Why Did It Take 40 Years for an 11 Day Journey?

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Deuteronomy 1:1) These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side of the Jordan in the wilderness, in the plain over against the Red, between Paran, and Tophel, and Laban, and Hazeroth, and Dizahab.

In the preceding chapters of Numbers Moses had been giving the people the commandments and judgments of the Lord, concerning their inheritances in the promised land--the boundaries, the division of it, cities of refuge, and the case of inheritances in it.  However, this first verse in Deuteronomy probably refers to what will shortly follow, not what had preceded this.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, suggested that the first five verses of this chapter were placed as an introduction to the rest of the book, and that they didn't appear to be written by Moses, but may have been added by either Joshua or Ezra.  Albert Barnes's (Notes on the Bible) sense of this first verse was that it was written by Moses as a "connecting link between the contents of the preceding books and that of Deuteronomy now to follow. The sense of the passage might be given thus: 'The discourses of Moses to the people up to the eleventh month of the fortieth year have now been recorded.'”  I think I prefer the flow of the first explanation, but I really don't think it matters in the scheme of things.

At this time, the Israelites were still in the plains of Moab on the east side of the Jordan River.  The original word translated as "red" was "suph", and it was used when referring to the Red Sea.  However, the Israelites were not near the Red Sea at this time.  In the KJV, "Sea" was added by translators, assuming it meant the Red Sea.  However, all the commentaries I read state it could not have referred to the Red Sea because the Israelites were farther away from it than they had ever been; it may have been a city called "Suph", which is reasonable as many other places follow its mention.  The consensus is that all these places were the boundaries of the plain where the Israelites were at that time.  Suph probably meant Suphah which was in Moab; Paran was thought to be Mount Paran, not the Wilderness of Paran which was too remote; Tophel is probably Tufileh; Laban is generally identified as Libnah; Hazeroth may be Ain Hadherah; and Dizahab actually means "gold", so it was either the name of a place or could have meant a place where gold was found, a gold mine. 

(2) It is eleven days’ journey from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea.
 
Again, this verse seems to be part of an introduction to what will follow in later verses.  In the KJV it is in parentheses.  Perhaps this is the only verse that was added after Moses wrote his record.  Going from Horeb by way of Mount Seir to Kadesh Barnea was only an eleven day journey, yet it had taken the Israelites forty years to get to this point.  I tried for quite awhile to find a map that showed what would be a normal path from Horeb to Kadesh Barnea, and came across this delightful map from an article by Phil Campbell that really sums up the point:

That point is, of course, what could have taken just eleven days, but because of their unbelief in God, took the Israelites forty years and an entirely new generation to get back to the current point.

(3) And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the LORD had given him as commandments to them, (4) After he had slain Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.

Now here they were in their fortieth year after coming out of Egypt, in the eleventh month, Shevat, which is about our January and February, on the first day of that month.  Moses was about to speak to the congregation what the Lord had commanded him to give as commandments to them.  This was after their victory over Sihon (from Heshbon) and Og (from Bashan who dwelt at Ashtaroth) in Edrei.  The 1599 Geneva Bible Translation Notes suggests this was a parenthetical mention to remind the Israelites of God's favor, preparing them to be receptive to what was to follow.

(5) On this side of the Jordan in the land of Moab, Moses began to declare this law, saying, (6) “The LORD our God spoke to us in Horeb, saying, ‘You have dwelt long enough at this mountain.'"

On their current side of the Jordan River, across from their promised land, Moses began speaking to the people.  They had come to Mount Sinai (generally thought of as the same place as Horeb) in the third month after their departure from Egypt (Exodus 19:1-2), and left it on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year (Numbers 10:11-13), so it appears they had been there nearly a whole year when God told them it was time to move.

(7) "‘Turn and take your journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites, and to all the places near to it in the plain, in the hills, and in the valley, in the south and on the seacoast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, to the great river, the river Euphrates.'"

Moses continued, repeating what the Lord had told them when it was time to move from Horeb.  He told them to move from Horeb and go toward the mountains occupied by the Amorites, and to all the places near it, in the plain, in the hills, and in the valley, to the southern border of Canaan to the Mediterranean Sea, to the land of the Canaanites upward to Lebanon to the Euphrates River.

The map above (courtesy of Bible History Online) gives a general sense of the area the Lord was talking about.  There are the Amorites in the east to the southern border of Canaan which was at Kadesh Barnea to the Mediterranean Sea, and in the north is Mount Lebanon.

(8) "'Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give to them and to their descendants after them.'"

Moses continued, reminding the people of the words of their Lord at that time He told them to move from Horeb.  He, in essence, told them "There is your land, promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, before you.  Now go in and take possession of it."

(9) “And I spoke to you at that time, saying, ‘I am not able to bear you alone.'"

Moses reminded the people that he had said he alone was not able to take the entire burden of the children of Israel.  In Numbers 11:14 he had told God he could not bear the burden alone, and God had taken of the spirit that was upon Moses and gave it to seventy elders so that they could wisely assist him in governing the people.  Although there was no reference that Moses himself had declared he was unable to bear the burden of the people, there was also the time that Moses's father-in-law advised him in Exodus 18:18 that he could not continue to try to bear the burden, but should appoint and teach men to be judges of the people's matters to share the burden with him.

(10) "'The LORD your God has multiplied you, and here you are today, as the stars of heaven in multitude.'"

The KJV never used quotation marks to identify quotes.  Some of the versions show this as a continuation of what Moses had said to the people at the time he had told them he was unable to bear them all alone.  Others suggest he was telling them at that current time that the Lord had so multiplied them that they currently were as numerous as the stars of heaven, a reference to the original promise God had made to Abraham (Genesis 15:5).

(11) "'(The LORD God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as you are, and bless you, as He has promised you!)'"

Once again, it's hard to know with certainty whether Moses was referring to what he had said to them previously at the time he spoke of in verse 9, or if he was making the statement at this current moment.  Either way, it is seen as a parenthetical statement that Moses wished for the people to become a thousand times greater in number than they were, and that God would continue to bless them as He had blessed them up to that point.

(12) "'How can I myself alone bear your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife?'"

This appears to complete the explanation of what Moses had begun in verse 9, that was the reason he could not bear the burdens of the people by himself.

(13) "'Take wise and understanding men known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.'"

Moses had told the people that they were to take wise and knowledgeable men from their tribes and he would appoint them as leaders of the people.

(14) “And you answered me and said, ‘The thing which you have spoken is good for us to do.'"

This verse makes it clear that verses 10 through 14 have been what was spoken at the time when Moses apparently told the people that he could not bear them alone, perhaps at the time of Exodus 18:18, or at some other time when he had spoken directly to the people about how best to govern them.  He had told them to choose their own leaders from among their tribes to be their leaders, and the people had agreed it was a good plan.

(15) "So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes."

Moses had previously taken the chief men of wisdom and knowledge from their tribes and made them leaders of the people.  Adam Clarke wrote that these were millenaries (captains over thousands), centurions (captains over hundreds), quinquagenaries (captains over fifties), and decurions (captains over tens); and that each of these were probably dependent on that officer immediately above himself.  The decurion, or ruler over ten, if he found a matter too hard for him, brought it to the quinquagenary, ruler of fifty, and if he found a case too complicated for him, he brought it to the centurion, etc.

(16) "And I charged your judges at that time, saying, ‘Hear the cases between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother and the stranger who is with him.'"

Moses had charged the people's judges at the time to hear the cases of the people, including the strangers who dwelt among them, and to judge righteously.

