

As they went up from the south, they went through Hebron, where the tribes of Anak and his three sons dwelt.  A parenthetical note was made that Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.  The notation declared the antiquity of Hebron, but also might have been "to humble the pride of the Egyptians, who boasted the highest antiquity, that this note concerning the higher antiquity of Hebron was introduced by Moses" (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible).

(23) And they came to the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from there a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they carried it between two of them on a staff; and they brought some of the pomegranates, and some of the figs.

When they came to the brook of Eschol, they cut down a branch that had just one cluster of grapes, but was so large it had to be carried on a staff between two men.  Adam Clarke wrote of the historians who wrote of the extreme size of the grapes in that region--"each grape as large as a plum", "some bunches...weighed above forty-five pounds".  Mr. Clarke also wrote, "From the most authentic accounts the Egyptian grape is very small, and this being the only one with which the Israelites were acquainted, the great size of the grapes of Hebron would appear still more extraordinary."  The men also brought some samples of the pomegranates and figs.

(24) The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from there.

It appears the name Eschol was given by the Israelites, Eschol meaning "cluster".  The brook or valley of Eschol was so named because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut from there.

(25) And they returned from searching the land after forty days.

They took an entire forty days to search out the whole land and then returned.

(26) And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, to the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word to them, and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land.

When they came back, they went to Moses and Aaron, and before all the congregation; they brought back word to them, and showed them the fruit of the land they had brought back with them.

(27) And they told him, and said, “We went to the land where you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey, and this is the fruit of it."

The men reported to Moses that they had gone where he had sent them, and the land surely flowed with milk and honey, as the Lord had promised them; the fruit they had brought back was evidence of that.

(28) “Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are walled, and very great; and moreover we saw the children of Anak there."

Even though they had seen God's word confirmed that the land flowed with milk and honey, they couldn't accept that He was giving it to them, because of what they had seen in the strong people who dwelt there in fortified cities.  Additionally, they had seen the children of Anak there, who must have been a terrifying tribe of which they had heard.  Think about that for a moment.  We don't hear of them encountering the Anakim before they are mentioned here.  Yet the spies seem to believe reports they have heard from men over what their Lord God had told them, that He would give them the land.

(29) "The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south; and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan."

Imagine that!  The Canaanites dwelt in Canaan!  Of course, there were inhabitants in the land.  Did they really believe that they were going to march into an uninhabited land flowing with milk and honey just waiting for only them?  Their report of each of the tribes and where they dwelt was to demonstrate that they felt there was no place they could safely enter the land.  However, God had already told them that He would drive out these tribes from the land He was giving them (Exodus 33:2).

(30) And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, "Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it."

Caleb calmed and quieted the people, and said that they should immediately go up and possess the land, stating they were well able to overcome the tribes there; of course, they were, with their Lord leading them, and based on His word that He would drive out those tribes.  Matthew Henry pointed out Caleb's confidence and boldness in that he said they should go in immediately and possess the land.  He didn't say they should go in and conquer it; that had already been done by their Lord who said He was driving the tribes out and giving them the land; all they needed to do was to go in and take possession.

(31) But the men that went up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”

Ten other men who had gone up with Caleb (we will see that Joshua was not included in this group) disagreed with Caleb and stated they could not go against the people of the land because they were stronger than they were.  It's really amazing how weak and cowardly these men were, besides the fact that they did not believe their Lord; were they not 600,000 able men of war?  Even of themselves they could have gone in to conquer the land, but the worse part is that they didn't believe their Lord to go in and possess it, as Caleb had said they should do.

(32) And they brought an evil report of the land which they had searched to the children of Israel, saying, “The land through which we have gone to search is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature."

The land they had first reported as one flowing with milk and honey (v. 27) now was said to be a land that devoured its inhabitants, either now insinuating that the land was not fruitful enough for all its inhabitants, or perhaps their meaning was that the different tribes of people in the different corners of the land attacked each other.  They reported that all the people they saw were men of great size.

