God Uses a Donkey to Talk to Balaam

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 22:1) And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side of the Jordan by Jericho.

In the last chapter, the Israelites had just conquered Og king of Bashan, and they now moved from Bashan and camped in the plains of Moab on their side of the Jordan across from Jericho.

As I follow a chronological Bible study, the order of which was designed by Skip Andrews, I now go to Numbers 33:

(Numbers 33:48) And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.

Numbers 33, which chronicles Israel's journeys and camp stations, stated they left the mountains of Abarim where they had conquered Heshbon and Bashan, and also stated they camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.

(49) And they pitched by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the Abel-Shittim, in the plains of Moab.

They camped by the Jordan in an area that stretched from Beth Jesimoth to Abel-Shittim, as their campsites surely had to be very large or very long in this case, as they camped along the Jordan River in the plains of Moab across from Jericho.

(Numbers 22:2) And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

Balak, the son of Zippor, who we will see was the king of Moab at that time, had witnessed all that Israel had done in conquering the Amorites and seizing their lands.

(3) And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.

The king of Moab was very afraid of the Israelites because of what they had done to Sihon and Og (Num. 21) and because they were so many in number.  He was very distressed about the children of Israel.

(4) And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.

Balak, the king of Moab, consulted with the elders of Midian, who were his neighbors, surely hoping that united they might be able to do something about Israel.  In his plea to the Midianites, he explained that the Israelites would surely consume them all.

(5) He sent messengers therefore to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, "Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt; behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide across from me."

Balak sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor, to Pethor, which was by the river of the land of his people, that is the Euphrates.  His message told of a people who came out of Egypt and seemed to cover the face of the earth, because of their number and recent conquests.  He explained that group now dwelt across from him.

(6) "Come now therefore, please, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me; perhaps I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

Balak asked that Balaam come to his country and curse the Israelites for him.  Balaam is believed to have once been a prophet of the true God, but appears here to perhaps have added sorcery to his prophetic gift.  Balak acknowledged that the Israelites were too mighty for him, but if Balaam cursed them, perhaps he would prevail to destroy them and drive them out of his land.  Balak acknowledged that he knew that whoever Balaam blessed was indeed blessed, and whoever he cursed was cursed, which makes it plausible that Balaam may have sought the Lord in those instances.

(7) And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards for divination in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak.

The elders of Moab and the elders of Midian went to Balaam directly to speak to him the words of Balak, carrying with them the rewards for divination, which probably meant gifts or payment to him to curse the Israelites.

(8) And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the LORD speaks to me.” And the princes of Moab abode with Balaam.

Balaam told the princes or elders of the Moabites and of Midian to stay with him that night, and he would bring them back word from the Lord.  They did as he asked and lodged with him.

(9) And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?”

God indeed did speak to Balaam, and asked about the men who were with him.  These two verses show Balaam must have surely known the true God and had been in the habit of seeking Him and hearing Him.  Obviously, God knew who the men were and what they wanted, but He asked this for Balaam's benefit, as it would try his fidelity and convict him of his folly and sin as we shall soon see.

(10) And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, (11) ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth; come now, curse them for me and perhaps I shall be able to overcome them, and drive them out.'"

Balaam answered God and told him that Balak, king of Moab, had sent messengers to him telling him about the Israelites who had come out of Egypt and covered the face of the earth, and asking him to curse them so that he might overcome them and drive them out of his land.

(12) And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.”

Gold told Balaam not to go with these people and not to curse the Israelites because they were blessed.

(13) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the princes of Balak, “Get back to your land, for the LORD refuses to give me leave to go with you."

Balaam rose up in the morning and gave the princes of Balak God's instructions, or part of them.  He told them to go back to their land for the Lord had refused to give him permission to go with them to curse Israel.  Actually, Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, pointed out that Balaam didn't actually tell them they were not to curse Israel because Israel was blessed.  He suggested that had Balaam told them all, perhaps it would have prevented further solicitation, as we shall soon see does occur.

(14) And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”

The princes of Moab returned to Balak and told him that Balaam refused to come back with them.  Dr. Gill rightly noted that the princes came back with even less information than they were given:  they simply said that Balaam refused to come with them, not that the Lord had refused to give him permission to go.  Obviously, the word of the Lord didn't seem to be important in the eyes of these Moabites.  However, knowing it was the word of the Lord that prevented Balaam from coming to Balak, might have prevented him from pressing further.

(15) And Balak sent yet again princes, more numerous and more honorable than they.

Balak sent back to Balaam more numerous and more honorable princes, perhaps assuming Balaam had felt he had not been treated with enough respect.

(16) And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, ‘Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; (17) For I will promote you to very great honor, and I will do whatever you say to me; come therefore, please, curse this people for me.’”

The second group of princes went to Balaam and gave him the words of Balak, their king.  He asked that he let nothing hinder him from coming, and assured him he would be rewarded with great honor and anything for which he asked, if he would come and curse the Israelites for him.  Balak obviously thought that Balaam refused of his own accord because he had not been properly rewarded for his services.  Had he known it was the Lord God who refused to let him go and had told him not to curse the Israelites because they were blessed, perhaps he would have never sent this second group.

