The Lord Has Chosen Zion

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(1 Chronicles 15:1) And David made him houses in the city of David and prepared a place for the ark of God and pitched for it a tent.

David had been in the process of moving the ark of God to the city of David when Uzzah was struck dead for touching the ark.  David was afraid to move it further, and it stayed at the home of Obed Edom for three months.  During that time David continued to build up the City of David which probably meant the houses or apartments of the royal palace.  He also prepared a tent for the ark.

(2) Then David said, "None ought to carry the ark of God but the Levites, for them has the Lord chosen to carry the ark of God and to minister to Him forever."

It seems David had learned from his former mistake of bringing the ark in a cart.  He had probably searched out the law or sought the Lord and then planned to follow the law regarding the ark and the things of God.  He declared that only the Levites should carry the ark of God because they were the ones God had chosen for that task and for ministering to Him (Deuteronomy 10:8).

(3) And David gathered all Israel together to Jerusalem to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place which he had prepared for it.

David once again gathered all Israel together to bring the ark of God to the royal city (1 Chronicles 13:5) to the place David had now prepared for it.

(4) And David assembled the children of Aaron and the Levites:

David then assembled the priests, the sons of Aaron, and the Levites who were the ministers of God.

(5) Of the sons of Kohath, Uriel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twenty;

Kohath was a son of Levi who was long dead by this time, but his descendant Uriel was chief of his family tribe, and he had a hundred and twenty of his relations with him.

(6) Of the sons of Merari, Asaiah the chief, and his brethren, two hundred and twenty;

From Levi's son Merari, Asaiah was the chief of his family tribe, and he had two hundred and twenty with him.

(7) Of the sons of Gershom, Joel the chief, and his brethren a hundred and thirty;

From Levi's son Gershom, Joel was the chief of his family tribe, and he had a hundred and thirty kinsmen with him.

(8) Of the sons of Elizaphan, Shemaiah the chief, and his brethren two hundred; (9) Of the sons of Hebron, Eliel the chief, and his brethren eighty; (10) Of the sons of Uzziel, Amminadab the chief, and his brethren a hundred and twelve.

Elizaphan was a son or grandson of Kohath, and Shemaiah was the chief of his family tribe, and he had 200; Kohath's son Hebron's posterity was led by Eliel, and he had eighty of his kindred with him; and Kohath's son Uzziel had posterity led by Amminadab their chief with 112 of his brethren.

(11) And David called for Zadok and Abiathar the priests, and for the Levites, for Uriel, Asaiah, and Joel, Shemaiah, and Eliel, and Amminadab, (12) And said to them "You the chief of the fathers of the Levites, sanctify yourselves, you and your brethren, that you may bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel to the place I have prepared for it."

David then called together Zadok and Abiathar the priests and all the leaders of the family tribes aforementioned and told them to prepare and sanctify themselves so that they might bring the ark of the Lord to the place David had prepared for it.

(13) "For because you did not do it at the first, the Lord our God made a breach upon us for we did not seek Him after the due order."

David told the priests and the Levites that because they had not consulted God about the proper order of things regarding the bringing of the ark to the royal city, they had failed to do things correctly, and God had made a breach on them by striking Uzzah dead because he had touched the ark.

(14) So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves to bring up the ark of the Lord God of Israel.

So the priests and the Levites sanctified themselves as David had told them to do so that they could bring the ark of the Lord to the City of David to its proper place.

(Psalm 132:1) (A Song of Degrees) Lord, remember David and all his afflictions,

My chronological study now takes me to Psalm 132, one of the fifteen psalms that were each called a Song of Degrees or a Song of Ascents.  According to some traditions, the Jewish priests sang some of these Songs of Ascent as they ascended up the steps to the temple in Jerusalem.  While perhaps they were not originally composed for this purpose, these psalms were later grouped together for use in traveling toward Jerusalem for the yearly Jewish festivals.  As David is spoken about in the third person, he may not have been the composer of this particular psalm, but then again, he could have written it in celebration of the day when he would bring the ark of the Lord to Zion.  That is why it is reasonable to place it here in a chronological Bible study.  

The psalmist began by asking God to remember David and all his afflictions, probably the difficulty he had even coming to the kingdom in the first place, but at this point, it might be the difficulty he was having bringing the ark to his city.

(2) How he swore to the Lord and vowed to the mighty God of Jacob, (3) "Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house nor go up into my bed, (4) I will not give sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, (5) Until I find out a place for the Lord, a habitation for the mighty God of Jacob."

Rather than a real vow that David swore to the Lord, since we know that David had already resided in his house in Zion, this demonstrated David's intense and immediate desire to make a place for the Lord.

(6) Lo, we heard of it at Ephratah; we found it in the fields of the wood.

The people had heard of the ark once at Ephratah in the tribe of Ephraim where the people were called Ephraimites or Ephrathites.  Then they found it in the fields of the wood at Kirjath Jearim, which literally meant "city of forests."

(7) We will go into His tabernacles; we will worship at His footstool.