(33) "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."

Here we see what must have been the reputation of the sons of Anak, that they were giants, and the men saw themselves as tiny in comparison, and so must they have seemed to the Anakim.

This promised land, Canaan, was a symbol of the kingdom of God.  The wilderness through which the Israelites journeyed was illustrative of the difficulties and trials in this present world.  The promise of the kingdom of God is given to us all, if we just believe in the One who makes the way.  However, how many, including believers, get discouraged by the dangers they see ahead?  May we all go up at once and possess the kingdom of God, as He has promised us, if only we trust His word that He will give us everlasting life if we accept His gift of Christ who covers our sins.

God Rebukes the Murmuring of Aaron and Miriam

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 12:1) And Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

In the last chapter and post, we saw the Israelites grumbling and rebelling against their Lord in the wilderness of Paran.  It seems the grumbling continued.  Miriam and Aaron were Moses's siblings.  They both had high honor and position among the Israelites.  Miriam was a prophetess and Aaron was the high priest.  From a later scripture in Micah 6:4 (For I brought you up from the land of Egypt...I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam), we see that God called them with Moses to deliver His people from Egypt.  Yet here they are grumbling against Moses.  It is stated that they spoke against him because he had married an Ethiopian woman.  The original word translated as "Ethiopian" was "kushiyth", or "Cushite".  There is much disagreement among Biblical scholars as to whom this refers.  We know that Moses had married Zipporah, a Midianite, not a Cushite.  Because Midian bordered on Ethiopia, they may have been calling Zipporah a Cushite in scorn.  Perhaps this was not even Zipporah.  "For he had married an Ethiopian woman" seems to be an explanation for the woman Moses had married.  We already learned about the marriage to Zipporah and she was not an Ethiopian, so it seems logical that this was another wife.  Either Zipporah had died, or Moses took another wife as was often done in his time.  I don't believe it really matters who the wife was; the fact was that they were grumbling against Moses.

(2) And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? Has He not spoken also by us?" And the LORD heard it.

Here we see the real reason for their grumbling.  It had nothing to do with Moses's wife.  They were jealous.  As Micah 6:4 stated, they were called by God also, yet it seemed to them that Moses had done all the talking of late.  He had just chosen the seventy elders to help divide his charge.  Perhaps because they weren't included in selecting the elders, or perhaps because they felt their position was diminished because of the selection of seventy others, they spoke against Moses.  Bringing up his wife may have been because they felt she, too, may have had an elevated position above them because she was Moses's wife, and they were jealous, pure and simple.  The Lord heard their grumblings.

(3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all the men who were on the face of the earth.)

This is a parenthetical statement explaining that Moses was the meekest man on the face of the earth.  If Moses was so meek, would he have written this about himself?  Yes, if he was Holy Spirit inspired to write it.  Perhaps it being parenthetical as it was, some later scribe and prophet added it.  The word translated as "meek" was "anav", and also means "lowly, poor, afflicted".  We know that Moses was definitely afflicted in spirit when he had complained so much to God about his burdens in the last chapter.  In whatever manner this came to be written, the reason is basically the same; it was inserted to explain why Moses himself did not vindicate himself, and why the Lord intervened on his behalf, as we will see.

(4) And the LORD spoke suddenly to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of the congregation." And the three came out.

It seems the Lord spoke immediately upon hearing Miriam and Aaron, and called them with Moses to the tabernacle.  They all three came.

(5) And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam; and they both came forth.

The Lord came down in that pillar of cloud that was always over the most holy place of the tabernacle, and which was a symbol of His continual presence.  He came to the door of the tabernacle where he called forth Miriam and Aaron, and they came forward to Him.

(6) And He said, "Hear now my words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, will make Myself known to him in a vision, and will speak to him in a dream."

The Lord told Aaron and Miriam to listen to Him, and understand that if there was a prophet, one with a prophetic message from the Lord, among the two of them, then they would receive their message in a dream or vision, as were the usual means of hearing from the Lord.