(18) And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "If Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more."

Balaam answered well and spoke reverently of the Lord in his answer to this second group of princes.  Balak could give him all his riches, and he still would not go beyond the word of His Lord.

(19) “Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me.”

Even though he had spoken so well at first, he now suggested they stay with him another night and he would inquire further of the Lord.  This shows at least some slight aversion to what God had told him, that he would like to oblige them, because already knowing God's definite answer to this, he would ask again.  Why would God now reverse His opinion of the Israelites and tell him He unblessed them and to go ahead and curse them?

(20) And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do.”

God came to Balaam in the night and told him to go with the men if they came to call on him, but to only speak the word that God gave him to speak.  Dr. John Gill wrote that some people thought that this was said sarcastically.  I don't believe our Lord is sarcastic, but we have free will, and He will allow us to do what we want.  If we pray to the Lord and don't like His answer, He doesn't prevent us from going against Him, but be assured His will shall be done.

(21) And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab.

Balaam rose up the next morning, saddled his donkey, and indeed did go with the princes of Moab.

(22) And God's anger was kindled because he went; and the angel of the LORD stood in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him.

God had previously made His will known to Balaam; just because He allowed him free will and permitted him to go did not change the original fact that Balaam had disobeyed God and had chosen his own path to benefit himself.  As stated before, God's will shall be done.  The angel of the Lord stood in Balaam's way.  The original Hebrew word for "angel" here was "malak" and meant "messenger" or "representative".  This was a God-authorized representative for Him sent as His messenger to Balaam.  Balaam was riding his donkey and had two servants with him when the angel of the Lord stood in his way.  He stood as an adversary against him, an enemy against the sin Balaam was committing.

(23) And the donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and the donkey turned aside out of the way, and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her back onto the way.

The donkey could see what Balaam in his covetousness and self-will could not see--the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn.  The donkey turned out of the way of the angel and went into the field.  Balaam struck the donkey to get her back onto the road.

(24) But the angel of the LORD stood in a path of the vineyards, a wall on this side, and a wall on that side.

When she went into the field, the donkey apparently went onto a narrow path between two vineyards which both had walls, and now the angel of the Lord stood in this path to prevent them from proceeding further.

(25) And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she thrust herself against the wall, and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; and he struck her.

When the donkey again saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, she thrust herself against one of the walls in order to avoid running straight into the angel.  In doing so, she crushed Balaam's foot against the wall, and he struck her again.

(26) And the angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left.

The angel moved further ahead into a narrower place where there was no possible way to turn to the right or left or around.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, referenced Henry Ainsworth, an earlier Hebrew scholar, who suggested this was an illustration of just how God might deal with all sinners:  "First he mildly shakes his rod at them but lets them go untouched. Secondly he comes nearer and touches them with an easy correction as it were wringing their foot against the wall. Thirdly, when all this is ineffectual, he brings them into such straits, that they can neither turn to the right hand nor to the left, but must fall before his judgments, if they do not fully turn to him."

(27) And when the donkey saw the angel of the LORD, she fell down under Balaam; and Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with a staff.

When the donkey again saw the angel of the Lord in the way, where there was no way for her to go but forward, she dropped to the ground under Balaam.  Balaam was so angered, he then struck his donkey with his staff.  You would think that one who presumably had been a prophet of God would have understood or at least would have been cautioned by these signs, but no, his heart was set on his self-serving task, and he beat his donkey with a staff.

(28) And the LORD opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?”

The Lord opened the mouth of the donkey and allowed her to speak to Balaam in words he would understand, since he was unable to see otherwise.  The donkey spoke to Balaam and asked what was it she had done to him that provoked him to strike her those three times. 

(29) And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have mocked me; I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!”

It amazes me that Balaam took this in stride as if it was quite natural for this donkey to talk to him, and answered her saying it was because she "mocked" him and he wished he had a sword for then he would have killed her!  The apostle Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 1:27, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty."  What more foolish thing was there than a dumb donkey to dumbfound Balaam?  Yet he still did not seem to appreciate this miraculous event for what it was.  Perhaps Balaam was accustomed to conversing with evil spirits through various creatures in his sorcery, or perhaps he was just blinded by his own greed and passion and now rage that he could not comprehend what an extraordinary event this really was.

(30) And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?” And he said, “No.”

Miraculously, the donkey answered Balaam, understanding what he had said to her, and she reasoned with him, that she had always been his good and faithful donkey and had never done such a thing before.  Balaam agreed.

(31) Then the LORD opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand; and he bowed down his head, and fell flat on his face.

It was at this point, perhaps because he had calmed down and his hard heart could now comprehend, that God opened Balaam's eyes and he was able to see the angel of the Lord standing in the way with his sword drawn.  Balaam then bowed down his head and fell on his face before the angel, realizing this was certainly a messenger from God Himself.

(32) And the angel of the LORD said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me."

The angel of the Lord rebuked Balaam for striking his donkey as it was obviously not her fault as He had stood in the way against Balaam because his way was perverse before the Lord.