(17) "‘You shall not respect persons in judgment; you shall hear the small as well as the great; you shall not be afraid of the face of any man, for the judgment is God's; and the cause that is too hard for you, bring it to me, and I will hear it.'"

To be a respecter of persons was to show partiality to particular classes of people, whether they be rich and powerful, or poor and needy.  The judges were to judge impartially, and they were to judge small cases as well as great cases.  They were not to fear any man, for their judgment was considered to be God's judgment, as He had commissioned them to judge for Him.  If a case had worked up the chain of command and was too difficult for them, then the case was to be brought to Moses, and of course, if it was too difficult for Moses, he took the problem to God.

(18) “And I commanded you at that time all the things which you should do."

Moses had delivered to them all the laws, statutes, and judgments that had been revealed to him by the Lord.

(19) "And when we departed from Horeb, we went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which you saw by the way of the mountains of the Amorites, as the LORD our God commanded us; and we came to Kadesh Barnea."

Moses reminded the people of the time they left Horeb as the Lord had commanded they do.  They went through the wilderness of Paran, hard and dry and difficult to travel through, in the way that led to the mountains of the Amorites.  They went the way the Lord had told them to go, and they came to Kadesh Barnea.

(20) “And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God does give to us.'"

Moses told the people at that time that they had arrived at the mountains of the Amorites which the Lord had given to them, not just the mountains, but the whole land of Canaan beyond them.

(21) "'Behold, the LORD thy God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has said to you; do not fear or be discouraged.’"

Moses continued reminding the people of what he had said at the time.  He told them to behold the land of Canaan before them to which the Lord had brought them, and to go in and possess the land as their Lord had told them to do.  He told them not to fear or be discouraged for the Lord had given them the land to possess.

(22) “And every one of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’"

Moses reminded them that they all came to him at the time.  I'm sure not every single person came to him, nor would this current generation of people have come to him, but their fathers and the heads of their tribes representing all the people at the time came before him.  They proposed that they send some men into the land to explore it and to bring back word about the best way to go and information about the cities to which they would come.

(23) “The plan pleased me well; and I took twelve men of you, one from each tribe."

Moses recalled that the people's plan seemed a good one to him.  He selected twelve men, one from each tribe.

(24) "And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out."

Those twelve men went up into the mountains of the Amorites into the Valley of Eshcol, and searched out the land.

(25) "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down to us, and brought back word to us, saying, ‘It is a good land which the LORD our God does give us.’"

Moses reminded them that the twelve spies brought back fruit of the land and the news that the land the Lord was giving them was very good.

(26) “Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; (27) And you murmured in your tents, and said, ‘Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. (28) Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, “The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”’"

Even though they saw the land was good, the people would not go in to possess the land against the command of their Lord to do just that.  They cowered in their tents talking among themselves and actually came to the conclusion that this great act of love for His people was actually a trick to destroy them.  Incredible!  How little they had learned about God's nature and His love and mercy for them that they could believe such a thing!  The people complained there was no place they could go into the land that they wouldn't encounter people taller and greater than them, and cities too strong and fortified for them to enter.  They blamed the spies for discouraging them with all this news.  Besides, there were the giant sons of Anakim there, as well!  The people took the word of ten spies, for Caleb and Joshua had encouraged them to take possession of the land their Lord had given them.

(29) “Then I said to you, ‘Do not dread them, neither be afraid of them. (30) The LORD your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, (31) And in the wilderness, where you have seen how the LORD your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place.'"

Moses reminded the people of what he had said at the time.  He told them not to dread or fear the Canaanites, for the Lord went before them and would fight for them, just as He had done in Egypt.  He reminded them of how the Lord had cared and provided for them in the wilderness up to that point.

(32) "Yet in this thing you did not believe the LORD your God, (33) Who went in the way before you, to search out a place for you to pitch your tents, to show you the way you should go, in the fire by night and in the cloud by day."

Moses reminded the people that they did not believe that their Lord, who had constantly gone before them previously to lead them to their campsites and had shown them the way to go in that fire by night and in that cloud by day, would lead and protect them now that they might go in and possess the land.

(34) “And the LORD heard the voice of your words, and was angry, and swore, saying, (35) ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, (36) Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him I give the land that he has trodden upon, and to his children, because he has wholly followed the LORD.'"

Moses reminded them of how the Lord was angry with their words and their lack of faith, and had vowed that none of that generation would be able to see the good land that He had promised to them long before them.  None would see it except for Caleb (and Joshua mentioned later); those two spies had wholly followed the Lord.  They alone had come back with good reports and believed the Lord when He had told them they could go in and possess it.

(37) "Also the LORD was angry with me for your sakes, saying, 'You also shall not go in there. (38) Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall go in there; encourage him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it.'"

Moses admitted to the people that the Lord was angry with him, also, and told him that he would not be able to go into the promised land either.  This did not happen at the same time that the people had believed the bad report of the spies, but some 37 years later at the rock at Meribah, when he spoke for the sake of the people, but spoke unadvisedly and acted differently than the Lord had commanded him, and did not sanctify the Lord in the eyes of the children of Israel.  For that reason the Lord had told Moses he would not be the one to bring the congregation into the promised land, but Joshua, Moses's own servant and minister, would do that.  The Lord had instructed Moses to encourage Joshua, for he would be the one to lead them into their promised land to inherit it.  This, of course, was because Joshua had been one of only two spies (with Caleb) who had believed the Lord in that they could go in and possess their promised land, just as the Lord had told them to do.

(39) "‘Moreover your little ones and your children, whom you said would be prey, whom in that day had no knowledge between good and evil, they shall go in there; and to them I will give it, and they shall possess it.'"

Moses continued with what the Lord had said at the time of the people's rebellion and lack of faith, that their children whom the people had cried would become prey to the Amorites (Numbers 14:3), they, those children, not being at the age of understanding between good and evil, and certainly not having the understanding at the time to choose between the good and bad reports at the time of the spies, they would be the ones to go in and possess the land (Numbers 14:31).  The Lord would give it to the children of the children of Israel.

(40) "‘But as for you, turn and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea.’"

Moses continued with what the Lord had said at the time.  Those adults at the time, who would not be allowed to enter the promised land, were told to turn back toward the Red Sea again and journey into the wilderness (Numbers 14:25).

(41) “Then you answered and said to me, ‘We have sinned against the LORD; we will go up and fight, just as the LORD our God commanded us.’ And when everyone of you had girded on his weapons of war, you were ready to go up into the mountain."

Moses reminded the people of what they had done at that point.  They realized that they had sinned against the Lord, and they were ready to go up into the mountain and fight for their land (Numbers 14:39-40).

(42) “And the LORD said to me, 'Say to them, “Do not go up nor fight, for I am not among you; lest you be defeated before your enemies.”’"

The Lord had told Moses at the time to tell the people not to go up or fight, for He would not go with them.  If they persisted in going, they would be smitten by their enemies (Numbers 14:41-42).

(43) “So I spoke to you; and you would not listen, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD, and went presumptuously up into the mountain."

Moses reminded the people he had told them the words of the Lord, that they should not go and fight, but they would not listen.  Once again, they were rebelling against the word of the Lord.  When He told them to go, they would not, and then He warned them not to, they went defiantly up into the mountain.

(44) “And the Amorites who dwelt in that mountain came out against you and chased you as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even to Hormah."

Moses continued to remind them of what happened at the time.  The Amorites who dwelt in the mountain came out against them as bees that had been disturbed in their hives.  The original scripture (Numbers 14:45) that told of this incident indicated that it was the Amalekites and the Canaanites who came out against them.  The commentaries I study explain that the Amorites, as the most powerful nation of Canaan, are sometimes referred to as to the Canaanite tribes in general.  Continuing Moses's reminder to the people, he told them they had been defeated at Mount Seir, and driven back to Hormah.