(7) "My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all My house. (8) With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches, and the similitude of the LORD he shall behold; why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

The Lord told Aaron and Miriam that that was not the case with Moses, who was faithful in the house of Israel.  He told them that He spoke face to face with Moses plainly, not in obscure riddles or proverbs.  Moses would also see an image or likeness of the Lord.  We have already learned that no man could have seen God directly and lived (Exodus 33:20), but Moses saw a representation of God as in the burning bush, or something of the glory of God as when He passed by Moses in the cleft of the rock.  How could it be that they weren't afraid to speak against God's servant whom He held in such high personal regard?

(9) And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and He departed.

God's anger burned against Aaron and Miriam, and He departed from their presence without hearing what they had to say for themselves, which was a plain indication of His anger against them.

(10) And the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow; and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

God had already departed from the door of the tabernacle; now it seems the pillar of cloud departed from the tabernacle itself, representing God's deep displeasure with Miriam and Aaron that He would not suffer the cloud to continue over the tabernacle with them there.  Miriam was immediately struck with leprosy, her skin turned white as snow.  Aaron looked at Miriam and saw that she was leprous.  I believe this wasn't meant to be a casual statement that he saw that she was leprous, but rather as the priest, it was his business to inspect her and pronounce her leprous, according to the law of leprosy.  Miriam was struck with leprosy, but Aaron was not.  It was probably because Miriam was the chief instigator.  Her name was mentioned first in verse 1, and Aaron probably followed her lead, just as he had been willing to follow the mob in the making of the golden calf in Exodus 32.  Additionally, perhaps God would not have his priesthood so dishonored.  Perhaps it was punishment enough and very humbling for Aaron to have to pronounce his sister leprous, knowing the reason why and realizing he also deserved such a punishment.

(11) And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. (12) Do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”

Aaron humbled himself to Moses, calling him his lord, confessing his foolish sin, and begging him not to allow their sin to be imposed on them this way.  He asked that Miriam not be as one who was dead, as she would ceremonially be, separated and shut off from her people; and not one whose flesh was half consumed like a miscarried or stillborn child who perhaps never fully developed, or one who had been dead for awhile in his mother's womb.  It's not as if Moses had the power to make Miriam leprous and to take it away, but thusly Aaron humbled himself to Moses, magnifying to the highest degree Moses's position and power, and perhaps realizing at this point that only Moses's intercession could help them now.

(13) And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, "Heal her now, O God, I beseech You."

Moses cried out to the Lord in prayer, asking that He please heal Miriam.  Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, wrote about what a beautiful example this was, praying for one who despitefully used him (Matthew 5:44 and Luke 6:28).  Moses took no pleasure in the righteous judgment and punishment of the Lord, but in forgiveness prayed for mercy and healing for Miriam.

(14) And the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again.”

God answered Moses, saying that if Miriam's earthly father had spit in her face, showing his displeasure in her, would she not be ashamed and shut herself away for some time?  How much more should she be ashamed by her sin against God!  He told Moses to shut her out of the camp for seven days, and after that, she could be allowed back in again.

(15) And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days; and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again.

Miriam was indeed shut out of the camp for seven days, and the people did not journey from their camps until she was brought in again.  This was certainly due to the fact that the cloud did not direct them to move, but it also taught an important lesson.  Those like Miriam under censure and rebuke for sin ought to be treated with forgiveness, comfort, and love (2 Corinthians 2:7-8), and not counted as an enemy (2 Thessalonians 3:15) that they would leave behind.

(16) And afterward the people removed from Hazeroth, and pitched in the wilderness of Paran.

After the seven days and when Miriam was returned to the camp, the people moved from Hazeroth to another campsite within the wilderness of Paran.

As I am doing a chronologically ordered Bible study as set forth by Skip Andrews, I now move on to Numbers 33 as that study directed:

(Numbers 33:16) And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibroth Hattaavah. (17) And they departed from Kibroth Hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth. (18) And they departed from Hazeroth and pitched in Rithmah.

