Protection and Favor for Those Who Have God for Their Refuge

I am continuing a chronological Bible study put forth by Skip Andrews who wrote that "Although we may not be able to precisely date these Psalms at this time, their general themes fit the topics we have just read in Deuteronomy."  My last post ended the book of Deuteronomy with Moses's death.  Some commentators indeed believe that Moses may have written this psalm at the same time as the Prayer of Moses, Psalm 90.  Continuing my chronological Bible study: 

(Psalm 91:1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

The one who makes God his habitation and refuge, who dwells in an intimate communion with Him, will live under God's protection, as if under His wings, in their shadow.

(2) I will say of the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust."

The psalmist indeed spoke of the Lord as his refuge and more than a habitation, a fortress.  Thus he would always trust in his Lord God.

(3) Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler, from the noisome pestilence.

God would surely deliver His people from the traps of the wicked and from the spiritual plagues that are meant to destroy men's souls.

(4) He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall trust, His truth your shield and buckler.

Again with a picture of wings, God will shield His own with the feathers of His wings.  You can trust Him to always be your shield and protective armor.  

(5) You shall not be afraid for the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies by day.

Because the Lord is your protection, you will not be afraid of any terrible things that might happen in the night, or any arrows that fly by day, which could mean any sort of troubles that might strike quickly.

(6) For the pestilence walking in darkness, for the destruction laying waste at noonday.

Under the Lord's protection, you will not fear the invisible pestilence, nor any destruction that lays waste visibly.

(7) A thousand shall fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; it shall not come near you.

Although thousands and tens of thousands may fall all around you, you will be safe and have nothing to fear.  This doesn't mean that every single person trusting in the Lord will never die on account of any sort of pestilence or destruction.  But we have faith that He can protect us, and He is our only real protection, and even if He chooses to have us leave this earth to be with Him, that is a joyful thing and nothing to fear.

(8) Only with your eyes shall you behold and see the reward of the wicked.

The one under God's protection will see the destruction of the wicked but will not have to experience it.

(9) Because you have made the Lord, my refuge, the Most High, your habitation.

Because you have made the Most High Lord God your habitation and your refuge, you will be protected and safe from destruction.  This can certainly be the general rule, but again, I don't think it can be said for 100% of the people who trust wholly in God for their protection against destruction on earth.  However, their souls are 100% protected and no one or no thing can destroy them and take them out of God's hand (John 10:28-29).

(10) There shall no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling.

When you trust God and make Him your refuge, no evil can harm you nor any plague come near your habitation that is in God.  Again, this is a general promise as it pertains to the world, but a rock-solid promise as it pertains to our souls.

(11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways. (12) They shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.

God instructs His angels to watch over us!  How wonderful is that?!  There are angels protecting and preserving us wherever we go.  However, they aren't meant to protect us when we are doing evil against God's will.  Satan used this very verse when he tempted Jesus in Matthew 4:6.  He taunted Him by saying if He really was the Son of God He should throw Himself off the cliff because God's angels would lift Him up from hitting the stones.  However, Jesus told Satan that scripture also said in Deuteronomy 6:16 that you are not to tempt God.  The angels are there to protect us in our normal coming and going, but not when we test the Lord in foolish ways against His will.  We must remember that while we have angels watching over us, there are also Satan's demons trying to tempt us into evil.  That's why it is important to stay in God's word and follow Him to stay in His will.

(13) You shall tread upon the lion and adder; the young lion and the dragon you shall trample underfoot.

Because God has commanded His angels to watch over us, we are able to tread in dangerous places and be unhurt, but once again that means in our daily normal coming and going, or when directed by God's Holy Spirit, but never testing the Lord like so-called Christian snake handlers who do risky things for show to prove God will protect them.

(14) "Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high because he has known My name."

The words in verse 14 and those following are meant to be the words of the Lord.  The reason He sends His angels to protect His own is because His own loves the Lord.  The Lord vows to deliver him from danger and to set him on high, which just by His acknowledging him as His own and treating him accordingly, puts him on high above those who do not enjoy God's favor and protection.  He does this because he knows God and loves him.

(15) "He shall call upon Me and I will answer him; I am with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him."

God's own will call upon Him in prayer and He will answer him.  What a beautiful promise in that He will be with us in trouble!  Not only is He with us, but He will deliver us and honor us if we are His, those who know and love Him.

(16) "With long life I will satisfy him and show him My salvation."

God will satisfy His own with long life.  Perhaps this is meant as a general rule for those who love and follow God, as we know there are times when good Christian men die too soon.  However, I like the interpretation of Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible.  He puts emphasis on man's satisfaction with his living and when he no longer has a strong desire for living on earth but looks forward to a peaceful and joyful rest from this life in heaven.  And of course, the most important thing is God's salvation!  Through Jesus Christ, He has provided a way for one to have that eternal rest in Him.  Thinking of this verse in that way, when one is satisfied with his life on earth, together with Isaiah 57:1 which says, "The righteous perishes and no man lays it to heart, and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come," brings me peace about the circumstances that brought both my dad and my husband to relatively early deaths at 56 and 59, respectively.  I can see that both being good Christian men dealing with many afflictions in life on this earth, could be satisfied with their lives in this world and ready to see their Lord whenever that time would come.  And God, in His love and mercy, would take them away from the evil still to come in their lives.

The Borders of the Promised Land, Part 1

I have been studying the Bible in a chronological order suggested by Skip Andrews.  Because chapter 33 of Numbers is a summary of the journeys and encampments of the Israelites in the wilderness, most of the chapter has already been studied.  We pick up in Numbers 33:50:

(Numbers 33:50) And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, (51) “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan, (52) Then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their pictures, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their high places.'"

This was to be the Israelites' last station in the plains of Moab before crossing over the Jordan River into their promised land.  The Lord gave Moses instructions to give to the Israelites when they had crossed over Jordan and entered the land of Canaan.  They were to drive out all the inhabitants from before them.  The original word translated as "drive out" means "occupy" or "take possession", but can also mean "cast out, consume, destroy".  The Israelites were also to destroy all the inhabitants' pictures and statues of idolatry and all their high places of worship.

(53) "'And you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to possess.'"

Once the Israelites had destroyed all the symbols of idolatry and driven out the inhabitants, they were to take possession of their land and dwell in it, for God had given that land to them.

(54) "‘And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; every man's inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falls; according to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit.'"

When they took possession of the land, it was to be divided among the remaining tribes, as Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh had taken as their inheritances land on the current side of the Jordan.  The land was to be divided by casting lots so that God was the one who actually determined which tribe got which portion of land for its inheritance.  Part of His determination was that larger portions would go to larger tribes, and smaller ones would get smaller possessions.

(55) "‘But if you will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come to pass, that those which you let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall vex you in the land in which you dwell.'"

God warned that if they did not do as He had said and drive the inhabitants completely out of their land, then those who remained would be very troublesome and distressing to them and would continually harass them.

(56) "'Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do to you as I thought to do to them.'"

Additionally, besides what the inhabitants who remained would do to them, God Himself would do to the Israelites what He had intended for the Canaanites; He would deliver them into the hands of their enemies to drive them out of their promised land.  If the Israelites allowed some Canaanites to stay, they would surely mingle with them and fall into their pagan ways.  This is a good illustration of what sin does to us.  If we neglect to stay pure and drive sin out, sin will eventually drive us out and away from God's promise of eternal life for our souls.