(33) “The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times; unless she had turned from Me, surely I would also have slain you by now, and let her live.”

The angel of the Lord told Balaam that the donkey had seen Him all those three times.  If it had not been for her turning aside and falling down, the angel would have killed Balaam, and let the donkey live.

(34) And Balaam said to the angel of the LORD, “I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back.”

Balaam acknowledged his sin to the angel of the Lord, saying he did not realize He had stood in the way against him.  Now that he understood it displeased Him, he said he would turn back.

(35) And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak.” So Balaam went with the princes of Balak.

The angel of the Lord told Balaam to go ahead with the men, but that he was only to tell them what the Lord told him to tell them.  This was what God had told Balaam in verse 20 when he had persisted in asking if he might go with the men.  However, it was necessary that the Lord get Balaam's full attention by the angel that stood in his way, so that he would indeed tell the men exactly all the Lord told him to say this time.  He had left out the most important parts before (v. 13).

(36) And when Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him at the city of Moab which is on the border of Arnon, which is on the utmost coast.

When Balak heard that Balaam was coming, he went out to meet him in a city of Moab that was on the border of the Arnon River which was at the uttermost border of Moab.  A king coming out himself to his uttermost border to meet Balaam showed great respect for him.

(37) And Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not earnestly send to you to call you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not indeed able to promote you to honor?"

Upon meeting him, Balak asked Balaam why he did not come to him when he first had so earnestly called for him.  Had Balaam doubted that Balak could richly reward him with honor and riches?

(38) And Balaam said to Balak, “Lo, I have come to you; have I now any power at all to say anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that I shall speak.”

Balaam answered Balak that he had now come, but he seemed to suggest that he didn't before because he was under the restraint of the Lord and even though he was there now, he would only speak the words the Lord Himself put in his mouth.

(39) And Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kirjath Huzoth.

Balaam went with Balak to Kirjath Huzoth, which literally means "city of streets"; it was probably a large populous city.

(40) And Balak offered oxen and sheep, and sent to Balaam and to the princes that were with him.

Balak made an offering of oxen and sheep, and either sent for Balaam and his princes to join in the feast, or sent some of the offering to them.

(41) And it came to pass on the next day, that Balak took Balaam and brought him up to the high places of Baal, that from there he might see the utmost of the people.

The next day Balak took Balaam up to the high places of Baal, probably meaning holy places of worship to their idol Baal, but also literally high so that Balaam got a good view of the edge of the encampment of the Israelites.  And there is a perfect place for a cliffhanger!  The rest of the story will be told in the next chapter and post.

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

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

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

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

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

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Deaths of Miriam and Aaron and the Promise That Moses Also Would Not Enter the Promised Land

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 20:1) Then came the children of Israel, the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month; and the people abode in Kadesh, and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

Some time has passed since the previous chapters and posts, as we will learn later that this was the first month of the fortieth year after their departure from Egypt.  The whole congregation came into the desert of Zin, but we know this was an entirely new generation, as God had said all their carcasses would fall in the wilderness (Numbers 14:29) because of their faithlessness.  The people dwelt in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, and Miriam, Moses's sister, died and was buried there.

(2) And there was no water for the congregation, and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

Here we go again!  Just as their fathers had murmured against Moses over a lack of water at Rephidim (Exodus 17:3), this generation gathered themselves against Moses and Aaron.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, suggested that this incident was so ordered by God to demonstrate whether these people would behave any better than their fathers.

(3) And the people chided with Moses, and spoke, saying, “If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!"

It's absolutely incredible that the people would wish they had suffered the anger and chastisement of the Lord, rather than be grateful for His sparing them.  I suppose the sense is that would have been a quick death rather than a lingering one.

(4) “And why have you brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die here?"

It's unbelievable that these people had learned nothing about God's continual provision, especially after witnessing what had happened to their fathers for their lack of faith.  However, here they are asking Moses why he brought them through this wilderness for forty years just to have them die there.  It's really absurd when you think about it!

(5) “And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or vines, or pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink."

The people demand to know why Moses and Aaron had brought them to such an evil place that had no good food or water.  As unconscionable as this was toward their Lord who had proved Himself faithful over and over again, think about how selfish and insensitive they were to blast Moses and Aaron with this while they were dealing with the death of their sister.

(6) And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell on their faces; and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

Moses and Aaron didn't answer the people but went directly to the Lord, falling on their faces in reverence and prayer for this irreverent and undeserving people.  In this, they represent a type of Christ who constantly intercedes for us undeserving people.  The glory of the Lord appeared to Moses and Aaron.

(7) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (8) “Take the rod, and gather the assembly together, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth its water, and you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock; so you shall give the congregation and their beasts drink."

The Lord made no mention of the rebellious nature of the congregation, but simply told Moses to take his rod, the same rod with which he parted the Red Sea and smote the rock at Horeb, and gather the people together at a rock in their sight, and speak to it and it would bring forth water enough for the whole congregation and their animals.

(9) And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as He commanded him.

Moses took the rod as the Lord had commanded he do.  However, that may be where his obedience stopped.