Actually, these three verses take a step backward and tell us where the Israelites had traveled since leaving the desert of Sinai up to this point.  Kibroth Hattaavah is where the people lusted after flesh and the place was so named.  From there they moved to Hazeroth where Miriam was struck with leprosy.  From Hazeroth they moved to another camp in the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 12:16), and we see in Numbers 33:18 that the name of that place was Rithmah.

(19) And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon Perez. (20) And they departed from Rimmon Perez and pitched in Libnah. (21) And they removed from Libnah and pitched at Rissah. (22) And they journeyed from Rissah and pitched in Kehelathah. (23) And they went from Kehelathah and pitched at Mount Shepher. (24) And they removed from Mount Shepher and camped in Haradah. (25) And they removed from Haradah and pitched in Makheloth. (26) And they removed from Makheloth and camped at Tahath. (27) And they departed from Tahath and pitched at Terah. (28) And they removed from Terah and pitched in Mithcah. (29) And they went from Mithcah and pitched in Hashmonah.

The people continued to journey from place to place, and I can only assume nothing of real importance happened in these places.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, summarized these travels in the following manner, and I can only take his word for it:

Six miles from Rithmah, and then from Rimmon to Libnah, which was six miles also; and from thence to Rissah, which was six miles more; and from Rissah to, Kehelathah, which was the same number of miles; and from thence to Shapher, which was six miles also; and then they came to Haradah, which was four miles from thence; the next remove was to Makheloth, which was four miles and a half from the last place; then they went to Tahath, which was four miles more; and from thence to Tarah, which also was four miles; the next place they came to was Mithcah, four miles from Tarah; and then to Hashmonah, which was eight miles more.

(30) And they departed from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth. (31) And they departed from Moseroth and pitched in Bene Jaakan.

The people left Hashmonah and continued their journey.  Dr. Gill compared these two verses to the account in Deuteronomy 10:6 and explained:  "Thirty two miles from Hashmonah. In Deu 10:6 it is called Mosera; and according to the account there, they came hither from the following place, Benejaakan; probably they went first thither from Hashmonah, and then from Mosera or Moserot, and so to Benejaakan again, going backwards and forwards, so Jarchi; the distance of the two places was twenty four miles."

(32) And they removed from Bene Jaakan and camped at Hor Hagidgad. (33) They went from Hor Hagidgad and pitched in Jotbathah. (34) And they removed from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah. (35) And they departed from Abronah and camped at Ezion Geber. (36) And they removed from Ezion Geber and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.

The people continued their journey, and once again I turn to Dr. Gill's summation of these verses:

And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad. In the Targum Jonathan called Gudgod, as it is Gudgodah in Deu 10:7, where the remove to this place is said to be from Mosera; it was twenty miles from Benejaaken; from thence they went to Jotbathah, twenty four miles from Horhagidgad; and from thence to Ebronah, twenty miles more; and so to Eziongeber, of which see 1 Ki 9:26 which was twenty eight miles from Ebrorah; and their next remove was to the wilderness of Zin, which was Kadesh, forty eight miles from Eziongeber.

This is where my chronological Bible study (suggested by Skip Andrews) tells me to stop for now.  Again I can only assume that nothing of importance happened in these travels.  Hopefully, the people had finally learned their lessons about complaining and murmuring after seeing Miriam, the sister of Moses, a prophetess, and probably the most highly regarded woman among them, struck with leprosy for her murmuring against Moses.  Before their journeying was ended, the people will have spent forty years in the wilderness for a journey that could have been completed in a few weeks, because of their unfaithfulness and transgression.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, compared this to our present-day acts of rebellion that keep us from immediately receiving God's best for us:  "How many through their unfaithfulness have been many years in gaining that for which, in the ordinary procedure of Divine grace, a few days had been sufficient! How much ground may a man lose in the Divine life by one act of unfaithfulness or transgression!"