(Numbers 34:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Command the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When you come into the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance, that is, the land of Canaan to its boundaries), (3) Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along the border of Edom, and your south border shall be eastward to the outermost coast of the Salt Sea.'"

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, telling him what to say to the Israelites.  When they came into the land of Canaan, that land He had promised them as their inheritance, they were to observe the boundaries as He commanded.  The Lord Himself determined the boundaries of their promised land of Canaan.  The southern portion of their land was to extend from the wilderness of Zin, which is said to be Kadesh in particular, along the border of Edom eastward to the outermost coast of the Dead Sea.  The map below shows the approximate boundaries of the promised land.  I say "approximate" because as Adam Clarke stated in his Commentary on the Bible, the exact boundaries could only be precisely known by an actual survey. 

(4) "'And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and continue to Zin, going forth from the south to Kadesh Barnea, and shall go on to Hazar Addar, and continue to Azmon.'"

The following map that shows a more detailed view of the southern border comes from www.bible.ca:

From this map, we see that verse 4 discusses the southeast corner of the border from Kadesh Barnea to Addar and Azmon westward, following the ascent of Akrabbim, up through the wilderness of Zin on the eastern border.

(5) "'And the border shall turn from Azmon to the river of Egypt, and the end of it shall be at the sea.'"

The southwestern boundary would be from Azmon turning northward and following the River of Egypt and ending at the Mediterranean Sea.

(6) "'And as for the western border, you shall have the Great Sea for a border; this shall be your west border.'"

The western border of their promised land would be the Mediterranean Sea.

(7) "'And this shall be your north border: from the Great Sea you shall point out for you mount Hor; (8) From mount Hor you shall point out your border to the entrance of Hamath; then the direction of the border shall be to Zedad; (9) And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and it shall end at Hazar Enan. This shall be your north border.'"

The northern border was to run westward from the Mediterranean Sea to Mount Hor.  This was not the Mount Hor on which Aaron died.  The word "hor" is actually a word for mountain.  From this Mount Hor the border was to run eastward to Hamath, then to Zedad, on to Ziphron, and ending at Hazar Enan.  This northern border can be seen on the first map above.

(10) "'And you shall point out your east border from Hazar Enan to Shepham; (11) And the border shall go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend and shall reach to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth; (12) And the border shall go down to Jordan, and it shall end at the Salt Sea. This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.’”

The eastern boundary of the promised land of Canaan was to go from Hazar Enan southward to Shepham.  It would then curve westward to Riblah, past Ain, to the eastern side of the Sea of Chinnereth, and then downward along the Jordan River, ending at the Dead Sea.  Thus the Lord ended the entire description of Israel's boundaries.

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, made an interesting observation.  The border began and ended with the Dead Sea, then called the Salt Sea.  "This was the remaining lasting monument of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. That pleasant fruitful vale in which these cities stood became a lake, which was never stirred by any wind, bore no vessels, was replenished with no fish, no living creature of any sort being found in it, therefore called the Dead Sea. This was part of their border, that it might be a constant warning to them to take heed of those sins which had been the ruin of Sodom..."

(13) And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, “This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.'"

Moses told the people that the land with its boundaries described above was the land that they would inherit by lot, that is, nine and a half tribes would inherit this land by lot--Judah, Simeon, Benjamin, Dan, Ephraim, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and the other half tribe of Manasseh.

(14) “For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance. (15) The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.”

Moses explained that the two and a half tribes of Reuben, Gad, and a half tribe of Manasseh had already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River across from Jericho in the promised land of Canaan.  Their inheritance lay from the Jordan River eastward.

(16) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (17) “These are the names of the men who shall divide the land among you: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun."

The Lord then told Moses that the men who would divide the land would be Eleazar the priest and Joshua.  Matthew Henry made a noteworthy observation:  "The principal commissioners...were Eleazar and Joshua...typifying Christ, who, as priest and king, divides the heavenly Canaan to the spiritual Israel; yet, as they were to go by the lot, so Christ acknowledges the disposal must be by the will of the Father..."

(18) “And you shall take one prince of every tribe to divide the land by inheritance. (19) And the names of the men are these: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh."

A prince from each of the remaining tribes was chosen to represent their particular tribe and would witness the drawing of lots and would see to it that their tribe took possession of their inheritance according to the lot.  The prince of the tribe of Judah was to be Caleb.

(20) "And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud."

The Lord designated Shemuel, the son of Ammihud, to be the representative prince from the tribe of Simeon.

(21) "Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. (22) And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.

From the tribe of Benjamin the Lord designated Elidad to receive the lot for his tribe; and from the tribe of Dan He assigned Bukki.

Because Blogger limits the number of labels each post may have, and I feel all these names are equally important, I will continue this study in the next post:

The Borders of the Promised Land, Part 2

Census of Israel in the Plains of Moab, Part 1

Continuing with a chronological Bible study designed by Skip Andrews:

(Numbers 26:1) And it came to pass, after the plague, that the LORD spoke to Moses and Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest, saying, (2) “Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers' houses, all who are able to go to war in Israel.”

In the last chapter and post, Israel had suffered a plague because of their adultery and idolatry, and 24,000 of them died.  At this time, after that plague, the Lord told Moses and Eleazar, Aaron's son, the priest, to take a census of the Israelites throughout all their families to count those who were twenty years and older and able to go to war.  I imagine there were some who were much older than twenty who were not able-bodied enough to go to war.

(3) And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying, (4) “Take the sum of the people, from twenty years old and upward, as the LORD commanded Moses and the children of Israel who came out of the land of Egypt.”

Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with the Israelites, perhaps the heads of their families, telling them to take a census of the men, twenty years and older, just as the Lord had commanded they do when they came out of Egypt, back in Numbers 1:2-3.  The congregation of Israel was still in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho.

(5) Reuben, the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben--Hanoch, of whom came the family of the Hanochites; of Pallu, the family of the Palluites; (6) Of Hezron, the family of the Hezronites; of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.

The census began with the oldest son of Jacob or Israel, that is Reuben, and his four sons, Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi, and their four resulting families.

(7) These are the families of the Reubenites, and they who were numbered of them were forty-three thousand seven hundred and thirty.

All of the Reubenites, twenty years and older, able-bodied for war, totaled 43,730.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, made a chart of the number of each tribe at the earlier census at Mount Sinai and compared it to the present census.  The Reubenites had decreased by 2770 men in 38 years.  Although their numbers had surely increased over 38 years' time, they had been decreased by plagues.

(8) And the son of Pallu was Eliab. (9) And the sons of Eliab--Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. These are the Dathan and Abiram who were famous in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD. (10) And the earth opened its mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah, when that company died, when the fire devoured two hundred and fifty men; and they became a sign.

The son of Reuben's son Pallu was Eliab.  Eliab's sons were Nemuel, Dathan, and Abiram.  Dathan and Abiram were the ones who teamed up with Korah to come against Moses and Aaron in chapter 16 of Numbers.  At that time the earth opened up and swallowed Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, and the company of 250 men who had offered improper incense, and they had become a sign to Israel that no man outside the line of Aaron, the priests, was to offer incense before the Lord. Additionally, 14,700 people had died in a plague immediately following this incident because they complained about Moses and Aaron killing the people of the Lord.  This incident was repeated here to explain why there were no descendants of Dathan and Abiram to be counted.  There don't appear to be any descendants of Nemuel to be counted, unless they were counted as Palluites.