(45) "And you returned and wept before the LORD, but the LORD would not listen to your voice nor give ear to you."

Moses reminded the people that those of them who had returned from their presumptuous advancement up the mountain, wept before the Lord, but He would not listen to them, for He had warned them not to go, but they had once again disobeyed, and He was not going to change His decision about sending them back into the wilderness and not allowing them to go in to possess their promised land.

(46) "So you abode in Kadesh many days, according to the days that you abode there."

After that, the people remained in Kadesh many days.  No one seems to know the exact meaning of this difficult verse.  Adam Clarke wrote, "They had been a long time at this place. And some think that the words mean, 'Ye abode as long at Kadesh, when you came to it the second time, as ye did at the first.' Or, according to others, 'While ye were in that part of the desert, ye encamped at Kadesh.'"  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, quoted others before him:

...according to Jarchi, as they did in the rest of the journeys or stations; so that as they were thirty eight years in all at several places, they were nineteen years in Kadesh; the same is affirmed in the Jewish chronology. Maimonides says they were eighteen years in one place, and it is very probable he means this; but Aben Ezra interprets it otherwise, and takes the sense to be, that they abode as many days here after their return as they did while the land was searching, which were forty days, but without fixing any determinate time, the meaning may only be, that as they had been many days here before this disaster, so they continued many days after in the same place before they marched onward into the wilderness again.

As Dr. Gill concluded, I believe the sense is just that they remained as long in Kadesh after this disaster as they had before it.  Moses continued in the next chapter with their journeys from there.

A study of the word "Deuteronomy" reveals it is a Greek word, "Deuteronómion", and means "second law" or "copy of the law".  However, Moses wrote in Hebrew, and that word for "Deuteronomy" was actually "eleh ha-devarim" and that means "these are the words."  The book of Deuteronomy was essentially a retelling of God's laws and of the history that brought the people to this point in time.  In this first chapter of Deuteronomy, Moses reminded the people why they had been in the wilderness for forty years.  It was due to their own lack of faith and misconduct.  The purpose of the law of God was to instruct the people in the way that would give them peace and prosperity, and keep them close to Him, their provider, their protector, their very source of life.  When the people lost sight of that and began to wander away, it was a merciful God who brought them back to Him in whatever means necessary.  God, in His infinite wisdom and knowledge of everything past, present, and future, knows exactly what we need to bring us to Him.  Some people take more refining than others, but the ultimate goal of God is that all should come to repentance and salvation in Him (2 Peter 3:9).  He is long-suffering, that is patient, taking the time, for instance forty years, to bring us to Him.  We should all reflect on our past lives and see the blessings of God throughout, and understand that in those times of hardship God was working to draw us to Him.  I don't believe that the bad things in our lives are the result of God punishing us.  We have free will, and we often use it to turn from what God tells us is best for our lives.  However, I don't believe as some do, that nothing "bad" ever comes from God.  What we consider bad and what God considers that same thing to be are probably quite different!  If a man has lived his entire life apart from God, and is in a terrible accident that disables him for the rest of it, but he comes to salvation in God because of his trials, would that not be a good thing?  Even when there is loss of life that seems so unfair to us and may make us want to reject God because of it--if that loss eventually brings us to God because we can't handle it alone, is it not a good thing?  We make the mistake of thinking that this life on earth is most important!  If God takes a young person home to be with Him where they have joy and perfection and eternal life and love, is that not a most wonderful thing?  It only hurts those of us who are left behind, who must learn and draw near to God in our pain.  I certainly don't believe God gives a child cancer.  The things we have done in our environment and the chemicals we eat and breathe, all our choices in life, bring about the perfect storms that can create cancer in a young one.  No, it wasn't the choice of the child.  But once again, this life is only meant to be a journey to heaven.  Our dear ones who may have lost their lives early just had a much shorter journey.  The rest of us may have to wander in the wilderness for awhile before we get there!

Law Governing Marriage of the Daughters of Zelophehad

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 36:1) And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spoke before Moses and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel.

The Israelites were in their last station in the plains of Moab before going over the Jordan River to take possession of their promised land.  In the past couple of chapters and posts, God had been laying out some instructions through Moses about their boundaries and the makeup of their cities.  At this point, the chief fathers of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, came forward to speak before Moses and the chief fathers of the children of Israel.  Machir made up the half tribe of Manasseh that took its inheritance on their current side of the Jordan River.

(2) And they said, "The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel; and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of our brother Zelophehad to his daughters."

The chief fathers of the families of Gilead, the son of Machir, the half tribe of Manasseh on the east side of the Jordan, began by referencing the fact that Moses had been commanded by the Lord to give the inheritance of Zelophehad to his daughters.  Zelophehad, we were told in Numbers 27:1, was the son of Hepher who was the son of Gilead, and therefore had also been a chief father of the family of Gilead.  Now his inheritance belonged to his daughters.

(3) "And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe in which they are received; so it shall be taken from the lot of our inheritance."

The chief fathers of the families of Gilead brought up the supposition that the daughters of Zelophehad might well marry a man from another tribe, and land from their tribe's inheritance would be taken away and added to the tribe into which each daughter of Zelophehad married.

(4) “And when the Jubilee of the children of Israel comes, then their inheritance will be added to the inheritance of the tribe into which they are received; so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers."

Normally, in the Year of Jubilee inheritances were to be restored to the original owners of them, but this would not be the case for the inheritances of the daughters of Zelophehad; theirs would remain with the tribe into which they had married, and would thus be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of the fathers of the families of Gilead, that is Machir, that half tribe of Manasseh that had its inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan River.

(5) And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, "The tribe of the sons of Joseph has spoken well."

Moses then told the children of Israel that the Lord had said that what the fathers of the families of Gilead (the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, who was the son of Joseph) had said was right and reasonable.

(6) "This is the thing which the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, ‘Let them marry whom they think best, but only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry.'"

The Lord commanded that the daughters of Zelophehad marry only within the family of their father's, and theirs themselves, own tribe.  There was to be no forced or arranged marriage; they could marry whomever they wished, but it had to be within their own tribe.  Some Bible commentators say that the verse meant they could only marry within their father's family within the tribe, meaning the family of the Hepherites, Hepher being the father of Zelophehad.  At this point, I don't see it that way.  I believe it means they could marry into the family of their father's tribe, which would be the half tribe of Manasseh that was to dwell on the eastern side of the Jordan.  This seems a very wise and reasonable command.  For one thing, if God is the one directing whom they should marry, then how could the marriage fail?  Even now isn't it God's best for Christians that they not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14)?

(7) “So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not move from tribe to tribe; for every one of the children of Israel shall keep to himself the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers."

Doing as God commanded, Moses said, would allow each of the children of Israel to keep his inheritance of the tribe of his fathers, and ownership would not move from tribe to tribe. 

(8) “And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel shall be the wife of one of the family of her father’s tribe, so that the children of Israel each may enjoy the inheritance of his fathers. (9) Neither shall the inheritance move from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep its own inheritance.”

Dr. John Gill pointed out, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, that the tribes were not strictly obliged to marry within their own tribes.  The inheritances were given to the heads of each tribe, and wives who married into the families of a tribe became one of that tribe, and likewise the children they bore.  It was only in the case of the daughters who possessed an inheritance, that they would have to marry within their tribe so that their inheritance would not go to another tribe.  With this law, all tribes retained their inheritances.