This seems to denote ascent in this Psalm of Degrees:  "we heard...we found...we will go...we will worship."  You can see how they may have sung this Song of Ascent as they ascended up the steps to the temple in Jerusalem.  By what follows this verse seems to speak of the Lord's permanent place in Jerusalem.  It was here and there, but now it would be fixed, and the people would worship at His footstool, perhaps meant literally, as the ark of God sat under the mercy seat where God dwelt between the cherubim, so the ark could be considered His footstool.

(8) Arise, O Lord, into Your rest, You and the ark of Your strength.

Indeed, Lord, come into Your permanent resting place, You and the ark of Your law, Your strength.

(9) Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness and let Your saints shout for joy.

May the Lord's priests always be clothed with righteousness, and His saints will shout for joy in His holiness and salvation.  Joy and happiness will naturally follow righteousness and holiness.  The Lord was coming to His permanent place in Jerusalem to dwell among His people, and that was a joyous thing.

(10) For Your servant David's sake, do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

Because of the promises made to David, because the Lord had anointed David as king over His people, the request was that He not turn away from His anointed, David, but continue to be with him.

(11) The Lord has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it; of the fruit of your body will I set upon your throne.

May the Lord's promises continue to his posterity for His servant David's sake.  The Lord would not turn from His promises, and from David's lineage the Messiah would come, which seems to be the prophetic message here.

(12) If your children will keep My covenant and My testimony that I shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon your throne forevermore.

If David's descendants would keep the Lord's covenant and commandments, they would continue to sit on David's throne forever, but of course, they ultimately did not hold up their end of the covenant to follow the teaching of the Lord.

(13) For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His habitation.

The Lord Himself had chosen Zion to be the seat of His Church where He would dwell, and where He would place His Son to be the spiritual Head of His Church.

(14) This is My rest forever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it.

This was to be the Lord's resting place forever, where He would forever dwell.  This must be in the spiritual sense; He would dwell in Christ's Church forever.  The roots of His Church would be firmly planted in Zion where Christ would teach and offer salvation, and then His Church would continue in the spiritual sense with the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within His saints forever.

(15) I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread.

The Lord will abundantly bless His Church; He fully satisfies the poor in spirit with the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.

(16) I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy.

What was requested in verse 9 will come to fruition in Christ's salvation, and His Church's saints will shout for joy.

(17) There will I make the horn of David to bud; I have ordained a lamp for My anointed.

There in the Christian Church, the Lord would make David's power and prosperity to grow.  In his house and lineage would come one eminent and glorious light, the Messiah. 

(18) His enemies will I clothe with shame, but upon Himself shall His crown flourish.

Though this could be said of the person of David, as the Lord would put to shame his enemies and his kingdom would flourish, I think it more properly refers to the spiritual David and his posterity.  The Son of David's crown would flourish and spread worldwide and forevermore.

The degrees or ascents are very visible in this psalm.  It moves from afflictions to promise to fulfillment to a crown forever.  Amen!

Boaz Marries Ruth

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Ruth 4:1) Then Boaz went up to the gate and sat down there, and behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spoke came by, to whom he said, "Ho, such a one! Turn aside, sit down here." And he turned aside and sat down.

At the end of the last chapter and post, Ruth had let Boaz know he was her next of kin, and by law, should marry her.  Boaz, in turn, let Ruth know that although he was her kin, he knew she had one who was nearer in kin to her than he was.  So Boaz went to the city gate and sat and waited until that kinsman he had spoken of came by.  He did indeed come by, and Boaz said something to the effect of he was the one Boaz had been looking for, and he asked him to sit down.  The man did as Boaz asked and sat down with him.

(2) And he took ten men of the elders of the city, and said, "Sit down here." And they sat down.

Boaz also called ten elders of the city to come and sit by him.  His purpose was to call a court to determine whether or not Ruth's next of kin would assume his responsibility as laid out in Deuteronomy 25:7-9.

(3) And he said to the kinsman, "Naomi, who has come again out of the country of Moab, sells a parcel of land which was our brother Elimelech's, (4) And I thought to advise you, saying, 'Buy it before the inhabitants and before the elders of my people. If you will redeem it, redeem it, but if you will not redeem it, tell me that I may know, for there is no one to redeem it besides you, and I after you.'" And he said, "I will redeem it."

Boaz began by explaining to his kinsman that Naomi who had come back from Moab was now needing to sell a parcel of land that had belonged to their mutual kinsman, Elimelech.  He had come to inform Elimelech's nearest kinsman that he might buy it and redeem it, preserving the inheritance in the family according to the law (Leviticus 25:25).  Boaz asked his kinsman to tell him then and there if he would redeem the land, for if he didn't, then it was Boaz's responsibility to redeem it as he was the nearest of kin after the kinsman to whom he now spoke.  The kinsman said he would indeed redeem it.

(5) Then said Boaz, "What day you buy the field of the hand of Naomi, you must buy also of Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance."

Boaz went on to explain that on the day the kinsman bought the field from Naomi, he was also buying it from Ruth, as her husband had been the rightful heir of Elimelech's land upon his passing.  Now that her husband was also dead, it was the redeemer's duty to raise up the name of Ruth's husband and Naomi's son, Mahlon, perpetuating it according to the law (Deuteronomy 25:5).

(6) And the kinsman said, "I cannot redeem it for myself, lest I mar my own inheritance; you redeem my right to yourself as I cannot redeem it."