(11) Nevertheless the children of Korah did not die.

The children of Korah did not die in the events reported in chapter 16 of Numbers.  Although we were told that "all that appertained" to Korah was destroyed, this appears to have been only those in his company that came against Moses and Aaron and offered the improper incense.  We were told specifically in Numbers 16:27 that the wives and children of Dathan and Abiram joined them, but apparently the family of Korah did not.

Because Blogger limits the number of labels per post, and because all these names are of importance, I have separated chapter 26 into multiple posts.  To continue the study on chapter 26:

Census of Israel in the Plains of Moab, Part 2

Early Conquests of Israel Coming Out of the Wilderness to Enter Their Promised Land

Continuing a chronological Bible study, the order of which was suggested by Skip Andrews:

(Numbers 33:40) Now the king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.

The children of Israel had now spent forty years in the wilderness.  In the last post, they had journeyed to Kadeh and there had sought permission from the king of Edom to pass through his land on the king's highway, but he refused.  They then moved to Mount Hor, still near the border of Edom, as they were going around it, not being permitted to go through it.  Aaron died and was buried at Mount Hor.  It appears it was at this time that the king of Arad, a Canaanite, who dwelt in the southern part of the land of Canaan, heard about the coming of the children of Israel.

I have a difficult time trying to picture where the Israelites were at this time and why they had to cross Edom, but here are a couple of maps that together might help some to pinpoint them:

 

Click the image for a larger view.  I circled Arad in the second map.

(Numbers 21:1) The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.

Numbers 21 tells of the incident in more detail.  The king of Arad heard that the Israelites were coming by way of the spies, pictured in a map here:

Actually, some Biblical scholars note that the route of the spies some 38 years before could not have been known by the king of Arad as it had not been discovered by the Canaanites back then.  However, the statement could have been made for the reader's information, that the king heard they were coming, and they were coming the way the spies had come 38 years prior.  Some scholars think that the original word "athariym" that was translated as "the spies" might actually be the name of a place "Atharim".  Whatever was meant, the king of Arad heard the Israelites were coming and fought against them and took some of them prisoners.

(2) And Israel vowed a vow to the LORD, and said, “If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.”

It looks as though the children of Israel had learned a lesson and this time instead of running scared and murmuring against Moses and the Lord, they went straight to the Lord and prayed that He deliver this people to them.  Their vow to utterly destroy their cities was their faith that He would indeed deliver them.  They trusted their Lord this time.

(3) And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities; and they called the name of the place Hormah.

The Lord heard Israel's plea and vow, and delivered up the Canaanites.  This verse states they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and they called the name of the place Hormah.  There is some disagreement among Biblical scholars as to what actually happened and it depends on the meaning of the original word.  Apparently, the name of the place was originally Zephath, and later scriptures will tell how it was utterly destroyed in Joshua's time.  It's reasonable to think that it was destroyed at this time, so as to keep the enemy from pursuing the Israelites, but as the Israelites did not remain in the city, the Canaanites reinhabited it.  However, the original word "charam" that was translated as "utterly destroy" can also mean "devoted or dedicated for destruction".  The meaning of the name "Hormah" is indeed "devoted" or "devotion".  So at the very least, the enemy was devoted for destruction and kept at bay from the children of Israel.  More probably, the Israelites fought with the current residents of the land as verse 1 does say the king of Arad fought with them and took some as prisoners.

(4) And they journeyed from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

Because the way through Edom was closed to them, the people had to go back to the Red Sea to go around the land of Edom.  Because they were going backward instead of forward and because it was a long way, the people began to get discouraged.

(Numbers 33:41) And they departed from Mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. (42) And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.

Numbers 33 also records the Israelites' departure from Mount Hor, and states specifically that they camped at Zalmonah and then moved on to Punon.

(5) And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loathes this light bread."

I may have given the Israelites too much credit in my comments on verse 2, for if they had truly learned their lesson, they wouldn't be speaking against God at this time.  Had they not learned they could trust Him no matter how it appeared?!  God gave them manna and they complained about it!  He provided their every need and yet they complained they had been brought out of Egypt to die in the wilderness because they didn't have something else they thought they should have!  Although this seems unfathomable, I can see myself.  Perhaps I don't call God by name to ask why He had done or not done this or that, but by complaining that I don't have all I think I need, I am belittling all that He has done!  He sustains me every day and I have complained that I don't have something else.  Again, though I think it is not to Him directly, is IS to Him, about Him, and about not having gratitude and faith in Him to continue to carry me through!  I can be a grumbling Israelite, and I don't like that idea at all!

(6) And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.

In answer the Lord let loose fiery serpents, probably so called because their bites were poisonous and burned.  The scripture says the Lord sent the fiery serpents, and He truly may have, as He had every right to; but I often think that He may just turn His back and let us see how it would be without Him.  The snakes were surely all over this wilderness, but God had protected His people from them.  He gave them protection and sustenance, but all they could see was what they did not have, so by turning His back and allowing the serpents to attack the people, they could see what it was like to not have His protection.  This was a teaching moment.  Many of the children of Israel died from the snake bites, and one would hope the rest would learn from this incident.

(7) Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you; pray to the LORD that He take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.

The people came to Moses, indeed recognizing they had sinned against the Lord, and asked that he pray to the Lord to take the serpents away from them.  Moses prayed for the people.  How blessed we are in this current time to have a constant intercessor in Jesus that we don't have to suffer serpents before we come to our senses again!  If we DO have to suffer serpents or the like, I believe it is in His mercy to bring us to Him, or back to Him, our only salvation and source of eternal life.

(8) And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall come to pass, that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live.”

The Lord answered Moses by telling him to make a likeness of a fiery serpent and set it up on a pole so that whenever someone who was bitten looked up at it, he would live.  In the past I never quite understood why God would have Moses make an image for the people to look up to, when in the past (and in the future) images and molten likenesses became idols.  However, this brass serpent Moses would make was certainly not God, but neither was a golden calf (Exodus 32), but unlike the calf, this serpent was a visual of their sin and chastisement, so that looking up to it represented looking up to their Lord and acknowledging their sin.  God did not take the serpents away as the people had asked, but saw fit a better way, that when they were bitten by the serpents, they could look up to Him and be saved.  Jesus later referred to this as a symbol of Christ Himself:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." - John 3:14-15

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, brought up another point.  According to him, "This method of cure was altogether miraculous, and the more wonderful if what some naturalists say be true, that looking upon bright and burnished brass is hurtful to those that are stung with fiery serpents. God can bring about his purposes by contrary means."  The ways of God are almost always not as what we expect them to be; all the more reason to trust in Him, not in how it may look.

(9) And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it up on a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

Moses did as the Lord had instructed and made a brass serpent and put it up on a pole, and indeed, when someone who had been bitten, looked up at the brass serpent, he would live, in spite of being bitten.  Again, this is a beautiful symbol of Christ.  Even though we sin and deserve death, looking to Him saves us and we live!

(10) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth. (11) And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrise.