I recall something that illustrates this point.  I am a genealogist, and in researching my son's family tree, I found this case of his great-great grandfather.  He married a young woman of some means, and her parents gave her a good bit of land when they got married.  She died in childbirth with their first child, a daughter.  The land then went to the daughter.  However, the baby daughter died, and then the land went to her father.  Her father remarried and they had a child.  At that point, the child who was completely unrelated to the parents who had initially given the land, was the heir to the land.  Those parents were upset about it and even sued the husband of their daughter, but to no avail.  If it had been Biblical times, and their daughter had married someone within the tribe of her parents, the land would have stayed in the family, because her husband was within their tribe, and there would have been no hostile feelings and lawsuits.  God makes such wise laws!

(10) Just as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad; (11) For Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married to the sons of their father’s brothers. (12) They were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

The daughters of Zelophehad did just as the Lord had commanded to Moses that they do.  They married into the families of their father's brothers, and therefore were married into the families of their half tribe of Manasseh, and thus their inheritances remained in the tribe of their father.

(13) These are the commandments and the judgments which the LORD commanded the children of Israel by the hand of Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

With this verse the book of Numbers ends with a summary statement that the preceding had been the commandments and judgments of the Lord, concerning their inheritances in the promised land, regarding the division of it, cities of refuge, and the case of inheritances in it.  These commandments the Lord gave at the Israelites' last station in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho where they would enter their promised land.

The moral of the 36th chapter of Numbers is that the people of God are taught to hold fast to their inheritances in His promises and their right in Christ.  They are not to be unequally yoked as to have union with pagans that would make them partakers in paganism and idolatry, and thus pull them away from their God.  We should not join in friendships with wicked men and unbelievers.  Though we can't completely avoid being around such people, we shouldn't choose those people for our closest friends.  We must not defile ourselves by closely sharing with those who defile themselves with sin.  Of course, that is not to say we shouldn't have any contact with unbelievers and sinners.  How can an unbelieving world learn about Christ if it can't see the light?  However, we have to avoid those close associations that would necessarily make us compromise God's laws.

Cities of Refuge and Laws About Murder

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 35:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying, (2) “Command the children of Israel that they give to the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites suburbs for the cities around them."

In the last post, the Lord had commanded to Moses what the boundaries of the promised land were to be, and also named the princes of each tribe who were to receive their tribes' inheritance by lot.  He continued speaking to Moses in the plains of Moab on their current side of the Jordan across from Jericho, telling him to command the children of Israel to give to the Levites cities, as well as land surrounding the cities, from their inheritances.  The Levites had no inheritance of their own, but as ministers of God, the Lord would have them scattered among all the tribes.

(3) "And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts."

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, telling him the cities which each tribe would give of their inheritance would be for the Levites to dwell in, and the land surrounding the cities they would use as pasture land, barns, storehouses, and the like.

(4) "And the suburbs of the cities which you shall give to the Levites shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits all around."

The Lord commanded that the suburbs of the cities which were to be given to the Levites were to extend from the wall of the city outward 1000 cubits all around, which was about 1500 feet.

(5) “And you shall measure from outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, and the city shall be in the midst; this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities."

It appears from verse 5 that besides the first 1000 cubits which served as a suburb of the city all around, there was an additional 2000 cubits on all sides that probably served as their pasture lands.  The cities were to be in the middle of the these designated suburbs.

(6) "And among the cities which you shall give to the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which you shall appoint for the manslayer, to which he may flee; and to these you shall add forty-two cities. (7) So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be forty-eight; these you shall give with their suburbs."

The Levites were to be given a total of 48 cities with their suburbs as described above.  There were to be six cities of refuge to which a manslayer might flee for protection until his case was decided, and 42 additional cities.

(8) “And the cities which you shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel; from them who have many you shall give many, but from them who have few you shall give few; everyone shall give of his cities to the Levites according to his inheritance which he inherits."

The 48 cities that were to be given to the Levites from the other tribes' inheritances were to be divided among the tribes with larger tribes giving more and smaller tribes giving fewer.  Every single tribe was to give some measure of cities to the Levites from their inheritance.

(9) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (10) “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘When you have come over Jordan into the land of Canaan, (11) Then you shall appoint cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the slayer who kills any person accidentally may flee there. (12) And they shall be to you cities for refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer not die until he stands before the congregation in judgment.'"

The Lord continued speaking to Moses, telling him to tell the children of Israel that once they had gone over the Jordan River into the land of Canaan, they were to appoint their cities of refuge to which a person who killed another accidentally might flee for protection.  The nearest kin had a right to avenge the death of his relation by slaying the murderer, so there was a need for a safe haven for the manslayer until his case was judged.

(13) "‘And of the cities which you give, you shall have six cities of refuge. (14) You shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall you give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge.'"

There were to be six such cities of refuge.  Three cities were to be assigned on their present side of the Jordan River, where the inheritances of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh were; and the other three cities of refuge were to be assigned in the land of Canaan on the other side of the Jordan.

(15) "‘These six cities shall be a refuge for the children of Israel, for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills a person accidentally may flee there.'"

The cities of refuge were to be available for the children of Israel, and for the strangers and sojourners who dwelt among them, that anyone might flee there for protection if he accidentally killed someone.

(16) "'And if he strikes him with an instrument of iron, so that he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.'"

If the manslayer struck the victim with an iron instrument so that he died, that was to be considered murder.  Using an instrument of iron was to be seen at the very least as wishing to harm the victim and displayed bad intentions.  Therefore, if the victim indeed died, the manslayer was guilty of murder and was to be put to death.

(17) "‘And if he strikes him with throwing a stone, by which he may die, and he does die, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.'"

The primary definition of the original word "yad" that was translated as merely "throwing" is actually "hand", "open hand" as opposed to "closed hand".  The phrase is understood to mean a large stone that fills a man's hand.  That definition would make it reasonable to assume that the stone was not even necessarily thrown at the victim, but used in some way against the victim, as in Exodus 21:18, when it described the man who struck another with a stone.  If the victim died by the hand of a manslayer who used a stone, that manslayer was considered a murderer and was to be put to death.

(18) "‘Or if he strikes him with a wooden hand weapon, by which he may die, and he dies, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death.'"

Likewise if a man used a hand weapon of wood that was capable of killing a man, and the victim indeed died, the manslayer was considered a murderer and was to be put to death.

(19) "'The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer; when he meets him, he shall slay him.'"

In the above situations (verses 16-18), the manslayer was considered a murderer and was afforded no sanctuary.  The avenger of blood, or more properly defined as "redeemer of blood", that is the kinsman of the victim, was allowed by law to kill the murderer himself to avenge his relative.  Whenever he met him, at his first opportunity, he was to put the murderer to death.

(20) "'But if he thrusts him out of hatred or hurls at him while lying in wait, so that he dies, (21) Or in enmity strikes him with his hand so that he dies, he who struck him shall surely be put to death, for he is a murderer; the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer when he meets him.'"

Even in cases where the manslayer did not use weapons designed to hurt and kill, if he acted in hatred or lay in wait for his victim, he would be considered guilty of murder if his victim died.  In these cases also, the kinsman avenger of blood was he himself to put the murderer to death whenever he met up with him.

(22) "'But if he thrusts him suddenly without enmity, or has cast upon him anything without lying in wait, (23) Or with any stone, by which a man may die, casting it at him without seeing him, so that he dies, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm, (24) Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments.'"