At that, the kinsman said he would not be able to redeem the land, for he had his own inheritance to think of and pass on to the next generation.  He was surely married and had children and thought that marrying Ruth and raising up children in her husband's name would greatly diminish his own inheritance for his children.

(7) Now this was the custom in former time concerning redeeming and concerning changing, for to confirm all things, a man plucked off his shoe and gave it to his neighbor, and this was a testimony in Israel.

The custom at that time concerning redemption and the exchanging of property, in order to confirm the transaction, a man was to take off his shoe and give it to the other party, in this case Boaz, to confirm that he had refused his right of redemption and allowed it to pass to Boaz.  In Deuteronomy 25:8-9, we saw a stricter version of this custom that was the law, where the widow of the brother of the man who refused to uphold his responsibility in taking his brother's widow as his wife, she herself took off her brother-in-law's shoe and spit in his face because he refused to do his duty in perpetuating his brother's name.  As this kinsman was not a brother to Mahlon, he was therefore not obliged to take Ruth as his wife, but it appears that it remained a custom in the transferring of property to remove the shoe and pass it to the other party to confirm the transaction in the presence of the elders in Israel.

(8) Therefore the kinsman said to Boaz, "Buy it for yourself." So he drew off his shoe. 

So the kinsman told Boaz to buy the land for himself, and he took off his shoe to confirm that he was relinquishing his right to the land and giving Boaz the right to redeem it.

(9) And Boaz said to the elders and all the people, "You are witnesses this day that I have bought all that was Elimelech's and all that was Chilion's and Mahlon's, of the hand of Naomi. (10) Moreover, Ruth the Moabitess, the wife of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of the dead not be cut off from among his brethren, and from the gate of this place, you are witnesses this day."

Boaz then said to the elders and thus in testimony to all the people of Israel that they were witnesses to the fact that he had bought all that had been Elimelech's, and all that would have been passed down to his sons, Chilion and Mahlon, from Elimelech's widow, Naomi.  In addition, he was purchasing the right to make Ruth his wife and agreeing to raise up the names of Mahlon and his father Elimelech, so that their names would not be cut off and forgotten among their brethren.  From their position at the gate of the city, the elders and the people present were witnesses to those facts that day.

(11) And all the people who were in the gate and the elders said, "We are witnesses. Lord make the woman who is coming into your house like Rachel and like Leah, the two who built the house of Israel, and may you do worthily in Ephratah and be famous in Bethlehem, (12) And let your house be like the house of Pharez whom Tamar bore to Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give you of this young woman."

The elders and the people present at the gate of the city declared they were indeed witnesses.  They blessed the union of Boaz and Ruth.  The fact that they wished that Ruth who was coming into his house be like Rachel and Leah seems to indicate that Boaz had married before this time, and their wish was that both women would continue to build up the house of Israel as Rachel and Leah had done.  They wished that Boaz might do well in Ephratah and Bethlehem, which were one and the same place, where Rachel had died and was buried, according to Genesis 35:19.  The elders and the people also wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez, the son of Judah, by Tamar who was actually Judah's daughter-in-law.  When Tamar's husband Er died, the other sons of Judah and Judah himself refused to do their duty to Tamar to raise up an inheritance to her dead husband.  However, she tricked Judah into impregnating her when he did not know it was his daughter-in-law.  This event was detailed in Genesis 38.  The people wished that Boaz's house might be like that of Pharez who was the result of the union between his mother and a redeemer, although an unwitting one.  May he as Ruth's redeemer have descendants as numerous as Judah by Pharez.  The fact that Ruth was a Moabitess, although often mentioned, seems to be of no concern, as Ruth had obviously become a proselyte or convert to the Jewish religion.  

(13) So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife, and when he went in to her, the Lord gave her conception, and she bore a son.

Boaz took Ruth as his wife, and he performed his conjugal duty.  As the ultimate proof that God blessed this union, it is said that He gave her conception, and she bore a son.

(14) And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed be the Lord who has not left you this day without a kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. (15) And he shall be to you a restorer of life and a nourisher of your old age, for your daughter-in-law who loves you, who is better to you than seven sons, has borne him."

The women of Bethlehem, neighbors of Naomi, told her that the Lord had not abandoned her and left her without descendants after all.  Through her daughter-in-law Ruth, who so loved her, and was better to her than seven sons would have been, she had a grandson.  They wished that his name be famous in Israel as he was to her a restorer of life and nourisher to her in her old age at a time when she had felt alone and abandoned.

(16) And Naomi took the child and laid him in her bosom and became nurse to him.

Naomi took the baby and laid him in her bosom as a sign of her tender love and affection for him, and she became a nurse to him, aiding Ruth in her care of him.

(17) And the women her neighbors gave him a name, saying, "There is a son born to Naomi," and they called his name Obed; he is the father of Jesse, the father of David.

The neighbor women suggested a name for the baby that was indeed adopted by Ruth and Boaz.  They suggested the name of Obed which meant "serving," as they saw him serving, nourishing, and comforting Naomi in her old age as they had wished for her in verse 15.  However, the name had greater significance than they knew as Obed's grandson, David, was God's beloved servant.  Life was restored to Naomi's name as a son, actually a grandson, was born to her son's wife.  Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, and Jesse was the father of David.  In this would Obed's name become famous in Israelite history as the grandfather of David, as the women neighbors had wished (v. 14).