The children of Israel then moved onward and camped at Oboth; from there they journeyed to Ije Abarim, in the wilderness to the east of Moab.

(Numbers 33:43) And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. (44) And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.

Numbers 33 records their departure from Punon, and then their journey to Oboth, and then to Ije Abarim, at the border of Moab.

(Numbers 21:12) From there they moved and camped in the valley of Zared.

From Ije Abarim they moved to the brook of Zared, which is what most scholars agree the translation should have read.  Indeed, the original word translated as "valley", that is "nachal", literally meant "stream", and "by implication, valley".

(13) From there they moved and camped on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the coasts of the Amorites, for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.

From the Zared, they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which was a river that separated the Moabites and the Amorites.

(14) Therefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, "What He did in the Red Sea, and in the brooks of Arnon, (15) And at the stream of the brooks that go down to the dwelling of Ar, and lies upon the border of Moab."

Apparently there was a book of the wars of the Lord unknown to us, but known to contemporaries of this passage.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, wrote that the book may have been a "book of remembrances and directions, written by Moses for Joshua’s private instruction for the management of the wars after him", and may be referenced in Exodus 17:14:  "And the LORD said to Moses, 'Write this for a memorial in a book, and rehearse it in the ears of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.'"  Almost every translation other than King James reads some form of “Waheb in Suphah" rather than "What He did in the Red Sea".  Even though this is the only verse in the Bible where the word "vaheb" was used, and therefore its meaning is uncertain, and could therefore be the name of a place, the word "suphah" does mean "storm, whirlwind, or Red Sea" and would not necessarily have to be the name of a place.  Since this was only an excerpt from the book of wars, and we have no context, it would be impossible to know for certain what is meant.  However, I have no problem taking it as written in the KJV as it may have been a record of what God had done for His people, and where He brought them.  The passage referred to in the book of the wars was used to confirm what was written in verse 13, that they had camped at the brooks of the Arnon, and that was on the border of Moab.

(Numbers 33:45) And they departed from Ijim and camped at Dibon Gad.

As this verse immediately follows verse 44 in Numbers 33 where it said they camped at Ije Abarim, I assume Ijim is a shortened version of that same place.  From there they camped at Dibon Gad, which was actually just Dibon at the time, but called Dibon Gad after it was rebuilt later by Gad.

(Numbers 21:16) And from there they went to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”

As I follow a chronological order suggested by Skip Andrews, and have no explanation as to why Mr. Andrews inserted this verse after Dibon Gad, I can only assume it was reasonable considering the general route of the Israelites is fairly ascertained by comparison of Numbers 21 and 33.  The meaning of the word "Beer" is "well", and it may have been so named after the Lord apparently miraculously gave the people water.  There is no indication here that the people murmured or complained about having no water, but the Lord, knowing their need of water by this time, blessed them with it.

(Numbers 33:46) And they removed from Dibon Gad and camped at Almon Diblathaim.

I assume that Beer was between Dibon Gad and Almon Diblathaim, but as they apparently did not camp at Beer, it was not mentioned here.  Apparently after they received water at Beer, they moved on to Almon Diblathaim, where they camped.

(47) And they removed from Almon Diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.

From Almon Diblathaim, they journeyed to the mountains of Abarim, and camped before Nebo, which appears to be the name of one of the mountains according to later scriptures.

(Numbers 21:17) Then Israel sang this song:  “Spring up, O well! You sing to it."

It would seem to me that this song about a well should have immediately followed God's blessing of water at Beer, and in fact, it did immediately follow in Numbers 21.  Mr. Andrews's insertion of the verses in Numbers 33 seems a little out of place, but as I started with his chronological study, I don't dare change now, or I might miss something.  After the people received water at Beer, they sang a song of praise about it.  The word translated as "sing" above, "anah", means more like "respond" or "in answer to", so the people were singing in response to the Lord's blessing of the well.

(18) "The princes dug the well, the nobles of the people dug it, by the lawgiver, with their staves."  And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah.

The song of the people continued.  The princes, the nobles of the people dug the well, probably the lawgiver being the Lord or perhaps under His direction, Moses.  "With their staves" could mean "with their staffs" or "with their support".  It could have been that with the lawgiver's staff, direction was given to dig the well, or perhaps with their staffs making holes in the ground, the Lord caused the water to spring up.  However it came about, the people were thankful, recognizing the blessing was from the Lord.  From the wilderness near Arnon (v. 13) after they dug the well at Beer, they went to Mattanah, the meaning of which is “gift of Jehovah”, which was surely a reference to the well.  Once again, I struggle a bit with the chronological order, but as Dr. John Gill stated in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, some of the people's removes were mentioned in one place and not the other, because they "perhaps, were small removes, and not properly stations."

(19) And from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, (20) And from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks toward Jeshimon.

Taken as it appears written in this translation, the people journeyed from Mattanah to Nahaliel, then from Nahaliel to Bamoth, in the valley that was in Moab, to the mountain Pisgah which looked over Jeshimon.  It is at this verse that Dr. Gill stated that "all the Targums", the early Aramaic interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures provided by the Jewish rabbis, interpreted these verses as meaning "not of the journeying of the children of Israel, but of the motion of the well, that that, from the place from whence it was given them, descended with them into the valleys, and from thence to the high places, as these words signify: and indeed those places are not mentioned in the journeys of the children of Israel", that is, the journeys documented in Numbers 33.  That would explain the discrepancy between the places documented in Numbers 33 versus those in this chapter of Numbers 21.  Indeed, even verse 18, "from the wilderness they went to Mattanah" might be better translated as "and from the wilderness it was given to them for a gift'', wrote Dr. Gill, and then verses 19 and 20, explain the motion of the well, probably providing them with water all along their way.

(21) And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, (22) “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. We will go along by the king's highway, until we be past your borders."

The children of Israel sent messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, asking that they be allowed passage through his land by the king's highway.  They stated they would not turn aside into the fields or vineyards, nor drink from their wells, but would just pass through on the king's highway.

(23) And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border; but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness; and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.

However, Sihon not only refused them passage, as did Edom (Numbers 20:18-20) who came out against them to keep them from passing through, but Sihon gathered his people and went outside his own borders into the wilderness to fight against them at a place called Jahaz.

(24) And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon to Jabbok, as far as the children of Ammon, for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

The children of Israel slew Sihon and his army of people and were victorious over them; and Sihon's country came into possession of Israel, from the Arnon River to the Jabbok River.  Sihon's territory went only as far as the border of Ammon because that border was very strong.

(25) And Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages.

Israel took all the cities that lay between the Arnon and the Jabbok, and Israel dwelt in all these cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages, Heshbon being the main metropolis with smaller towns and villages adjacent to it.

(26) For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon.

Heshbon is further described as the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and had taken it from him, that city and all Moab's land as far as the Arnon.

(27) Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: "Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared."

The historical writers among the Amorites, who generally wrote in poetic or proverbial verses, had written about this land they had seized from Moab.  "Come into Heshbon", the song or verse began, and let the city of Sihon now be built up and prepared for the new king.

(28) "For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it has consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon."

The song or verse continued.  The fire had gone out of Heshbon after Sihon had subdued it.  Sihon and his armies had been like a fire that consumed Ar of Moab and all the lords in the high places along the Arnon.