In the case of a man who struck another or threw something at him suddenly, having not lain in wait for him, demonstrating no premeditation, he was not immediately considered a murderer.  Even if he had used a stone that would normally be expected to kill a man, and the victim indeed died, if the man did not see his victim, and it hit him accidentally, and the victim was not an enemy, and he had never sought to harm him, then he was not immediately considered a murderer.  This was the type of manslayer who could find sanctuary until his case was judged by the congregation.

(25) "'And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge where he had fled, and he shall remain there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.'"

If the manslayer was found not to be guilty of murder, but had killed his victim accidentally, then the congregation was to deliver him back to his city of refuge, and he was to remain there until the death of the high priest.  He was a free man, but only within the walls of his city of refuge.  Although he was found not guilty of murder, he was still in exile from his home, indicating that the taking of a life was a very grave matter, even if done accidentally.  The high priest was chief among the priests and Levites to whom the cities of refuge belonged.  He alone made yearly atonement for the people.  Upon the death of the high priest who presided concurrently with the safe sanctuary of the manslayer, the slayer was to be set free.  This is a picture of Christ who alone atones for our sins, and upon His death the captives were set free and the remembrance of transgressions were made to cease.

(26) "'But if the slayer at any time goes outside the border of the city of his refuge where he fled, (27) And the revenger of blood finds him outside the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood, (28) Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest; but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession.'"

However, if the manslayer at any time went outside the borders of his city of refuge, then he was not safe from the avenger of blood.  If the kinsman avenger found him outside the borders of the city of refuge, he was free to kill the manslayer, and he would not be guilty of murder, because the manslayer's only salvation was within the borders of the city of refuge.  Only after the death of the high priest was the slayer to be free to go outside the city of refuge and return to his own land.

(29) "'So these things shall be for a statute of judgment to you throughout your generations in all your dwellings.'"

God established these laws for judging murder and proclaimed they were to remain intact throughout the ages in all their dwellings, at least until the coming of the Messiah, in whom true and complete refuge would be.

(30) "‘Whoever kills a person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses, but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.'"

A murderer was to be put to death only by the testimony of two or more witnesses.  The testimony of one witness alone was not sufficient to put a killer to death.  One person might be mistaken or prejudiced, so his testimony had to be confirmed by at least one other.  I love this about the word of God!  Consistently we are told throughout the Bible that by the word of two or three witnesses a thing is established (Matthew 18:16, 2 Corinthians 13:1, 1 Timothy 5:19).  That fact has helped me so much in my Bible study.  Whenever I ponder an obscure or difficult verse, I know that its meaning will be confirmed elsewhere in the Bible.  If I come up with a meaning that is not expressed elsewhere in the Bible, then I know the problem was with my interpretation, not with inconsistency in the Bible.

(31) "‘Moreover you shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer who is guilty of death, but he shall surely be put to death.'"

This particular "satisfaction" is more clearly understood as "redemption" or "ransom".  No atonement or compensation could be paid to redeem the murderer's life.  If he was found guilty of murder, he absolutely was to be put to death.

(32) "'And you shall take no satisfaction for him who has fled to his city of refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.'"

Likewise there was no redemption or compensation for the refugee who left his city of refuge before the death of the high priest.  In leaving his sanctuary before the time that was allowed by law, he had broken the law and could not pay his way out.  I suppose he was free until he encountered a kinsman avenger of blood, but I guess that's the uncertain life of anyone who runs from the law.

(33) "‘So you shall not pollute the land where you are, for blood defiles the land; and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of him who shed it.'"

The shedding of innocent blood defiles a nation.  The Lord expressly told His people so and cautioned them against polluting their land.  The only way He provided for the cleansing of the blood that had been shed in the land, was by the blood of the one who shed it.  Only God is the author of life and only He can dispose of it.  To take any life before its time could be to deprive that soul from coming to salvation, so the murderer not only murdered a body, but he may well have murdered a soul, which is far more important.  Although I know that a merciful righteous God would not condemn to hell a person who had not had the opportunity to come to salvation, this shows just how serious it is to take a life.  I can't help but think of the horrific amount of innocent blood that has been shed in our country since Roe v. Wade--over 60 million innocent babies' blood!  How defiled is our land?  Jesus Christ came and shed His blood for our sins so that we did not have to pay with our own lives for aborting precious innocent life, but that is only if we confess our sin and sin by that way no more.  I know Christ can save individuals who sin, but a country that continues to kill innocent babies in direct violation of God's law?  I am certain this country will fall if for that reason alone, although there are many more Godless reasons our nation is defiled.

(34) "‘Therefore do not defile the land which you inhabit, wherein I dwell; for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.'"

The Lord exhorted His people not to defile their land, and added the more important basis for His exhortation that He, the Holy God, dwelt there among His people.  Again I cannot help but think about our nation and how we can declare "God Bless America" as we stand on top of the massive amount of innocent blood in our land.  Think of all the ways this country has pushed God out of schools and the public square.  Consider how the Democrat Party wanted God removed from its platform.  How can we expect God to bless a country that doesn't want Him in it?  How do we expect a country to survive without Him or His blessing?

The Borders of the Promised Land, Part 2

Because Blogger limits the number of labels per post, I have separated the current post into two parts.  The first part can be found here:

The Borders of the Promised Land, Part 1

At the end of part 1, the Lord had been speaking to Moses, designating the princes of each tribe that were to receive the inheritance for their tribes by lot.  He continued:

(Numbers 34:23) "The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. (24) And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan."

The children of Joseph were divided into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim.  Half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received their inheritance on the current side of the Jordan, but for the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, the Lord designated Hanniel as the prince to receive the lot.  From the tribe of Ephraim, Kemuel was chosen.

(25) "And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach."

From the tribe of Zebulun, the Lord designated Elizaphan.

(26) "And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan."

He designated Paltiel to receive the lot for the tribe of Issachar.

(27) "And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. (28) And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud."

From the tribe of Asher the Lord designated Ahihud, and from Naphtali, He chose Pedahel.

(29) "These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance to the children of Israel in the land of Canaan."

The Lord concluded His command to Moses by saying that the previous names of princes were the ones He Himself had commanded to divide the inheritance in Canaan among the children of Israel.

In the conclusion of this post, I turn to Matthew Henry, this time in his Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible.  Here are his beautiful reflections about the relatively small area that was the promised land:

Canaan was of small extent; as it is here bounded, it is but about 160 miles in length, and about 50 in breadth; yet this was the country promised to the father of the faithful, and the possession of the seed of Israel. This was that little spot of ground, in which alone, for many ages, God was known. This was the vineyard of the Lord, the garden enclosed; but as it is with gardens and vineyards, the narrowness of the space was made up by the fruitfulness of the soil. Though the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof, yet few know him, and serve him; but those few are happy, because fruitful to God. Also, see how little a share of the world God gives to his own people. Those who have their portion in heaven, have reason to be content with a small pittance of this earth. Yet a little that a righteous man has, having it from the love of God, and with his blessing, is far better and more comfortable than the riches of many wicked.

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

Assignment of Conquered Lands to Reuben, Gad, and the Half Tribe of Manasseh

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 32:1) Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle, (2) The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying, (3) “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, (4) The country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle." (5) Therefore they said, “If we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession, and do not bring us over Jordan."

Israel was still camped in the plains of Moab.  In the last chapter and post, the Israelites had warred with the Midianites to avenge themselves and their Lord.  They had not even yet crossed over into their promised land, but had acquired land and more livestock as a result of their victorious wars thus far.  The tribes of Reuben and Gad apparently had herds of cattle that had grown very large, and they liked the place where they were, thinking it was a good place for their cattle.  They came to Moses, Eleazar, and the princes of the congregation, naming the places they had conquered, giving glory to God that He had been the conqueror.  They reasoned to them that these lands were great places for cattle, and since they had cattle, they asked that they be allowed to have these lands for their possession, and not have them go over the Jordan River to the promised land with the rest of the tribes.