(10) And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels! Must we fetch you water out of this rock?"

God had told Moses to gather the people and speak to the rock.  He gathered the people, and spoke to them.  Additionally, his language makes it sound as if the power comes from him to give them water from the rock.

(11) And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice; and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Moses struck the rock twice when the Lord had told him just to speak to it, again perhaps demonstrating his own power.  However, even though Moses had not done exactly what He had been commanded, the Lord still brought forth water from the rock, and the people and their animals drank.

(12) And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe Me, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them."

The Lord then spoke to Moses and Aaron, telling them that because they had not believed Him to sanctify Him in the eyes of the children of Israel, they would not be allowed to bring the congregation into the promised land.  Perhaps they did not believe that merely speaking to the rock was enough, that they must strike it to bring forth the water.  However, it is not by their actions that water was brought forth.  The language Moses used in saying "Must we fetch you water...?" does indeed make it sound as if he believed it was by his power that water was provided for the people.  His words and actions did not sanctify the Lord in the eyes of the children of Israel because they seem to credit himself and Aaron.  Aaron was apparently complicit in this act.

(13) This is the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and He was sanctified in them.

This place was called "Meribah" which means "strife, contention".  Biblical scholars say it was called Meribah-Kadesh to distinguish it from the other Meribah where the people also tempted the Lord (Exodus 17:7).  The Lord was sanctified after all by His own actions, even though Moses and Aaron had not sanctified Him as they should have.  Matthew Henry put it this way in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, "If He be not glorified by us, He will be glorified upon us."

(14) And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, “Thus says your brother Israel, ‘You know all the hardship that has befallen us, (15) How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers. (16) And when we cried to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt; and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of your border. (17) Please let us pass through your country; we will not pass through the fields or through the vineyards, nor will we drink water from the wells; we will go by the king's highway, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your borders.'"

Moses sent messengers from where they were in Kadesh to the king of Edom.  The message began with the reminder that the Israelites and the Edomites were brothers, descending from Jacob and Esau.  They went on to explain the hardships they had experienced in Egypt and that the Lord had brought them to Kadesh, a city in the uttermost part of their border.  They asked that they be able to pass through their country.  They assured him they would not pass through any fields or vineyards, not drink any water from their wells, but go by the king's highway until they had passed their border.

(18) And Edom said to him, “You shall not pass by me, lest I come out against you with the sword.”

However, the king of Edom sent message back that he would not allow them to pass through his land, that he would come out against them with a sword if they did.

(19) And the children of Israel said to him, “We will go by the highway, and if I or my cattle drink of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, without doing any thing else."

The children of Israel replied back that they would only pass through on the highway on foot, and would do nothing else.  However, if any of their people or cattle drank their water, they would pay for it.

(20) And he said, “You shall not go through.” And Edom came out against them with many people, and with a strong hand.

The king of Edom still refused to let the Israelites pass through and came out against them with many people and powerful force.

(21) Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border; therefore Israel turned away from him.

The king of Edom refused to give the Israelites passage through his land, and it appears that they patiently bore his refusal and turned away.

(22) And the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came to Mount Hor.

The congregation of Israel then journeyed from Kadesh to Mount Hor.

I am following a chronological Bible study by Skip Andrews, and it now takes me to Numbers 33:

(Numbers 33:37) And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in Mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.

Chapter 33, being an account of the journeys of Israel from when they came out of Egypt, also reported their move from Kadesh to Mount Hor, still at the edge of the land of Edom.

(Numbers 20:23) And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying, (24) “Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah."

At Mount Hor the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, and told them Aaron would die and would not enter the promised land because he had rebelled against the word of the Lord at the water of Meribah.

(25) “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor."

The Lord continued speaking to Moses and Aaron, and told them to bring Aaron and his son Eleazar up to the top of Mount Hor.

(26) "And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there."

Aaron was to be stripped of his priestly garments and they were to be put on his son Eleazar, transferring the office of high priest to him.  Then there would Aaron die.

(27) And Moses did as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.

Moses did as the Lord had commanded and took Aaron and Eleazar up Mount Hor in view of all the congregation of Israel.

(28) And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. And Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

Moses stripped Aaron of his priestly garments and put them on Eleazar, Aaron's son.  Aaron died there on top of Mount Hor, and then Moses and Eleazar came back down from the mountain.

(Numbers 33:38) And Aaron the priest went up to Mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.

Numbers 33 also tells of this incident with a little more detail.  Aaron went up to Mount Hor at the Lord's commandment and died there on the first day of the fifth month in the fortieth year after the children of Israel had come out of Egypt.  This was the month called Ab, which contains parts of our July and August.  This would have been four months after Aaron's sister, Miriam, had died (Num. 20:1).

(39) And Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

(Numbers 20:29) And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, all the house of Israel.

When Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, and the people realized Aaron was dead, all of them mourned for Aaron for thirty days.