(18) Now these are the generations of Pharez: Pharez begat Hezron,

The author of Ruth now inserted a descendant genealogy of Pharez, the son of Judah and Tamar, whose house the people of Israel wished for the descendants of Boaz and Ruth to mirror (v. 12).  Pharez's son was Hezron.

(19) And Hezron begat Ram, and Ram begat Amminadab, (20) And Amminadab begat Nahshon, and Nahshon begat Salmon, (21) And Salmon begat Boaz, and Boaz begat Obed,

Pharez's son Hezron had a son Ram who produced Amminadab, who produced Nahshon, and Nahshon produced Salmon, the father of Boaz.  And of course, Boaz's son was Obed.

(22) And Obed begat Jesse, and Jesse begat David.

Completing the genealogy from Judah (by his son Pharez) to David, Obed would go on to have a son Jesse, who was the father of David.  How beautiful and fitting that Ruth the Moabitess should play a prominent role in the genealogy of David which would also extend to Jesus, the Son of David, the Lion of Judah.  Of course, Ruth had converted to Judaism, so was not really a Moabite at the time she married Boaz.  But this shows how the Gentile, someone not originally of the Jewish faith, was grafted into the line of Jesus, just as Jesus offered his salvation to the Gentiles and allowed them to be grafted into His living vine (Romans 11).  As the author of Ruth linked her to her great-grandson David, we know her book was written after David's anointing which agrees with Jewish tradition that the prophet Samuel may have written it.

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 1

I have been challenged to stop my current chronological Bible study and study only what Jesus said.  Although I feel like God gave us the entire Bible for a reason, and those who pick and choose only the parts they like are "...according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables" (2 Timothy 4:3-4).  The argument was that Jesus fulfilled the law, meaning there is no more law, and the letters can't be trusted because they were just written by men who were only writing their interpretation of what it was to follow Christ.  Only Jesus's words mattered, and Jesus never said anything about homosexuality or abortion or transgenderism or much of any of today's cultural issues.  (Never mind the fact that men wrote down what Jesus said.)  However, I accepted the challenge.  I know that regardless of any arguments, I will learn a lot from the words of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

(Matthew 1:1) The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham: 

The first verse of Matthew acts as a sort of title for what was to follow:  The genealogy of Jesus Christ, Son of David, and Son of Abraham.  Jesus came from the line of David and Abraham.  It had been promised to Abraham that the Christ should descend from him, "...in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" (Genesis 12:3), and, "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice" (Genesis 22:18).  There is only One who could bless every family of every nation on earth, and that is Jesus Christ.  The prophecy was also made to David and by David, "When your days are fulfilled and you rest with your fathers, I will set up your seed after you, who will come from your body, and I will establish His kingdom" (2 Samuel 7:12), and, "The LORD has sworn in truth to David; He will not turn from it, 'I will set upon your throne the fruit of your body'" (Psalm 132:11).

(2) Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judah and his brothers.

Abraham's son was Isaac, and from Isaac came Jacob, and from Jacob came Judah.  There were also prophecies about Jesus (Shiloh) being descended from Judah, one being, "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be" (Genesis 49:10).  The meaning of Shiloh was "tranquility, safety" and both of those describe the Messiah who would make peace between God and men, and would save men from their sins.  Another prophecy is, "Yet Judah prevailed over his brothers, and from him came the chief ruler, although the birthright was Joseph’s" (1 Chronicles 5:2).  Jesus is called the Lion of Judah:  "And one of the elders said to me, 'Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the book, and to loose its seven seals'" (Revelation 5:5).  Also of note about Judah, as well as other of Jesus's ancestors like Jacob, David, and others, the ancestor was often a younger brother, demonstrating that the preeminence of Christ did not come from the primogeniture of His ancestors, as earthly princes did, but from the will of God.

(3) Judah begat Pharez and Zerah by Tamar, Pharez begat Hezron, and Hezron begat Aram.

Judah had twins Pharez and Zerah by Tamar, his daughter-in-law, and Jesus descended from Pharez through his son Hezron, and Hezron's son Aram, called Ram in the Old Testament.  It is interesting to note that Tamar was actually an adulteress and played a prostitute to seduce her father-in-law, although when you read her entire story, she was deemed more righteous than Judah.  Bathsheba, also in the line of Christ, as David's wife, was an adulteress.  Rahab, also an ancestor of Christ, was a Canaanite harlot.  In Deuteronomy 23, we just learned that descendants of an illegitimate child were forbidden from ever entering "into the congregation of the Lord", yet God sent "His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3). Additionally, Ruth, also in the line of Christ, was a Moabitess, and we were also told in Deuteronomy 23 that a Moabite was forbidden from entering into the congregation of the Lord.  However, there came Jesus Christ, the Messiah, as prophesied in Isaiah 56, through whom God would give to all such imperfect sinful people in His house and within His walls "a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters." 

(4) And Aram begat Amminadab; and Amminadab begat Nahshon; and Nahshon begat Salmon.