(29) "Woe to you, Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh; he has given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites."

Woe to Moab, the people who worshiped their idol, Chemosh.  Chemosh had given his sons and daughters, those who worshiped him, and who had escaped the sword of the Amorites, into captivity to Sihon king of the Amorites.

(30) "We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished as far as Dibon, and we have laid them waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba.”

There are two different ways to look at this.  The first way is that the song of the Amorites continued.  They had shot at the Moabites, and Heshbon was destroyed as far as Dibon, and the land of the Moabites laid waste as far as Nophah.  However, according to Aben Ezra, one of the most distinguished Jewish biblical commentators and philosophers of the Middle Ages, the last line had been added by Moses.  Although Moab had been undone and taken captive by Sihon, now the Israelites had shot at the Amorites and those Moabites who had been taken captive, and it was Israel that now laid waste Heshbon and their cities.  It looks more likely that verse 30 was a continuation of the song of the Amorites by the lyrical way it was written, but I suppose it is possible that Moses added his own verse to their song.  The next verse would seem to well follow his lyric:

(31) Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

Having defeated Sihon who had once defeated the former king of Moab, the Israelites now dwelt in the land of the Amorites.

(32) And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there.

Moses sent spies to spy out Jazer, apparently another city inhabited by Amorites, perhaps mentioned separately because it was not formerly Moab's.  The Israelites then also took the villages of Jazer and drove out the Amorites who were there.

(33) And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.

From Jazer, the Israelites turned back and went by the way of Bashan, a nearer way to the land of Canaan.  Og king of Bashan and all his people went out against the Israelites to a battle at Edrei.

(34) And the LORD said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.”

The Lord told Moses not to fear Og because He had already determined to deliver him into his hand, and when the Lord determined a thing, it was said to be already done.  Og and all his people and land were delivered into Moses's hand, and he would do to them just as he had done with Sihon and his people at Heshbon.

(35) So they smote him, his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive; and they possessed his land.

Indeed, the Israelites slew Og, his sons, and all his people, until there were none of Og's people left alive.  Then the Israelites possessed Og's land of Bashan.

Chapter 21 of Numbers, along with excerpts from chapter 33, tell of Israel's emergence from the wilderness into inhabited lands on their way to their promised land.  God gave them victories not only over the armies that obstructed their way, but gave them their enemies' countries, which would later become part of their inheritance.  These conquests were not without the people's faltering and need for chastisement of the Lord, as the fiery serpents were sent during this time.  However, upon their repentance, God directed that a brass serpent be made and put up on a pole, that whoever had been bitten might look up to it and live, a beautiful illustration of Christ.  Although the people faltered and sinned, God gave them a path to salvation, and continued to give them victories over their enemies.  Matthew Henry made an additional observation about this time before the official delivery of the promised land.  He wrote that God "gave Israel these successes, while Moses was yet with them, both for his comfort (that he might see the beginning of that glorious work, which he must not live to see the finishing of) and for the encouragement of the people..."

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!"

Offerings of the Princes at the Dedication of the Altar, Part 1

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 7:1) And it came to pass on the day that Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, and had anointed it, and sanctified it, and all its instruments, both the altar and all its vessels, and had anointed them, and sanctified them, (2) That the princes of Israel, heads of the house of their fathers, who were the princes of the tribes, and were over them who were numbered, made an offering.

The past many chapters and posts, since Leviticus 10 till this one, have dealt with laws and numbers.  I have been following a chronologically ordered study of the Bible set forth by Skip Andrews.  As far as historical activities and events, Biblical scholars agree that the events in this chapter took place (or began to take place) on the second day of the second month of the second year after the Israelites' departure from Egypt, and the proper place of this account is immediately after the tenth chapter of Leviticus.  However, it makes perfect logical sense that all the laws and numbers be linked together in sequence and placed conveniently where they were in the Bible.

Numbers 7:1 begins on the day after Moses had fully set up the tabernacle (Exodus 40:17), and after he had anointed and sanctified it and all its furnishings (Lev. 8:10-11).  Obviously, all these things took time, and it is not to be taken literally that the events of Numbers 7 began on the exact day that Moses had set up the tabernacle, etc., but after all these things were completed.  It was at that time that the princes of the twelve tribes of Israel who had been named in Numbers 1, made an offering.

(3) And they brought their offering before the LORD, six covered wagons, and twelve oxen; a wagon for every two of the princes, and for each one an ox; and they brought them before the tabernacle.

The princes brought six covered wagons, which scholars agree were actually covered litters, a litter being a type of wagon carried upon people or animals rather than on wheels.  Each wagon was carried upon two oxen, and as there were twelve princes, it made one wagon for two princes and one ox for each prince.  They brought them to the tabernacle.

(4) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (5) "Take it from them, that they may be used to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation; and you shall give them to the Levites, to every man according to his service.”

The Lord told Moses to take the offerings of wagons and oxen from the princes to use in service of the tabernacle.  They were to be distributed to the Levites according to each one's need for his particular service.

(6) And Moses took the wagons and the oxen, and gave them to the Levites.

Moses did as the Lord had instructed him and he took the wagons and the oxen and distributed them to the Levites as follows:

(7) Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service.

Moses gave two wagons and four oxen to the Gershonites who were in charge of transporting the curtains, coverings, and hangings of the tabernacle (Numbers 4:25).

(8) And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the hand of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest.

Moses gave the other four wagons and eight oxen to the Merarites whose service was the carrying of all the boards, bars, pillars, etc. (Numbers 4:31-32).  As their burden was the heaviest, they were given more wagons and oxen.  Ithamar, the son of Aaron, was in charge of direction and oversight of the Gershonites (Numbers 4:28) and the Merarites (Numbers 4:33).

(9) But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because the service of the sanctuary belonging to them was that which they should bear on their shoulders.

Moses gave no wagons or oxen to the Kohathites because they had charge of the ark and other holy furnishings (Numbers 4:4, 15), and those were to be carried on their shoulders.  It makes sense that those sacred things must never be carried by beasts.

(10) And the princes offered for dedicating of the altar in the day that it was anointed; the princes offered their offering before the altar.

The princes of the tribes also made offerings for the dedication of the altar.  There is some discrepancy among the commentaries I study as to whether this referred back to the time when Moses first anointed the altar (Lev. 8:10), or if, like in Numbers 7:1 above, it meant once the anointing had been done, they offered their offerings for the dedicating of the altar.  I tend to believe the latter as this appears to be a formal dedication after the time Moses first anointed and sanctified the altar.

(11) And the LORD said to Moses, “They shall offer their offering, one prince each day, for the dedication of the altar.”

The Lord instructed Moses that the princes were to offer their offerings one day at a time, one prince offering on the first day, then another the next, etc., for what would be twelve days, for this dedication of the altar.

(12) And the one who offered his offering on the first day was Nahshon the son of Amminadab, from the tribe of Judah.

The prince who offered his offering on the first day was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab, who had been named in Numbers 2:3 as the captain (prince) of the tribe of Judah.

(13) And his offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering.

Nahshon's offering was one silver charger that weighed 130 shekels and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, according to the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel.  Exactly what the sanctuary shekel was varies among Biblical scholars, but as discussed in previous posts, as in the most recent post discussing this, a shekel was twenty gerahs, a gerah being a "kernel" or a "grain", the smallest weight or coin.  This doesn't seem to be much value, but then again, who's to say what silver was worth in Biblical times, or what the rate of inflation might do to that value.  Both of the silver items offered were full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering.