In this chapter, we had the deaths of Miriam and Aaron, and the promise that Moses also would not live to enter the promised land.  These great leaders of the children of Israel, Moses the representative of the law, Aaron the high priest, and the prophetess Miriam, could not bring the people into possession of their promised land because of their rebellion.  Some Biblical scholars have suggested this was by divine design in order to show there was no salvation in the law or the priesthood or the prophets.  If all these failed and were not good enough, how could anyone be?  Once again we see how we cannot be good enough to enter God's presence and that we need a Savior, and only the sinless perfect Lamb of God, Jesus Christ, can save us.

Water of Purification Made of the Ashes of a Red Heifer

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 19:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, (2) “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD has commanded, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring you a red heifer without spot, in which there is no blemish, and on which never came a yoke.'"

In the last post, Aaron had been established and confirmed by God in the priesthood; and because the people had been afraid they would die if they came near the tabernacle, God had also given full instructions regarding the office of the priesthood and the priests' responsibility to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary.  Now the Lord spoke to both Moses and Aaron, telling them that what followed was the ordinance, or order or direction, of the law that the Lord had commanded when He had told them to tell the children of Israel to bring to them a red heifer, without spot or defect, and one that had never had a yoke.  The heifer was a symbol of Jesus Christ with spotless purity.  The fact that it was to be red, perhaps being more rare, made it more remarkable and seemingly perfect.  Red being the color of blood signified Christ's own blood shed for our sins.  One that never had a yoke symbolized Jesus Christ's voluntary offer to sacrifice Himself, bound by no other cords than His love for us.  All the children of Israel were to bring this heifer, as all were to have a joint interest in it, as all believers have in Christ.

(3) "'And you shall give her to Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her outside the camp, and one shall slay her before his face.'"

Eleazar was Aaron's son and was probably the second highest priest.  The heifer was brought to him, probably to keep Aaron as high priest, completely preserved from any uncleanness.  However, Eleazar himself was not to slay the heifer, but someone else in his sight; and that was to be done outside the camp.

(4) "'And Eleazar the priest shall take of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle of its blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times.'"

Eleazar was to take some of the heifer's blood with his finger, and being outside the camp, was to sprinkle the blood directly toward the tabernacle seven times.  Again this is symbolic of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.  The number seven represents completeness or perfection in the Bible.  Christ's blood was shed outside the gate (Hebrews 13:12), and was a complete and perfect sacrifice for our sins by the finger of God.

(5) "'And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; he shall burn its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung.'"

Someone other than Eleazar the priest was to burn the heifer with Eleazar looking on.  The heifer was to be wholly burnt, its hide, flesh, blood, and even its dung.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote that the complete burning of all parts of the heifer "may denote the extent of Christ's sufferings, reaching to all parts of his body, skin, flesh, and blood, and the shame and reproach that attended them, signified by dung; as well as how impure and accursed he was accounted when he was made sin for his people, bore their sins and suffered for them, even not in body only, but in his soul also; for his soul as well as his body were made an offering for sin."

(6) "'And the priest shall take cedar wood and hyssop and scarlet, and cast them into the midst of the fire burning the heifer.'"

The priest, presumably Eleazar, was then to take cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet ribbon, probably with the hyssop wrapped around the cedar wood and bound by the scarlet ribbon, and cast them into the fire that was burning the heifer.  These three things were also used in the cleansing of a leper in Leviticus 4:4.  For the significance of these three particular items, Dr. Gill referenced Maimonides, the Jewish medieval scholar, who wrote "the cedar wood, being durable, may denote the continued efficacy of Christ's sufferings; the hyssop, being purgative and of a good smell, the purging nature of Christ's sacrifice, who by himself purged away our sins, and the sweet odour thereof ascended to the Lord; and the scarlet, the sins of his people destroyed thereby."

(7) "‘Then the priest shall wash his clothes, he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp; and the priest shall be unclean until the evening.'"

Then the priest, Eleazar, was to wash himself and his clothes, and was considered unclean until the evening, but was then able to return to the camp. 

(8) "‘And the one who burns it shall wash his clothes in water, bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the evening.'"

The one who burned the heifer in sight of Eleazar was also to wash himself and his clothes, and was considered unclean until the evening.

(9) "'And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up outside the camp in a clean place; and they shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation; it is a purification for sin.'"

Then a man who was ceremonially clean was to gather the ashes of the heifer and put them in a clean place outside the camp.  The ashes were to be kept for the children of Israel as "a water of separation".  The original word translated as "separation" was "niddah" and more completely meant "rejection, impurity, filthiness", and therefore to be separated.  The ashes were mixed with water to be a purification for sin.  "Water of purifying" was referenced before in Numbers 8:7.

(10) "‘And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening; and it shall be to the children of Israel, and to the stranger that sojourns among them, for a statute forever.'"

The one who gathered the ashes of the heifer was also considered unclean, and must wash and be considered unclean until the evening.  This was to be a statute forever to the children of Israel and to any foreigner who dwelt with them.  Forever, at least until the Messiah came and shed His blood to be "laid up" for us for a continual purification for our sins.

(11) "‘He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days.'"

Anyone who touched the dead body of a person would be unclean for seven days, whereas it was only one day for a dead animal.  Once again I was struck by Adam Clarke's (Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible) assertion that man was no better than an animal, in this case seven times worse!