Aram's son was Amminadab, and Amminadab's son was Nahshon, who was named prince of the tribe of Judah in the book of Numbers.  Nahshon fathered Salmon.

(5) And Salmon begat Boaz by Rahab, and Boaz begat Obed by Ruth, and Obed begat Jesse.

Salmon and Rahab, the Canaanite harlot who was justified by works when she received the Israelite spies into her house and sent them out a secret way (Joshua 2, James 2:25), brought forth Boaz.  Boaz married Ruth, the Moabitess, and they begat Obed, who was the father of Jesse.  John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, pointed out that "Salmon, Boaz, and Obed, must each of them have been near a hundred years old, at the birth of his son here recorded."  Wesley suggested that it was owing to "the providence of God (that) was peculiarly shown in this."  However, Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote that "Jesse is thought to be, not the immediate son of Obed, but to be of the fourth generation from him; though no others are mentioned between them in Ruth, any more than here.  A Jewish writer observes, that 'the wise men of the Gentiles say, that there were other generations between them; perhaps,' says he, 'they have taken this from the wise men of Israel, and so it is thought.'"  Even if this were true, Jesse may be said to be begotten by Obed, just as others in scripture are said to be sons when in fact they might have been grandsons or great-grandsons.  We can be sure that Jesse was a direct descendant of Obed.

I will stop this post with this, as Blogger only allows twenty labels per post, and all these names of Jesus's direct ancestors are important to note.  The genealogy of Jesus is continued in the next post:

Genealogy of Jesus Christ, Part 2

The Numbering of the Israelites, Part 1

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 1:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses in the wilderness of Sinai, in the tabernacle of the congregation, on the first day of the second month, in the second year after they had come out of the land of Egypt, saying,

The entire book of Leviticus which preceded this was almost entirely devoted to laws which God gave to the children of Israel through Moses.  The historical event that preceded that was the erecting of the tabernacle which was done on the first day of the first month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt (Exo. 40:17).  The book of Numbers begins with God speaking to Moses again in the wilderness of Sinai, specifically in the tabernacle, exactly one month after it had been erected.

(2) "Take a sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, by their families, by the house of their fathers, with the number of their names, every male by their polls; (3) From twenty years old and upward, all who are able to go forth to war in Israel; you and Aaron shall number them by their armies."

Gold told Moses to take a census of the children of Israel by their tribes, with the exception of the Levites as we'll find in following verses.  It was to be according to the house of their fathers.  I'm not sure if this means each father as head of household within each tribe, or if it's the case as Dr. John Gill suggested in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, "if the mother was of one tribe, and the father of another, the family was according to the tribe of the father."  They were to be numbered with their names, every male by their "polls" meaning "heads" in this case.  Only the males were to be counted, every male who was twenty years and older, and only those fit for war; Moses and Aaron were both instructed to number them by their armies, that is, by each tribe.  Thus this would seem to be a census of military armies.

(4) “And with you there shall be a man from every tribe, each one the head of the house of his fathers."

Again, excepting the tribe of Levi, who made up the priesthood, Moses and Aaron were to call out the head of each tribe as follows:

(5) "And these are the names of the men who shall stand with you: of Reuben, Elizur the son of Shedeur;

It seems each head of a tribe was to stand with Moses and Aaron as they numbered their armies.  First from the tribe of Reuben was Elizur, said to be the son of Shedeur.  It's interesting to note the Godly names of most of these heads of tribes.  Elizur meant "God of rock" or "my God, the rock".

(6) "Of Simeon, Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai;"

From the tribe of Simeon, the head was Shelumiel, the son of Zurishaddai.  Shelumiel meant "peace of God". 

(7) "Of Judah, Nahshon the son of Amminadab;"

From the tribe of Judah was Nahshon, the son of Amminadab.  Nahshon, also spelled Naashon, meant "enchanter".  From Exodus 6:23 we learned that Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, Nahshon's sister, daughter of Amminadab.

(8) "Of Issachar, Nethanel the son of Zuar;"

From the tribe of Issachar the head was Nethanel, the son of Zuar.  Nethanel meant "given of God".

(9) "Of Zebulun, Eliab the son of Helon;"

From the tribe of Zebulun was Eliab, the son of Helon.  Eliab meant "God is father".

Because Blogger limits the number of labels each post can have, and I want all the heads of the tribes noted, Numbers 1 is continued in the following posts:

The Numbering of the Israelites, Part 2

The Numbering of the Israelites, Part 3

Moses, the Prequel

I have been doing a chronological Bible study, the order of which was set forth by Skip Andrews here.  Before continuing in Exodus, chapter 2, the chronological order directed me to Hebrews in the New Testament:

(Hebrews 11:23) By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s commandment.

We learned at the end of the first chapter in Exodus that Pharaoh's last command to the people was to kill any boy Hebrew baby they came across.  With this passage from the New Testament about the great faith of Moses, we learned that his parents hid their baby Moses for the first three months of his life.  In reality, verse 23 spoke of Moses's parents' faith.  They saw Moses was a special child and it was said they were not afraid of the king's commandment.  I believe the sense is that once again they feared God more than men.  They must have feared the commandment somewhat or they would not have hidden Moses, but their passion to save their beautiful baby was stronger than any fear of the king.  As they were included in Hebrews' great people of faith, I have to believe when it says "they saw", that perhaps by the Holy Spirit of God, they knew Moses was special and must be saved.  However, even without a unique vision from God, God-fearing people of faith would know that the king's commandment was against the laws of God and contrary to God's promise to multiply His people.