Imagine that!  Forty years had been spent wandering the wilderness until the time when they finally reached their promised land flowing with milk and honey, that marvelous gift of God that had been anticipated since Abraham, and they were content to just stay where they were.  They did not have the proper respect and honor for Israel as a whole and for the promise of their Lord.  They seemed to have a more selfish regard for themselves and for what served their own purposes.  Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, in the Scofield Reference Notes, called them "world-borderers, carnal Christians".  The apostle Paul spoke in Philippians 2:21 of men seeking their own things and not the things of Jesus Christ.  These tribes were more interested in their own worldly interests than in the heavenly Canaan.  Is that not a perfect example for us today?  How often do we settle for what satisfies us immediately and miss out on the greater plan of God?

(6) And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here?"

Moses was not at all happy with their request.  He asked them if they intended to sit there in peace and quiet in their fruitful land while their brothers went to war to dispossess their enemies of their land before they could settle in it.  It probably seemed to Moses that this was a selfish and cowardly request.  It showed disrespect for God's promised land and perhaps even a lack of faith in the power of God to displace the Canaanites.  It showed dishonor and neglect for their brethren, as well.

(7) "And therefore you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?"

Moses argued that this act of theirs might discourage the other tribes in that they would have less assistance in fighting to conquer the lands, and in the possibility that they might begin to question whether they too should take what was known rather than trusting in what they saw as unknown, encouraging a lack of faith.

(8) “Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. (9) For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them."

Moses continued to rebuke these two tribes, saying this request of theirs would discourage the rest of the children of Israel just as their previous generation had discouraged the people with their spies' ill report, telling them that there were giants in the land, and that the people were strong, and their cities walled, and that the children of Israel were not able to go up against them and overcome them.

(10) "And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and He swore, saying, (11) 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me.'"

Moses reminded them that the Lord's anger had been roused at the same time as the spies returned with their bad report.  At that time the Lord said that none of the men who came out of Egypt from twenty years and upward (except Caleb and Joshua) would see the promised land because they had not trusted and followed Him when He told them to go possess the land.

(12) "'Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’"

The Lord had indeed made it a point to make an exception for Caleb and Joshua because they were men who had wholly followed Him, trusting that what He had told them to do, they would definitely be able to do.  That reminds me of Romans 4:20-22 that spoke of the great faith of Abraham, that he was "fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform."  What a wonderful reminder for us all!  No matter how things look, we must trust God!  Also in the same passage in Romans that spoke of Abraham's great faith, Romans 4:17 spoke of God as calling "things which be not as though they were."  Abraham didn't look at the way things appeared to be, but trusted in what God said they would be, and that's what Caleb and Joshua had done.  They didn't look at the "giants" and walled cities and decide they could not overcome them, but trusted God who had said "go up and possess it", and believed that if God told them to do it, He would make it happen.

(13) "And the LORD'S anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed."

Moses continued speaking about the time the spies had come back with the bad report, saying that the Lord's anger was so aroused by their lack of faith that He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the generation of people who had not trusted Him were gone (except for Caleb and Joshua).

(14) "And, behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel."

Moses returned to the subject of the current situation, that he saw the request of the children of Gad and the children of Reuben as distrust of their Lord to bring them fully to their promised land.  They, the next generation of men that the Lord promised to bring into the promised land, were just as their fathers were, and would rouse the anger of the Lord even more against Israel.

(15) “For if you turn away from following Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

Moses reasoned that if they turned away from following the Lord into the promised land, they would discourage all the children of Israel from going forth into it, and the Lord would again leave them in the wilderness till that current generation of people was destroyed.

(16) And they came near to him, and said, "We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones, (17) But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land."

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came near to Moses and told him they would build enclosures for their livestock and fortified cities for their families, but the men themselves would be ready and armed to go before the children of Israel to bring them into their promised land.  They wanted their families and livestock first protected from the inhabitants of the land, and then they would be happy to go forth with their brethren into the promised land, showing they had no cowardice nor lack of faith which might discourage the rest of the children of Israel.

(18) “We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance. (19) For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

The tribes of Gad and Reuben vowed to not return to their homes until every one of the children of Israel had received his inheritance.  They themselves would not inherit land on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because they had accepted that eastern side of the Jordan as their inheritance.

(20) And Moses said to them, “If you do this thing, if you go armed before the LORD to war, (21) And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, (22) And the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you shall return and be guiltless before the LORD and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD."

Moses, apparently being more satisfied with the reasonableness of their request, then said to them if they would do what they said and go armed before the Lord over the Jordan until He drove out the enemies before Him, and the land was subdued before Him and the Israelites, then they could return to what they wished to be considered their homes, and they would be considered blameless before the Lord, and that land would indeed be their possession before the Lord.

(23) "But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out."

However, Moses told them, if they did not do as they said they would do, that would be considered a sin against the Lord, and their sin would surely catch up with them, implying that their sin would eventually bring punishment.

(24) “Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.”

Moses agreed and told them to go ahead and build their cities for their families and enclosures for their livestock, and do what they said they would do.

(25) And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do as my lord commands."

The tribes of Gad and Reuben told Moses they would do as he had agreed to have them do.  Showing respect for Moses, they proclaimed they would do according to his command regarding their march before the Lord to battle, and with respect to their provision for their families and livestock.

(26) "Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead; (27) But your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says.”

Indeed, they specified exactly what they intended to do.  Their wives and children, and all their livestock, would be there in the cities of Gilead, but the men themselves, all armed for war, would cross over the Jordan to go before the Lord to battle, just as Moses had agreed they do.

(28) So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.

Moses then proceeded to command Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the chief fathers of the rest of the tribes of Israel concerning what had been decided regarding the tribes of Gad and Reuben.

(29) And Moses said to them, “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession."

He explained to them that it had been decided that if the children of Gad and the children of Reuben crossed over the Jordan River, armed for battle, and the land became subdued for them all, then they were to agree to give them the land of Gilead for their inheritance and possession.

(30) “But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

However, Moses continued, if they did not go with them across the Jordan armed for battle, then they must accept their inheritance in the land of Canaan, and would not be allowed to keep Gilead for themselves.

(31) And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, “As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. (32) We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side of Jordan may be ours."

The children of Gad and of Reuben answered Moses's statement with their own vow that what Moses had said, being as from the Lord, they would indeed do accordingly.  They would cross over the Jordan armed with their brethren so that the possession they desired on the current side of the Jordan would be declared theirs.

(33) And Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country.

Therefore Moses gave to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben the lands with the cities within its borders, that had previously belonged to Sihon and Og, but had been conquered by Israel.  He also gave a portion of it to half of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.  No mention was made of half of the tribe of Manasseh wanting to join the tribes of Gad and Reuben in possessing the land of Gilead.  Later in this chapter, and even later in Joshua, when the land was divided among the tribes, we learn that the Machirites, named for the firstborn son of Manasseh, had been key in dispossessing the Amorites from the region of Gilead, and were thus given part of it as an inheritance.

(34) And the children of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer, (35) And Atroth-Shophan, Jaazer, and Jogbehah, (36) And Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fenced cities, and folds for sheep.

The children of Gad rebuilt the cities named above that had been demolished in the wars with Sihon and Og.  They restored them to fortified cities for their families and built enclosures for their livestock.

(37) And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, (38) And Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed), and Shibmah; and gave other names to the cities which they built.