"How low does this lay man! He who touched a dead beast was only unclean for one day; but he who touches a dead man is unclean for seven days. This was certainly designed to mark the peculiar impurity of man, and to show his sinfulness - seven times worse than the vilest animal! O thou son of the morning, how art thou fallen!"

My first thought was that man was more important than an animal, and by that reasoning, more would be required.  However, I can see that I didn't have the proper respect for the sinless perfect nature of God that I should, and fully understand the filthy sinful nature of man.  Animals don't have a conscience and the ability to choose sin as people do.  Only man can have the particular impurity of sin.  Sinful acts against God are surely seven times worse than the most unclean beast.

(12) "'He shall purify himself with it on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean; but if he does not purify himself on the third day then the seventh day he shall not be clean.'"

The man who touched a dead body must purify himself with the water of ashes described in verse 9 on the third day of his seven day period of uncleanness.  It will become clear in a later verse that he must perform this purification on the third and seventh days of his period of uncleanness, but what this verse expresses is that if he fails to do it on the third day, he will not be clean on the seventh day, even if he should purify on the seventh day.

(13) "‘Whoever touches the dead body of any man who is dead, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the LORD, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel; because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is still upon him.'"

If a person who had touched the dead body of a person failed to purify himself, he defiled the tabernacle of the Lord with his uncleanness, and would be cut off from Israel.  This might mean excommunication from the church, death by the government, or even death by the immediate hand of God.  In the past, whenever I have seen the word "soul" used as it is in this verse, I accepted the translators' and Strong's definition of soul as a living creature, therefore a person in this case.  However, soul does indicate so much more than a merely alive and breathing man.  The body and thus the person is a physical thing.  The soul includes our thoughts, the desires of our hearts, and our wills.  When a beast dies, there is only a dead body; when a person dies, there is also a soul that either willfully or ignorantly chose to sin.  When another person touched the dead body of a sinful soul (as all people are), and did not purify himself, he chose to defile the tabernacle of God by his irreverent inaction and the apparent disrespect in his heart.  That soul must be cut off.

(14) "‘This is the law when a man dies in a tent; all who come into the tent and all who are in the tent shall be unclean seven days.'"

When a person died in a tent, as the Israelites all dwelt in tents at that time, anyone who was there when he died, or anyone who came into the tent where he remained after he died, would be unclean for seven days.

(15) "'And every open vessel, which has no covering bound upon it, is unclean.'"

Additionally, every open container that had no cover on it would be considered defiled by the death in the air considered unclean.

(16) "'And whoever touches one who is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.'"

I don't believe there is any significance in being slain by a sword; I believe the sense is that if anyone had been killed in the open fields, and didn't just die in his home as in verse 14, that anyone who touched that body or any dead body found in the open fields, or any bones of a person, or any person's grave, was to be considered unclean for seven days.

(17) "‘And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put into them in a vessel.'"

For an unclean person they were to take the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, put them in a vessel, and add only running water.  It could be water from a fountain or a spring, etc., but not from a pool of still or stagnant water.  The original word translated as "running" in this verse was "chay" and it literally means "living, alive"; only living water could be added to the ashes for purification of sin.  What a perfect symbol of the Christ to come who would give living water:  "Jesus answered and said to her, 'If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, "Give Me a drink," you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.'" (John 4:10)

(18) "‘A clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water, sprinkle it on the tent, on all the vessels, on the persons who were there, and on the one who touched a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave.'"

Continuing instructions for what they were to do for an unclean person, a ceremonially clean person was to take hyssop and dip it into the living water that had been mixed with the ashes of the heifer, and sprinkle it on the tent where there was a dead body, on all the open vessels inside that tent, and on all the people who were in the tent, as well as on the person who had touched the dead, or bone, or grave.

(19) "'And the clean person shall sprinkle the unclean on the third day and on the seventh day; and on the seventh day he shall purify himself, wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at evening.'"

The clean person was to sprinkle the unclean person on the third and seventh days (v. 12) of his seven day period of uncleanness.  There is some discrepancy among Biblical scholars about whether the additional purification, bathing, and washing of clothes, referred to the person who had touched the dead and become unclean for seven days, or to the person who sprinkled the unclean person, coming in contact with an unclean person, and making himself unclean for a day.  Verse 12 said nothing about bathing and washing clothes, but it seems quite reasonable that this should be done, for the unclean person to be made completely clean.  Although a later verse does stipulate that the person who sprinkled the unclean person must also wash, and would be unclean for the rest of the day, I don't think this verse was about him; if he did not bathe and wash his clothes until the seventh day, then he would have been unclean since the third day, and this verse speaks only of one who is unclean until that evening.

(20) "‘But the man who is unclean and does not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he has defiled the sanctuary of the LORD; the water of separation has not been sprinkled on him; he is unclean.'"

The man who was unclean because of his contact with the dead, who did not purify himself in the way described above, was to be cut off from the congregation because he had defiled the sanctuary of the Lord by coming in contact with it in his unclean state.  The water of purification had not been sprinkled on him; therefore his uncleanness was still upon him (v. 13).