(14) One spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense; (15) One young bullock, one ram, and one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; (16) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (17) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nahshon the son of Amminadab.

In addition, Nahshon offered a spoon of ten shekels of gold, full of incense.  Once again, no one seems to know exactly what the sanctuary shekel of gold weighed, but this article in Got Questions gives us one idea.  According to those calculations, this spoon would have weighed about 4 ounces or 120 grams of gold, worth over $5500 in today's market.  Nahshon also offered a young bull, a ram, and a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering; a goat kid for a sin offering, and two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year for peace offerings.

(18) On the second day Nethanel the son of Zuar, leader of Issachar, presented an offering.

On the second day Nethanel, the son of Zuar, who had been named captain or prince of the tribe of Issachar in Numbers 2:5, presented an offering.

(19) He offered for his offering one silver charger, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; (20) One spoon of gold of ten shekels, full of incense; (21) One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; (22) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (23) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Nethanel the son of Zuar.

Nethanel also offered a silver charger weighing 130 shekels and a silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, according to the standard shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil for a grain offering.  He also offered a gold spoon of ten shekels full of incense, and a young bull, a ram, and a lamb of the first year for a burnt offering.  He also offered a goat kid for a sin offering, and two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five lambs in their first year for peace offerings.

(24) On the third day Eliab the son of Helon, prince of the children of Zebulun, did offer.  (25) His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; (26) One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense; (27) One young bullock, one ram, one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; (28) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (29) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliab the son of Helon.

On the third day Eliab, son of Helon, prince of the tribe of Zebulun, made his offering.  He offered a silver charger and a silver bowl of the same weight as offered by the first two princes, also full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering.  He also offered a golden spoon of the same weight as the spoons given before, also full of incense.  He also offered a young bull, a ram, a lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering, a goat kid for a sin offering, and two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year for peace offerings.

(30) On the fourth day Elizur the son of Shedeur, prince of the children of Reuben, did offer. (31) His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, one silver bowl of seventy shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary; both of them full of fine flour mingled with oil for a grain offering; (32) One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense; (33) One young bullock, one ram, and one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; (34) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (35) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Elizur the son of Shedeur.

On the fourth day Elizur, the son of Shedeur, prince of the tribe of Reuben, presented his offering which consisted of the same items offered by the princes before him on the previous three days.  The offerings which the princes brought were very rich and valuable, and were surely not their own personal freewill offerings, but were the offerings of the people of their tribes.  The princes of the tribes of the children of Israel would not have been so much richer than the common people of their tribes at this point.

(36) On the fifth day Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the children of Simeon, did offer. (37) His offering was one silver charger, the weight of which was one hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; (38) One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense; (39) One young bullock, one ram, and one male lamb in its first year, as a burnt offering; (40) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (41) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.

On the fifth day Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai, prince of the tribe of Simeon, presented his offering which was exactly the same as the princes before him.

(42) On the sixth day Eliasaph the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered. (43) His offering was one silver charger of the weight of a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl of seventy shekels, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, both of them full of fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; (44) One golden spoon of ten shekels, full of incense; (45) One young bullock, one ram, and one lamb of the first year, for a burnt offering; (46) One kid of the goats for a sin offering; (47) And for a sacrifice of peace offerings, two oxen, five rams, five male goats, and five male lambs in their first year. This was the offering of Eliasaph the son of Deuel.

On the sixth day Eliasaph, the son of Deuel, prince of the children of Gad, offered the same large rich offering as the princes in the days before him.

Because Blogger limits the number of labels on each post, and all of the names are important in Numbers 7, I have continued the study of this chapter in the next post:

Offerings of the Princes at the Dedication of the Altar, Part 2

Covenant Between God and Israel at Mount Sinai

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 19:1) In the third month after the children of Israel had gone out of the land of Egypt, that same day they came to the wilderness of Sinai. (2) For they had departed from Rephidim, had come to the desert of Sinai, and camped in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before the mountain.

The third month of the Jewish calendar, Sivan, contained part of our May and part of June.  It was then that the children of Israel came into the wilderness of Sinai.  The above passage could also be read that it was three months after they left Egypt that they came into the wilderness of Sinai.  That day was one and the same, as the new calendar began on the original Passover when the Israelites began the great exodus (Exodus 12:2).  The people had left Rephidim and had come to the wilderness or desert of Sinai.  I have noted previously that Horeb and Sinai were two peaks of the same mountain.  Horeb was on the western side, near to which lay the plain of Rephidim, and Sinai was on the eastern side, at which the wilderness or desert of that same name lay.  The Israelites camped at the foot of the mountain.

In this particular chronological study, I am using an order set forth by Skip Andrews.  It now takes me to Numbers 33:15:

(Numbers 33:15) And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.

This is just an abbreviated account of the same fact.  We now return to Exodus 19:

(Exodus 19:3) And Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: (4) ‘You have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.'"

Moses went up to God, which suggests that God was in the pillar of cloud now situated above the top of the mountain.  The Lord called to Moses from there and told him to speak to the people, calling them both "the house of Jacob" and "the children of Israel".  Perhaps this was to remind them of Jacob's former and lower state of life as the people may have likewise felt lowly, but now they were called by the name given Jacob by God as they were partakers of the promises made to Jacob or Israel.  God told Moses to remind the people of what He had done to the Egyptians, and how He lifted the children of Israel up and carried them as on eagles' wings, denoting the strength, size, speed, and care, with which He brought them to Himself.

(5) "‘Now therefore, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be a special treasure to Me above all people; for all the earth is Mine. (6) And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words which you shall speak to the children of Israel.”

Moses was to tell the people that God had said to them if they would obey Him and keep His covenant, they would be His special people above all people, as He had sovereignty over the whole world.  They would be a holy nation of priests consecrated to God.  Instead of being in their former lowly state of servitude to the Egyptians, they would become a kingdom of priests and a holy nation of God.

(7) And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before them all these words which the LORD commanded him. (8) And all the people answered together, and said, “All that the LORD has spoken we will do.” And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD.

Moses took the words of the Lord to the elders of the people and laid before them God's proposal for a covenant between Him and the people.  I assume that the elders then took the words to the people, or else they answered for the people; either way, the people answered unanimously that they would do just as the Lord had spoken.  Moses then took the words of the people back to the Lord.

(9) And the LORD said to Moses, “Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.” And Moses told the words of the people to the LORD.

I believe the point of what the Lord was telling Moses was that He would come to Moses in a different form that they would recognize as their Lord speaking directly to Moses, so that they would know that the Lord spoke directly with Moses, and they could forever trust him.  This "thick" cloud would be different from the normal pillar of cloud the people were used to seeing.  This cloud is better described in a later verse as a smoke of a fire that enveloped the whole mountain and the mountain even quaked (Exodus 9:18). The fact that Moses told the Lord the words of the people is repeated.  It seems like the thoughts put forth in this verse are reversed, but at any rate, Moses relayed to the Lord the unanimous words of the people, and the Lord told Moses He would speak to him in a manner that the people would have no doubt was the Lord speaking directly to him.