The children of Reuben rebuilt the cities of Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim.  They also rebuilt the cities of Nebo, Baal Meon, and Shibmah, but gave new names to some of the cities they rebuilt.  In the case of Nebo, that was the name of an idol; and Baal Meon literally meant "Baal's habitation".  They rebuilt existing cities but some were given different names, although we are not told here what they were called.

(39) And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. (40) And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.

It appears by this statement that the Reubenites and Gadites had been given the already conquered parts of Gilead that they desired; and that the Machirites, that half tribe of Manasseh, went and dispossessed the Amorites who were still in the remaining parts of Gilead.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that this was northern Gilead.  He also stated that the phrase "went to Gilead and took it" should have more properly read "had gone to Gilead and had taken it".  Thus they were given that part of Gilead as a reward for something they had done previously.  I'm not sure that has to be the case.  After all, up until this time, all the tribes were expected to have their inheritances across the Jordan.  It wasn't until the tribes of Reuben and Gad decided they were content with what had already been conquered, that there was any thought to giving lands on the current side of the Jordan.  I don't believe that would have been a reward.  It seems the better reward would be to be given the best God had to offer which was His promised land on the other side of the Jordan River.  I tend to believe the half tribe of Manasseh drove the Amorites out of the rest of Gilead after, or at the same time, that Moses had agreed to give Gad and Reuben their possessions and they were rebuilding.  Therefore, Moses then gave that region to the half tribe of Manasseh and they dwelt there.

(41) And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair.

Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote that Jair of the tribe of Manasseh, was actually the son of Segub, who was the son of Hezron of the tribe of Judah, but that Hezron had married a daughter of Machir, the son of Manasseh.  This is confirmed in 1 Chronicles 2:21.  Apparently Jair identified with his mother's tribe and took the smaller towns of that part of Gilead that was given to the Machirites and named them for himself.  Havoth Jair literally meant the "villages of Jair".

(42) And Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.

Nobah, evidently a descendant of Manasseh, took the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

Once again, I can't help but think about how these tribes settled for less than what God had planned for them.  Moses agreed to let them have what they desired, just as God does allow us to get what we want at times, although it is not what is His best plan for us.  Events will play out in future chapters that demonstrate how this indeed was not the best choice for their possessions, but for this time, they got what they desired.

The Israelites' Holy War With Midian

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 31:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) "Avenge the children of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

The events of chapter 31 follow those of chapter 27, after an interruption where the Lord reviewed the law of sacrifices and the law of vows in the previous three chapters.  In Numbers 27:13 the Lord had told Moses that once he had been permitted to see the promised land, he would die, and would not be allowed to enter the land of Canaan because he had rebelled against the commandment of the Lord (Numbers 20:12).

Now the Lord told Moses that he was first to make war upon the Midianites to avenge the children of Israel for the injury they had done to them by sending their daughters among them to entice them to adultery and idolatry.  After that, he would be gathered to his people, meaning he would die as all his people before him.

(3) And Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD on Midian."

Moses then told the people to arm some of their able-bodied men of war and let them go against the Midianites to avenge the LORD.  Note the Lord had said in verse 2 to avenge the children of Israel, but Moses now called it vengeance for the Lord.  The Israelites had indeed suffered and lost 24,000 people due to the iniquity they were drawn into by the Midianites, but Moses recognized this had been an affront to their Lord and called the people to avenge His name and honor which had been dishonored by their sins of lewdness and idolatry.

(4) "Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall you send to the war."

Each tribe was to send 1000 men to war.

(5) So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

The people did as Moses had instructed, and delivered out of each tribe 1000 men armed for war, for a total of 12,000 men from the tribes of Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim, Manasseh, and Benjamin.  The tribe of Levi, as priests and caretakers of the tabernacle, would not have sent men to war.

(6) And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments and the trumpets to blow in his hand.

Moses sent the thousand men from each tribe to war.  We see that the tribe of Levi did participate; Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, went to war with holy articles from the sanctuary and trumpets to blow, signifying this was the Lord's battle.

(7) And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they killed all the males.

The 12,000 Israelite soldiers warred against the Midianites as the Lord had commanded Moses they do, and they killed all the males.  This means all the males who warred against them, or the ones who did not escape; it cannot mean every last Midianite male, as the Midianites would later raise their war heads again.

(8) And they killed the kings of Midian, besides the rest of them who were slain, namely, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian; Balaam also, the son of Beor, they slew with the sword.

They also killed the kings of Midian, in addition to every other male who was killed.  The five kings of Midian who were killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba.  They also killed Balaam, who was either still in Midian on his way back to his home, or had returned to Midian, as we were told in Numbers 24:25 he "returned to his place" after his meeting with Balak that had been intended, but failed, to curse Israel.

(9) And the children of Israel took the women of Midian captive, and their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle, all their flocks, and all their goods.

The Israelites took the women and their children captive, and took as spoil all their cattle, flocks, and goods.  Once again it must be understood that not all the women were taken captive, just as not all the men were killed, because the Midianites would come against Israel again; but all who came against them and did not escape were killed and their women and children taken captive.

(10) And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.

The Israelites burned all the cities where the people mentioned in the above verses dwelt.  They also burned the castles which probably belonged to the kings they had killed.

(11) And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, of men and of beasts.

The Israelites took all the spoil of the goods, and all the prey of men and livestock.

(12) And they brought the captives, the prey, and the spoil, to Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel, to the camp at the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

The Israelite soldiers brought the captives and their large booty to Moses and Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation at their camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan River across from Jericho.

(13) And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders of the congregation, went to meet them outside the camp.

Moses, Eleazar, and all the leaders of the congregation, actually went out of the camp to meet the returning Israelites outside the camp.

(14) And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come from the battle.

Moses turned out to be very angry with the officers of the Israelite army, those captains over thousands and captains over hundreds, who had come back from the battle with their captives and their rich booty.

(15) And Moses said to them, “Have you saved all the women alive? (16) Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD."

Moses was angry they had kept all the women alive.  After all, they were the main ones who first caused the Israelites to sin against their Lord, when they, apparently at the counsel of Balaam, went among the Israelites and enticed them into lewdness and eventually idolatry; and because of that, there had been a plague among the congregation of Israel.

(17) “Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known a man intimately."

Moses instructed the Israelite army to kill every male child and every woman who had known a man intimately.  Only the female children were spared.  Usually women and children were spared in these situations, as they were usually unable to resist.  However in this case, the women were the most guilty of wrongdoing against the Israelites, and the male children would later have become men and warriors against them.  Besides, the Lord God, the author, creator, and supporter of life, has every right to dispose of it when He sees proper; and as righteous and just, He cannot do anything but what is right and just.  Knowing all that is and what will be, He knows what each life would have done.  Also just because someone is taken away from this physical life doesn't always mean the end; God also takes people to save them from the evil to come (Isaiah 57:1), which could very well describe the future existence of these particular children.  Taking the children away to be with Him would be a most loving and merciful act.

(18) "But all the women children, who have not known a man intimately, keep alive for yourselves."

The female children were spared and could be taken by the Israelites.  They could be maidservants, or they could even become wives of Israelite men if they embraced the Israelite religion.

(19) "And you do abide outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.

Even though the Israelite soldiers had acted as the Lord had commanded them, they had become unclean and defiled by touching the dead, and had to go through the prescribed purification process.  Anyone who had killed or had come in contact with any slain, were to purify themselves and their captives (the female children) on the third and on the seventh day of the seven days they remained outside the camp.

(20) "And purify all clothing, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats' hair, and all things made of wood."

They were to purify all their spoils.  All clothing, skins, works of goats' hair, such as coverings of tents were made from, and all things made of wood, were to be purified by washing them.