(21) "And it shall be a perpetual statute to them, that he who sprinkles the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he who touches the water of separation shall be unclean until evening."

Additionally, the Lord told Moses and Aaron that it was to be an everlasting statute to the people, that the person who sprinkled the water of purification must wash himself and his clothes, and would be considered unclean until the evening.  John Wesley, in his Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, wrote that it seemed strange that the same water would cleanse one person, but defile another who touched it.  However, this was to teach us that it was not the water itself that was so magical that it cleansed, but that it was in the way God appointed it to be used that purified.  Is that not always God's way?  It's all about the heart and motives of a person to follow the Lord and His instruction, and not in some ritualistic thing.  Think about how Jesus condemned the Pharisees who outwardly did all the "righteous" things required of them, but were full of hypocrisy and iniquity (Matthew 23).  The thing itself does not purify; only the Lord purifies.

(22) "And whatever the unclean person touches shall be unclean; and the soul who touches it shall be unclean until evening."

Whatever the unclean person spoken of throughout this chapter touched would also be unclean, and the person whom he touched or touched him would be considered unclean until the evening.

Matthew Henry, in his Commentary on the Whole Bible, explored the reason behind why touching the dead was such a defiling thing:  "Because death is the wages of sin, entered into the world by it, and reigns by the power of it. Death to mankind is another thing from what it is to other creatures: it is a curse, it is the execution of the law, and therefore the defilement of death signifies the defilement of sin."  Thankfully our Redeemer Jesus Christ came and triumphed over death!

Priesthood of Aaron Confirmed and the Charge Committed to the Priests and Levites

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 17:1) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (2) “Speak to the children of Israel, and take from every one of them a rod according to the house of their fathers, of all their princes according to the house of their fathers, twelve rods; write every man's name on his rod."

In the last chapter of Numbers, the Lord had caused a plague that killed 14,700 Israelites because of their murmuring against Moses and Aaron.  After the plague had ceased, the Lord spoke again to Moses.  He told him to tell the children of Israel to take from each of their twelve tribes a rod and put the name of the prince of that tribe on each rod; there would be twelve rods in all.

(3) “And you shall write Aaron’s name on the rod of Levi, for there shall be one rod for the head of each father’s house."

The Lord further instructed that the rod from the tribe of Levi was to have Aaron's name on it.  He again reiterated there was to be only one rod from each tribe, meaning only one head of each tribe, and Aaron was the head of Levi, squashing all debate that had caused the recent rebellious outbreak.

(4) "And you shall lay them up in the tabernacle of the congregation before the testimony, where I will meet with you."

The Lord further instructed that they were to place the rods in the tabernacle before the Ark of the Testimony where the Lord would meet with them.  The Lord wouldn't physically meet with them, but His presence would surely be known to them.

(5) “And it shall come to pass, that the man's rod, whom I shall choose, shall blossom; and I will make to cease from Me the murmurings of the children of Israel, whereby they murmur against you."

The Lord declared to Moses that the rod of the man He Himself chose, would blossom, and thus He would put an end to the murmurings of the Israelites against him.  In the last chapter the Israelites had accused Moses of taking it upon himself to be ruler over the people and choosing his own brother to be high priest.  In this, the Lord would prove that it was He alone who chose the high priest.

(6) And Moses spoke to the children of Israel, and every one of their princes gave him a rod apiece, for each prince one, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve rods; and the rod of Aaron was among their rods.

Moses spoke to the children of Israel as the Lord had told him to, and took a rod from each prince of his particular tribe.  There were twelve rods in all, according to the twelve tribes, and the rod of Aaron was among the twelve.

(7) And Moses laid up the rods before the LORD in the tabernacle of witness.

Moses laid all twelve rods before the Lord in the tabernacle in the place of the Ark of the Testimony, called witness here.

(8) And it came to pass that on the next day Moses went into the tabernacle of witness, and behold, the rod of Aaron, for the house of Levi, was budded, and brought forth buds, and bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds.

The very next day Moses went into the tabernacle and found that not only had Aaron's rod budded, but it had bloomed blossoms and produced almonds.  It was unquestionably miraculous, showing that God Himself had chosen Aaron and the tribe of Levi to serve Him in the tabernacle.

(9) And Moses brought out all the rods from before the LORD to all the children of Israel; and they looked, and each man took his rod.

Moses brought out all the rods from before the Lord in the tabernacle for the children of Israel to see.  Each prince took his own rod.

(10) And the LORD said to Moses, “Bring Aaron’s rod back before the Testimony, to be kept for a token against the rebels; and you shall quite take away their murmurings from me, that they not die."

The Lord told Moses to bring Aaron's rod back in before the Ark of the Testimony to be kept as a reminder to anyone who might again rebel against Aaron.  The phrase "quite take away" was King James translators' translation of the word "kalah" which better is better defined as "put an end to", "complete", "wholly reap".  Having Aaron's rod as a constant reminder that God chose Aaron and the house of Levi would serve to put an end to the murmurings and complaints of any potential rebels, lest they die.