(10) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go to the people and sanctify them today and tomorrow, and let them wash their clothes. (11) And be ready for the third day; for the third day the LORD will come down in the sight of all the people on mount Sinai."

The Lord told Moses to go back to the people and they were to purify themselves inside (spiritually, set aside for the Lord) and out for the next couple of days, for on the third day the Lord would come down Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people.  

(12) “And you shall set bounds for the people all around, saying, ‘Take heed to yourselves that you do not go up into the mountain or touch its border; whoever touches the mountain shall surely be put to death. (13) There shall not a hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned or shot through; whether man or beast, it shall not live.’ When the trumpet sounds long, they shall come up to the mountain.”

Moses was to set up a boundary for the people and and to tell them that they be careful not to go up on the mountain or even touch its border, under penalty of death.  My first thought was that whoever touched the mountain would not necessarily be "put to death", but would instantly die, because God was a consuming fire Who could not be approached.  However, the scripture seems clear that anyone touching it was to be put to death by stoning or shot with an arrow.  All the early commentaries agree that the "it" in the first part of verse 13 refers to the one who dared to disobey and touch (or the animal that wandered up and touched) the mountain, rather than the mountain itself.  No one was to touch or try to pull back the one that touched the mountain, as he or it would be an unclean and accursed thing and should rather be immediately stoned or shot.  When the trumpet sounded long, that was the people's signal to come to the mountain, but obviously not up it.

(14) And Moses went down from the mountain to the people and sanctified the people, and they washed their clothes. (15) And he said to the people, “Be ready for the third day; do not come at your wives.”

Moses went down from the mountain that apparently he alone was allowed to climb, to go back to ready and purify the people.  They washed their clothes, and Moses told them to even abstain from sexual relations with their wives in order to be purified and sanctified before the Lord.

(16) And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. (17) And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the lowest part of the mountain.

On the third day, when the Lord had said He would come down the mountain to the people, in that morning there was thunder and lightning, and a thick cloud on the mountain.  A trumpet sounded so loudly that the people in the camp trembled.  We can only imagine the awesome power and terror with which the Lord began His descent to the people.  There was thunder and lightning and a long sound of a trumpet so loud it must have come from a band of angels, and it terrified the people and made them tremble.  Moses brought the people out of the camp to the foot of the mountain to meet with God.

(18) And Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire; and its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly.

Not only had there been thunder and lightning, and a tremendous sound of trumpeting, but now there was fire and smoke and the whole mountain quaked.  What an awesome and terrifying sight this must have been to the people, realizing the power of so great their God so near their presence!

(19) And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by a voice. (20) And the LORD came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.

The blast of the trumpet sounded long and became even louder.  It would seem by the scripture that Moses, knowing this was the sign of the Lord coming down the mountain to meet the people, spoke to the Lord, and the Lord answered him by an audible voice.  However, this event was recorded in the New Testament in Hebrews, chapter 12, and it appears that what Moses actually spoke was, "I exceedingly fear and quake" (Hebrews 12:21), to which the Lord answered in an audible voice, probably one designed to comfort and encourage Moses, as well as to be heard and understood by the people.  The Lord came down upon Mount Sinai and called Moses up to the top of the mountain, and Moses indeed went up.

(21) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to gaze at the LORD, and many of them perish. (22) And let the priests also, who come near the LORD, sanctify themselves, lest the LORD break forth upon them.”

It appears that just as Moses went up the mountain to the Lord, he was sent back down with a message to the people.  The Lord did not want their curiosity to get the better of them and cause their deaths, so He sent Moses to warn them not to break through to sneak a peek at the Lord.  The Lord had a warning for the priests, as well.  Perhaps because of their positions as priests, they might have felt they had no need of extra purification, but it seems the Lord was warning them to make sure and sanctify themselves lest the Lord break forth and smite them.  Up until the time that the Lord instituted the Aaronic priesthood, priestly duties and sacrifices were performed by the firstborn or heads of families.  Even these priests, who officiated for their respective families, and were therefore said to come near to the Lord at other times, must now keep their distance, and conduct themselves with a great deal of caution.

(23) And Moses said to the LORD, “The people cannot come up to Mount Sinai; for You warned us, saying, ‘Set bounds around the mountain and sanctify it.’”

Then Moses answered the Lord in a manner which suggested there was no need for him to do what the Lord had just told him to do, which I find interesting.  He told the Lord that because He had already warned them, they had already taken precautions, set boundaries, and warned the people against crossing the set boundaries.

(24) And the LORD said to him, “Away, get down, and you shall come up, you, and Aaron with you; but do not let the priests and the people break through to come up to the LORD, lest He break forth upon them.” (25) So Moses went down to the people and spoke to them.

Moses should have realized that the Lord knew better than he did that the people needed yet another reminder and warning.  Dismissing Moses's reply that he need not go back down to the people to give them further warning, the Lord sent him back down to warn the people and the priests not to attempt to break through to come up to the Lord.  However, the Lord did tell Moses that Aaron might come back up with him, but no one else.  So Moses went back down to speak to the people as the Lord commanded him.

The Lord is My Banner

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Exodus 17:1) And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, according to the commandment of the LORD, and camped in Rephidim; and there was no water for the people to drink.

In their wilderness trek, the children of Israel now journeyed from the wilderness of Sin and camped at Rephidim.  It was by instruction from God that the people were led to camp there, and yet they came to a place where there was no water for them to drink.  The chronological study I am doing is one ordered by Skip Andrews, and it now takes me to Numbers 33, which gave a little more detail:

(Numbers 33:12) And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin and camped at Dophkah. (13) And they departed from Dophkah and camped at Alush. (14) And they moved from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

We see from this passage that actually the Lord led the people through two other stations (Dophkah and Alush), before bringing them to Rephidim.  Moses, in his Exodus account, apparently didn't record every camp probably because nothing eventful took place there; now the people were brought to a place where they were again wanting water and not finding it.  Now back to Exodus:

(Exodus 17:2) Therefore the people contended with Moses, and said, “Give us water, that we may drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you contend with me? Why do you tempt the LORD?”

The people, unbelievably, quarrel with Moses and demand water from him.  Had they not learned anything from their last need of water (and their subsequent need of food) that was ultimately provided by their Lord?  Moses again directed them away from him and to their actual supplier, the Lord.  He accused them of tempting the Lord because they obviously did not have faith in Him to provide them with water, even though He had shown Himself to be faithful in providing all their needs up to this point.

(3) And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, “Why is it you have brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?”

Moses had already addressed the people and reminded them it was not him to whom they should complain.  Then it said "they thirsted...and the people murmured", so I would assume because they didn't immediately get water after contending with Moses the first time, they really started murmuring and complaining, once again using the old complaint that he brought them out of Egypt just to kill them in the wilderness.  Being without water would have been especially hard on children and cattle, so perhaps the meaning is not that they truly thought that Moses brought them out to kill them, but that they sincerely believed that would certainly be the result if they didn't get water soon.

(4) And Moses cried to the LORD, saying, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me!”

Moses cried out to the Lord because it seems the anger of the people toward Moses was so great that he believed they were ready to stone him.  He didn't necessarily pray that God do something for the people, as I believe he had shown in what he said just before, that He knew the Lord would provide for the people, but he honestly did not know what to do with this people whose fevered pitch was so high that he feared they were about to stone him. 