(21) And Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses: (22) Only the gold, the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead, (23) Everything that may abide the fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean; nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of purification; all that cannot endure fire you shall put through the water."

Eleazar the priest told the men who had gone to battle about the law of purification of unclean people and things, according to what Moses had said as received from the Lord.  Items made of gold, silver, brass, and the like, that could withstand fire, were to be put through the fire and would be cleaned that way.  However, they were also to be purified with the water of purification, water mixed with the ashes of the burnt red heifer (Numbers 19:17).  All items that could not endure fire were to be washed with water.

(24) “And you shall wash your clothes on the seventh day and be clean, and afterward you may come into the camp.”

After cleansing and purifying everything else, on the seventh day they were to wash their own clothes, and then they were allowed to come into the camp.

(25) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (26) "Take the sum of the prey that was taken, of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation."

The Lord then told Moses to make a count of all the plunder that was taken, both of man and beast.  Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs of the congregation were to do this.

(27) "And divide the prey into two parts, between them who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation."

The plunder was to be divided into two equal parts between those who had gone into battle and all those others of the congregation.  Because all the Israelites were harmed by the Midianites, they all were to share in the plunder.  However, since there were just 12,000 men of war who had gone to battle, they had a far greater share of the plunder, as well they should, since they had been the ones who faced the dangers of war.

(28) "And levy a tribute for the LORD on the men of war who went out to battle, one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; (29) Take it of their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest, for a heave offering to the LORD."

There was to be a tribute or tax on the men who had gone to battle to be given to their Lord.  One out of every 500 of the people (the female children), and one of every 500 of the cattle, and likewise of the donkeys and the sheep, was to be taken from the soldiers' half of the plunder, and was to be given to Eleazar for a heave offering to the Lord, as a way to thank or give a tithe of sorts to the Lord for their success and victory and for all the plunder they had taken.

(30) “And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, of the persons, of the cattle, the donkeys, and the flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them to the Levites, who keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD.”

From the congregation's half of the plunder, they were to take one of every fifty of the people, of the cattle, and of every kind of livestock or animals taken, and those were to be given to the Levites who were employed in the service of the tabernacle.

(31) And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses and Eleazar did just as the Lord had commanded to Moses they do.

(32) And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had caught, was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep, (33) And seventy-two thousand cattle, (34) And sixty-one thousand donkeys, (35) And thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately.

These verses seem to reference the total booty, or the live prey of the booty.  I'm not sure what is meant by the "rest of the prey", unless perhaps it was what remained after the soldiers' seven days outside the camp, before it was counted.  The original word translated as "rest" was "yether" and it means "overhanging (by implication) an excess, remainder".  However, it can also mean "abundance, affluence, superiority, excellency", so perhaps the meaning was that the abundance of the total prey numbered 675,000 sheep, 72,000 cattle, 61,000 donkeys, and 32,000 young woman or girls who had never known a man intimately.

(36) And the half, the portion of them who went out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, (37) And the LORD'S tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five. (38) And the cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was seventy-two. (39) And the donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the LORD’s tribute was sixty-one. (40) And the persons were sixteen thousand, of which the LORD’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

The half portion of that total prey that went to the men who went out to war numbered 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins.  The Lord's tribute of these numbered 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 virgins.

(41) And Moses gave the tribute, the LORD'S heave offering, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Moses gave the tribute of 675 sheep, 72 cattle, 61 donkeys, and 32 virgins, to Eleazar the priest, for a heave offering, as the Lord had commanded to Moses.  People given as an offering to the Lord cannot be understood as being sacrificed, but with this heave offering they were presented, or perhaps even ceremonially raised and lowered, in dedication to God and afterward would have been reserved for the priests' use.

(42) And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the men that warred, (43) Now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep, (44) And thirty-six thousand cattle, (45) And thirty thousand five hundred donkeys, (46) And sixteen thousand persons.

The children of Israel's half of the prey which Moses had divided out of the total prey, totaled 337,500 sheep, 36,000 cattle, 30,500 donkeys, and 16,000 virgins.

(47) Of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of fifty, of man and of beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.

Of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one of each fifty, of the virgins, and of each species of animal, and gave them to the Levites who kept charge of the tabernacle, just as the Lord had commanded he do.  Although the numbers given to the Levites was not recorded here, it can be easily calculated.  The children of Israel, being required to give one in fifty, gave ten times more than the soldiers who gave one in 500; therefore their numbers were 6750 sheep, 720 cattle, 610 donkeys, and 320 virgins.

(48) And the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses; (49) And they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing."

The officers of the army of Israelites came to Moses and reported to him that after waging war with a whole nation, killing all the males and the kings, burning their cities, taking so many captives and such a large booty, miraculously not a single one of the 12,000 soldiers was killed or missing.

(50) "We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man has gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings, earrings, and necklaces, to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD."

In thanksgiving for success and sparing all their lives, the officers brought a freewill offering over and above the tribute that was levied upon them.  It seems to read that they brought to the Lord all the gold jewels and jewelry that the soldiers had taken as plunder.  They said it was to make atonement for their souls before the Lord, perhaps for their error in judgment in sparing all the women.

(51) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, even all the crafted jewels.

Moses and Eleazar received all the gold and fashioned jewelry from them.

(52) And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, from the captains of thousands, and from the captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. (53) (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

The value of all the gold the officers had offered to the Lord was 16,750 shekels.  The opinion on what a shekel of gold was worth in those times varies, but with one conversion chart I used at Convert-me.com it calculated it was equal to 0.4 ounce.  16,750 shekels would equal 6700 ounces of gold.  At the current US value of over $1500 an ounce, that would make it worth well over $10,000,000.  With this large amount, I have to believe the meaning of the parenthetical 53rd verse was that the amount was so large because every man of war had taken some gold for himself which he now offered to the Lord.  However, there are some who believe that the meaning was that some men held back the gold they took for themselves and it was not part of the offering.  That would seem to imply the meaning of the parenthetical remark was that the amount was so small because the men held back, and that just doesn't seem to be the logical meaning to me.  Whether they gave all their gold or they gave of their gold, it was still quite a large freewill offering they gave to their Lord over and above the tribute they were required to give Him.

(54) And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the LORD.

Moses and Eleazar took the gold from the officers and brought it into the tabernacle, probably laying it up in some chamber there, in remembrance of the victory the Israelites had obtained because of their Lord's goodness and protection, that they would remember this victory and trust Him in all future endeavors.  That's the way I took the meaning to be, but some Biblical scholars suggest it was laid up in the tabernacle to remind the Lord that they had given it to Him.  I really don't like that suggestion and wouldn't think it would be acceptable to the Lord if it was a bribe for purely selfish reasons.  However, Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, put it a little more softly:  "...that he (God), being well pleased with this thankful acknowledgment of favours bestowed, might continue and repeat his mercies to them."

I rather think the moral of this story, or rather historical incident, is that the people obeyed the Lord in avenging the children of Israel, thus avenging the Lord because their lewdness and idolatry had greatly dishonored Him.  Being imperfect as all men are, they erred in their judgment in keeping all the women alive, but did as Moses instructed they do when this was brought to their attention.  Their success in war was remarkable that so small an army could overcome such multitudes, and still more miraculous that not one soldier was killed or missing.  Again quoting Matthew Henry, this time in his Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible, the army then "...presented the gold they found among the spoils, as an offering to the Lord. Thus they confessed, that instead of claiming a reward for their service, they needed forgiveness of much that had been amiss, and desired to be thankful for the preservation of their lives, which might justly have been taken away."