(24) By faith Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter, (25) Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; (26) Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt, for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.

I'm not sure why the rest of the Hebrews passage about the faith of Moses would be placed chronologically before the rest of Exodus 2, but it is, and I find myself studying something that has not happened yet in Exodus 2.  I believe the sense of the passage in this chronological place was to show that Moses, regardless of his upbringing, identified with the children of Israel.  Although he could have surely enjoyed much honor and many benefits by being considered the son of Pharaoh's daughter, he had more regard for the promises of God.  Even though he would suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than probable ease and honor and comfort as the son of Pharaoh's daughter, Moses chose to follow God.  Moses was surely lifted up by God to be used by Him, and we know that God spoke to Moses, and the Holy Spirit of God surely inspired Moses to write the first five books of the Old Testament, so I feel certain that Moses had received prophetic knowledge of the coming Messiah, and that was by far the greatest reward, worth all the suffering that might come.

(Acts 7:17) “But when the time of the promise drew near which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt, (18) Till another king arose who did not know Joseph."

Next in the chronological study, I was directed to Acts 7:17-29.  Although this passage does not really take place chronologically before the rest of Exodus, Stephen was speaking about the time of Moses, and his speech may provide a more complete picture of the events leading up to the rest of Exodus.  As Exodus 1 began, so began Stephen's retelling of the time when the children of Israel grew and multiplied in Egypt and there arose a new king who did not know Joseph.

(19) “This man dealt subtilly with our kindred, and evil affected our fathers, so that they cast out their young children, that they might not live."

Stephen told of how the new pharaoh dealt with the children of Israel in Egypt.  He used the original word "katasophizomai", which to me looks like a combination of "catastrophe" and "schizophrenia", and the meaning might actually be closer to that than you might think!  The KJV translators used the phrase "dealt subtilly" which was similar to the word used by the pharaoh in Exodus 1:10 when he said he wanted to "deal wisely" with the Israelites, which was more craftiness and deceit than it was wisdom.  Strong's gave the meaning of the original word as "to be crafty against, that is, circumvent".  Consider "catastrophic splitting" or breaking, as we previously learned the Egyptians were trying to do to the Israelites, and "katasophizomai" covers it pretty well!  Stephen told of how the pharaoh's evil plans affected their forefathers, that they should cast out their babies that they, and therefore the Hebrew nation, might not live and grow.

(20) "In which time Moses was born, and was exceedingly fair, and nourished up in his father's house three months. (21) And when he was cast out, Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son."

Stephen told how Moses was born during this time and was nourished in his father's house for three months, but was apparently cast out as ordered by the king, and was taken by Pharaoh's daughter to be her son.

(22) “And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds."

It appears that Moses had the finest education, being "learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians".  He was "mighty" in words and in deeds.  The word translated as "mighty" was "dunatos", and it meant "powerful" or "capable".  As a learned man, he had a command of language and was a capable man of great abilities.  We will learn later in Exodus that Moses considered himself slow of speech, so being mighty in words may not have meant that he was a great orator, but he was a learned man wise with words and possibly with a vast vocabulary and understanding of language.  However, as Stephen was speaking about Moses in the past after the exodus, he might have been referring to Moses's mighty communications and deeds as he led the children of Israel from Egypt.

(23) "And when he was full forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel."

It appears that Moses lived in the palace of Pharaoh for 40 years, and at the end of that time, it came to him to visit his people, the children of Israel, probably by inspiration of the Holy Spirit of God.

(24) “And seeing one of them suffer wrong, he defended him and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck down the Egyptian. (25) For he supposed that his brethren would have understood that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand."

We will learn when we return to Exodus that the Egyptian was striking a Hebrew, one of Moses's brethren, and Moses defended his brother by killing the Egyptian and hiding him in the sand.  Moses was probably beginning to feel the leading of God to be the deliverer of his people and supposed that the people would understand that he was stepping in to save them, but they didn't see it that way at all.

(26) “And the next day he appeared to two of them as they were fighting, and would have reconciled them, saying, 'Sirs, you are brethren; why do you wrong one another?’ (27) But he who did his neighbor wrong pushed him away, saying, ‘Who made you a ruler and a judge over us? (28) Will you kill me as you did the Egyptian yesterday?' (29) Then Moses fled at this saying, and was a stranger in the land of Midian, where he had two sons."

The next day Moses appeared to two Hebrew men who were fighting and tried to intervene and reconcile them.  However, when he asked why they were fighting, the one who was apparently in the wrong, shoved Moses away, and basically asked what right he had to interfere in their matter.  When the man asked Moses if he would kill him as he killed the Egyptian the day before, Moses fled.  We learn a little more of this incident in Exodus 2, that Moses was careful to be unobserved when he struck the Egyptian, so he now knew that what he had done was known, and he surely feared what would happen to him if Pharaoh heard what he had done.  It appears that Moses made no further attempts to deliver Israel, but settled as a stranger in the land of Midian, where he had two sons.  Now back to Exodus 2:

(Exodus 2:1) And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi.