(5) And the LORD said to Moses, “Go on before the people, and take with you some of the elders of Israel; and take in your hand your rod with which you struck the river, and go. (6) Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.

The Lord told Moses to go out before the people, taking with him some of the elders, and it seems direct them nearer to a particular rock at Mount Horeb.  I have read the rock remains to this day, and is red granite, 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 12 feet high, and lies in the wilderness of Rephidim, to the west of Mount Horeb.  The Lord told Moses to take his rod with him, specifically his rod with which he had struck the river.  The Lord would stand upon that rock; probably that pillar of cloud that led them through the wilderness would then stand on that particular rock.  Moses was to take his rod and strike the rock and water would come out of it for the people to drink.  Moses did as the Lord instructed, and he did it in the sight of the elders.

(7) And he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, “Is the LORD among us or not?”

"Massah" meant "temptation", and "Meribah" meant "strife" or "contention".  It is unclear to me if there were two different places, or if Moses called the place two different names in remembrance of the people's murmuring against the Lord.  It doesn't appear that the scholars of old had a consensus either.  Since they were at one rock, and the scripture said, "he called the name of the place...", I choose to believe Moses called the place by both names.  He was memorializing not the miracle of the provision of water by the Lord, but the people's tempting of the Lord and their contention with him.  It seems the people actually questioned whether or not the Lord was among them or not.  That makes the fact that the Lord presented Himself on that rock at Horeb seem a direct answer to the people's question.  Yes, indeed, He was with them, and He alone provided them with water.

(8) Then came Amalek, and fought with Israel in Rephidim.

Amalek was the son of Eliphaz, who was the son of Esau (Gen. 36:12), and the Amalekites may have held some hatred for the people of Israel because of Jacob's birthright and blessing, as has been suggested.  However, this may have been a random attack for the purpose of plunder.  According to another passage in Deuteronomy (Deut. 25:17-18), the Amalekites did not boldly confront the Israelites as a nation invading their land, but rather came up from behind and attacked their feeble, faint, and weary ones who lagged behind.  It may be that both facts were true.  The Amalekites thought of the Israelites as enemies, and they sneakily attacked them from behind so as to plunder them more easily.  The timing of this attack is interesting, too.  Did God send the Amalekites because the people had tested Him?  I'm not suggesting it was a punishment, but it certainly became a teaching moment.  God certainly allowed the attack, just as He allowed all the struggles for food and water.  His people easily could have been constantly provided with a steady stream of food and water and easy sailing, but facing these daily difficulties and having them daily remedied by their Lord, kept them in constant remembrance and dependence on God.  How quickly we forget the blessings of the Lord when we have hardship!  Sadly, it seems we must be reminded daily, and in His mercy, our sweet Lord patiently gives us what we need.

(9) And Moses said to Joshua, “Choose us some men and go out, fight with Amalek; tomorrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in my hand.” (10) So Joshua did as Moses said to him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill.

Moses called on Joshua to choose and organize men to go out and fight the Amalekites.  Meanwhile, he said he himself would stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  Moses had called on Joshua to lead the men into battle, but he himself had a most important job, as well.  On top of the hill, in view of the Israelite army, with that rod of God lifted up as encouragement and a reminder of God's promise and provision, Moses surely prayed to God and spiritually ministered to the children of Israel. Joshua did as Moses has directed him, and likewise, Moses, with Aaron and Hur, went to the top of the hill.  We will find that they were needed to assist Moses.  Aaron is, of course, Moses's brother, and it has been written by the historian Josephus that Hur was Miriam's (the sister of Moses and Aaron) husband.  That part is not clear in scripture, but he was obviously someone in whom Moses had much confidence, as he was paired with Aaron by Moses another time, as well (Exo. 24:14).

(11) And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.

There are a couple of different ways to look at this verse.  From verse 9, we learned that Moses planned to stand on top of the hill with the rod of God in his hand.  When the rod was up, it may have inspired the Israelites to fight on, and when they could not see it, their hearts failed them and the Amalekites prevailed.  The verse could refer to Moses raising his hands toward heaven in prayer.  The ancient targums interpreted it that way.  Dr. John Gill wrote that even among the "heathens", Moses "was famous for the efficacy of his prayers".  Perhaps when Moses was the most stretched out and upward in prayer, he was the most fervent in prayer, and Israel prevailed; and when he faltered in prayer, Amalek prevailed.  Probably both ways of looking at this verse are correct.  When Moses was stretched upward to heaven, he was the most fervent in prayer, AND the Israelites saw the rod which inspired them to go onward.  When Moses faltered in prayer, likewise did the people when they couldn't see the rod of God.  Either way, or both ways, it's a perfect illustration of the spiritual battle in which we are engaged daily.  When God is lifted up, we are victorious over our spiritual enemies, and when we falter in our faith and in our walk with God, the enemy can prevail.  The daily battles move back and forth from victory to defeat, and it is a reminder that we should be in constant prayer with our Lord, the One from whom all victories come.

(12) But Moses's hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.

Moses became tired and weary and he couldn't keep his hands held upward, so they brought him a stone so that he could sit down, and Aaron and Hur, on either side of him, held his hands upward, and in this way, he was able to keep them up until the sun went down.  And when his hand was up, we know that Israel prevailed.

(13) And Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.

In fact, we do read that Joshua and his army defeated the Amalekites in this, the first war of the Israelites.

(14) And the LORD said to Moses, “Write this for a memorial in a book, and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, for I will utterly put out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.”

God told Moses to specifically and literally write about this war in a book to be a lasting memorial.  It was to be recounted especially in Joshua's hearing because God would eventually completely blot out the memory of the Amalekites.  The Israelites had not yet completely annihilated the Amalekites, but Joshua was chief in this first war against them.  God knew His plans for Joshua, and I believe He wanted Joshua especially to remember what Amalek had done to Israel and especially how God had saved them from Amalek.  He wanted him to know, as well as all posterity by the written account, that in the process of time Amalek would be totally destroyed and not even remembered (except, in history, I suppose).

(15) And Moses built an altar and called the name of it Jehovahnissi; (16) For he said, “Because the LORD has sworn the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.”

Moses built an altar and called it Jehovahnissi, which literally meant, "Jehovah is my banner".  The Israelites fought under the banner, and therefore under the direction of their Lord, in His name, and in defense of His truth.  Much has been written about how this is the incorrect translation of verse 16.  It is supposed what was meant, and what was scrambled by unfortunate translations of contractions and hyphens, was that because the hand of Amalek was upon the throne of God, therefore the Lord would have war with Amalek from generation to generation.  I don't really have a problem with the KJV translation as it stands.  The Lord indeed had already said that He would ultimately completely put out the remembrance of Amalek, which does insinuate there would be a continued struggle with Amalek until that obliteration was achieved.  I believe making the altar to the Lord that was looked upon as their banner of their Lord, would serve as a reminder to the people that they were never to form any union with the Amalekites because they were sworn enemies of the Israelites, doomed to ruin.  Dr. John Gill wrote this about Amalek:  "Amalek may be considered as a type of antichrist, whose hand is against the throne of God, his tabernacle, and his saints; who, with all the antichristian states which make war with the Lamb, will be overcome and destroyed by him."