The last thing we read in Exodus 1, was that Pharaoh had commanded his people to cast any Hebrew boy babies into the river.  We now read of a man of the house of Levi who at this time married a daughter of Levi. We learned previously this was Amram, Moses's father, and Jochebed, his father’s sister.

(2) And the woman conceived and bore a son; and when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months.

Moses's mother conceived and bore Moses during the time of that terrible decree that all male Hebrew babies be destroyed.  Moses's siblings, Aaron and Miriam, were older than he was, so were no doubt born before this decree.  Moses's mother hid him for three months.  You would think that any mother would try to hide her newborn baby and do all that she could to save her child from an evil law that would have him killed.  However, from the Hebrews passage above, we learned that Moses's parents had great faith, faith in God and His will, and not fear and therefore a kind of faith, in a godless king and government.  Stephen said above that evil affected their fathers so that they cast out their young children.  Yes, it was an evil king and an evil law, but the people themselves cast out their babies.  Moses's parents chose not to do this evil thing.  They instead chose God; they chose life!  Is that not a beautiful picture of what we should do when faced with an evil law and government?  They did the right thing and they were considered among the great people of faith in Hebrews!

(3) And when she could not longer hide him, she took for him an ark of bulrushes, and daubed it with slime and with pitch, and put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. (4) And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.

When Moses's mother felt she could no longer hide him, she made a little boat for him, put him in it, and laid him in the reeds by the river's bank.  She knew Moses's fate was death if she kept him with her, so her only hope that he might live was to put him in a basket and hope someone else would find him and save him.  She even had his sister watching to see what would happen to him.  When you think about it, Moses's mother must have placed him near where she knew the Egyptian princess might find him.  Otherwise, if any other Egyptian had found him, he or she would have obeyed the king's commandment and killed the baby boy.  If any Hebrew found him, he would be no safer than he was with his mother.  

(5) And the daughter of Pharaoh came down to wash at the river; and her maidens walked along by the river's side; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to fetch it. (6) And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. And she had compassion on him, and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

Sure enough, Pharaoh's daughter came to that location in the river to wash and saw the little boat among the reeds.  She sent her maid to fetch it.  When she opened it and saw the crying baby, she had compassion for him, realizing he was one of the Hebrew children, destined to die.

(7) Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, “Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?”

Moses's sister had obviously been prepared for this possibility, and immediately asked Pharaoh's daughter if she should get her a nurse from the Hebrew women to nurse the baby for her.

(8) And Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, “Go.” And the maid went and called the child's mother.

I believe the maid here refers to "the maiden", Moses's sister, rather than the princess's own handmaiden.  Pharaoh's daughter thought that was a good idea she had and sent her to find someone to nurse the baby.  The girl went and fetched her own mother, also Moses's mother, again, obviously having been coached in this.

(9) And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, “Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages.” And the woman took the child, and nursed it.

And so Moses was saved from death, and his mother received the additional blessing of being paid to take care of her own child!  I love how God works this way!  I recall once when I was questioning whether my husband and I in good conscience could accept Social Security disability payments from such a wicked government as ours that promotes the killing of innocent babies, among many other evil things.  He reminded me of this incident in the Bible where Moses's mother received wages for nursing her own child from the very household that killed Hebrew babies.  Don't get me wrong, I believe there are or will be times when we must refuse to do evil if it is in conflict with God's laws, but in this instance, and in the matter of paying taxes to a wicked government, we have models.  Jesus taught us to pay our taxes, and in the matter of accepting money from the government, we must remember that it is all God's anyway, and if He chooses to bless us with the government's money, we can accept it and thank and praise Him.  However, I don't doubt that if it was in a person's heart not to accept money from an ungodly government, that God, knowing the person's heart, would find another way to bless him.  That's the way our awesome God works!  He is sovereign above all things and everyone, and He knows the heart of every man and woman.

(10) And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter, and he became her son. And she called his name Moses, and she said, “Because I drew him out of the water.”

Apparently, when the time of nursing was over, Moses's mother brought him back to Pharaoh's daughter, and he became the son of Pharaoh's daughter.  She called his name Moses, the original word being "mosheh", meaning "drawn forth".

The chronological order of this particular Bible study now takes me to Exodus 6:23 and Numbers 26:60:

(Exodus 6:23) And Aaron took for himself Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Nahshon, as wife; and she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

(Numbers 26:60) And to Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.

As Aaron was older than Moses, it is assumed that he was grown and married while Moses was still young and living in the palace of Pharaoh.  Aaron took Elisheba as wife, the daughter of Amminadab, and the sister of Nahshon, a prince of the tribe of Judah.  Elisheba bore Aaron four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.  Now back to Exodus 2:

(Exodus 2:11) And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown, that he went out to his brethren and looked on their burdens; and he spied an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

I'm not crazy about this chronological order, as we have already been told about this incident by Stephen in the New Testament, long after it happened, but we are now returned to the time it originally happened.  Moses was grown, 40 years old, according to Stephen, and he went out, apparently from the palace of Pharaoh where he had up to this point lived, to see his people, and he observed their burdens.  He saw an Egyptian striking a Hebrew, one of his brethren.

(12) And he looked this way and that way, and when he saw that there was no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.

In this original telling of this incident, we see that Moses sought to be unobserved in what he did.  He obviously felt justified in defending his brother, and from Stephen's telling, may have even felt led by God to rescue his people, but he surely knew that the slaying of an Egyptian would never be seen as justified by the Egyptians and by Pharaoh.

(13) And when he went out the second day, behold, two Hebrew men were fighting, and he said to the one who did the wrong, “Why are you striking your neighbor?” (14) And he said, “Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” And Moses feared and said, “Surely this thing is known!”

Moses was trying to hide what he did from the Egyptians, but he surely didn't expect his own people to spread the story and turn on him.  He feared that surely this news would now spread to Pharaoh.

(15) Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh and dwelt in the land of Midian; and he sat down by a well.

Sure enough, when Pharaoh heard about this matter, he sought to kill Moses.  That is when Moses fled to the land of Midian.  As he came to Midian, he sat down by a well.

(16) Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters; and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water their father's flock.

The original word translated as "priest" was "kohen" and meant either "priest" or "prince".  It was suggested by early commentaries that he might have been a priest of the one true God, or at least as a descendant of Abraham, might have retained the knowledge of the true God, and might be considered a priest of His.  Otherwise, Moses who was being drawn to his own people, surely would not have married one of his daughters, as we will soon learn he did.  In addition, if the seven daughters were daughters of a pagan prince, they more than likely would not have been drawing water for their father's flock, but would have surely had servants for such a task.  If their father was a prince, then the daughters were honorably born, and humble and industrious.

(17) And the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

Rude shepherds coming to the well, and possibly even to the very troughs the maidens had already filled, drove the maidens' flock and possibly the maidens themselves out of their way.  Moses, ever the man of honor and justice, helped the maidens and watered their flock.

(18) And when they came to Reuel their father, he said, “How is it that you have come so soon today?”

When the daughters of Reuel, the priest of Midian, came to their father, he asked how they could have finished so soon.  Evidently, with Moses's help, they watered their flock and returned much faster than usual.

(19) And they said, “An Egyptian delivered us from the hand of the shepherds, and also drew enough water for us and watered the flock.”

Reuel's daughters mistook Moses for an Egyptian, probably judging by his dress and speech.  I suppose he had been raised as an Egyptian up to this point.

(20) And he said to his daughters, “And where is he? Why is it that you have left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.”

The girls had surely been modest and didn't even consider bringing a strange Egyptian man home with them.  However, their father recognized the man's kindness and wished to show his gratitude, and asked that they call the man to come eat with them.

(21) And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.

Moses was content to live in or among Reuel's household, and eventually was given his daughter Zipporah in marriage to him.

(22) And she bore him a son; and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a stranger in a foreign land.”

Zipporah bore Moses a son whom he named Gershom, which literally meant "refugee".  Moses felt forced to leave his people to escape Pharaoh and was a stranger in this foreign land.

(23) And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died; and the children of Israel groaned because of the bondage, and they cried out; and their cry came up to God because of the bondage.

In the process of time, the current king of Egypt died, the one who had sought to kill Moses, but apparently things did not change for the children of Israel.  They cried out to God because of the severity of their oppression and bondage at the hands of the Egyptians.

(24) And God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. (25) And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God acknowledged them.

God heard His people and "remembered" His covenant.  It's not as if God ever forgets; He is ever mindful of all things.  The sense of this "remembering" was that at that point, it was the proper time for God to act and to fulfill His promise and His covenant, proof that He remembered.  God looked upon His children and acknowledged them and their oppression.  God obviously had seen them and their situation for years leading up to this point.  Apparently this was the proper time for God to act.  In Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Mr. Henry observed that God heard, remembered, looked, and acknowledged the people, after they cried out to Him.  Verse 23 didn't say specifically that they cried "to God", but it certainly can be inferred, because before this time they groaned and bore their troubles and fretted inwardly, but they finally reached the point where they cried out.  That is certainly the way with our God, and that theme is repeated throughout the Bible, that God waits until His people turn back to Him and realize they need only Him, and then He acts in a big way.  Matthew Henry also pointed out that in verses 24 and 25, God's name is mentioned 4 times.  The way he expressed it was, "The name of God is here emphatically prefixed to four different expressions of a kind intention towards them....The frequent repetition of the name of God here intimates that now we are to expect something great, Opus Deo dignum - A work worthy of God. His eyes, which run to and fro through the earth, are now fixed upon Israel, to show himself strong, to show himself a God in their behalf."  God was about to work in a big way!

(Exodus 6:25) And Eleazar Aaron's son took for himself one of the daughters of Putiel as wife, and she bore him Phinehas; these are the heads of the fathers of the Levites according to their families.

Since this is a chronological order I am studying, apparently sometime after Moses married Zipporah and began having a family, Aaron's son Eleazar also married.  He married one of the daughters of a man named Putiel, and she bore him a son named Phinehas.  These men were some of the heads of the Levites, mentioned among the sons of Levi in Exodus 6.