(11) And Moses did so; just as the LORD had commanded him, so he did.

Moses did just as the Lord had instructed him to do, and brought Aaron's rod back in before the Testimony to be kept as a constant reminder of God's choice to serve Him.

(12) And the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Behold, we die, we perish, we all perish."

The people spoke to Moses.  They seemed to be terror-stricken by the fate of so many all around them.  They were in a sense saying to him to just look at them, they were all dying!

(13) “Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD shall die; shall we be consumed with dying?"

The people continued their cries to Moses.  It seemed to them that anyone who even came near the tabernacle of the Lord would die.  Would they all eventually die?

(Numbers 18:1) And the LORD said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father’s house with you shall bear the iniquity of the sanctuary; and you and your sons with you shall bear the iniquity of your priesthood."

In answer to the people's fears, the Lord told Aaron that he and his sons and the house of Levi would be responsible for the guilt of the offenses of the people in that they would be responsible to make the necessary atonements.  They would also be responsible for any sins they themselves bore as priests.  After all, they were just mere men and would surely sin, if only unintentionally.

(2) "And bring with you your brethren of the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may be joined with you and minister to you; but you and your sons with you shall minister before the tabernacle of witness."

The Lord told Aaron to bring along his brethren of the tribe of Levi that they might minister and serve the priests, but it was to be Aaron and his sons only who would minister in the most holy place.  The other Levites served in the court of the tabernacle, but only the priests served in the most holy place before the Ark of the Testimony.  Adam Clarke, in his Commentary on the Bible, noted a play on words.  The meaning of the word "Levi" was "joined", so the Levites were to be joined with Aaron and his sons, the priests, to assist them.

(3) "And they shall keep your charge, and the charge of all the tabernacle; only they shall not come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor you also, die."

The Levites were to do whatever Aaron and his sons, the priests, committed to their charge to do.  They were to assist the priests in whatever manner they required in the tabernacle, but they were not to come near the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, meaning the ark and the mercy seat, the showbread table and the candlestand, etc.  Neither were they to come near the altar to offer sacrifices of incense or burnt offerings.  The Lord warned that to do so would result in their death, as well as the death of the priests for granting them access to these holy things.

(4) "And they shall be joined to you, and keep the charge of the tabernacle of the congregation, for all the service of the tabernacle; but a stranger shall not come near to you."

Once again, there was that play on words, that those of the tribe of "Levi" would be "joined" to Aaron and his sons, the priests, and would be responsible to keep the charge of the tabernacle, for all the service it needed, but an outsider who was not of the tribe of Levi was not allowed to come near them to minister to them or the tabernacle.

(5) “And you shall keep the charge of the sanctuary, and the charge of the altar, that there be no more wrath on the children of Israel."

Aaron and his sons, the priests, were to keep the charge of the sanctuary and the altar, so that there would be no more wrath on the children of Israel, as had come upon Korah and his company.  Again, this appears to be a direct answer to the people's fearful cries in Numbers 17:12-13.

(6) "And behold, I Myself, have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel; they are given as a gift for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The Lord told Aaron that He Himself had chosen the Levites from among the children of Israel, and they were given as a gift from the Lord and for Him to assist the priests in their service of the tabernacle.

(7) “Therefore you and your sons with you shall keep your priest's office for everything of the altar and within the veil, and you shall serve; I have given your priest's office to you as a gift for service, but the stranger who comes near shall be put to death.”

The Lord told Aaron that he and his sons were given the office of the priesthood to minister at the altar and within the veil as a gift.  It was a great honor to be chosen to serve in this way.  The gift was only to Aaron and his sons, the priests; any outsider who came near to do the office of the priesthood would be put to death.

(8) And the LORD spoke to Aaron, "Behold, I also have given you charge of My heave offerings of all the hallowed things of the children of Israel; I have given them to you by reason of the anointing, and to your sons, by an ordinance forever."

The Lord told Aaron that He had also given him charge of His heave offerings from the children of Israel, meaning not only the charge of them, but for the use of them for them and their families.  The Lord had previously given those to Aaron and his sons in Leviticus 7:34 to be a statute forever, because of their office of the priesthood, to which they had been consecrated by anointing.

(9) “This shall be yours of the most holy things reserved from the fire: every offering of theirs, every grain offering of theirs, every sin offering of theirs, and every trespass offering of theirs, which they render to Me, shall be most holy for you and your sons."

The Lord detailed to Aaron what would be his of the most holy things reserved from the fire, those parts of the sacrifices which were not burnt with fire on the altar of burnt offerings.  To be Aaron's was every offering from the children of Israel, including every grain offering made of fine flour and oil, and burnt on the altar, the remainder of which was eaten by Aaron and his sons (Lev. 6:16).  It also included every sin offering offered to make atonement for sin, which also belonged to the priests and their sons (Lev. 6:26); it included every trespass offering, what remained of this also, when burnt on the altar, was eaten by the priest and his sons (Lev. 7:6).  All these things were most holy and to be used by Aaron and his sons, the priests, only.

(10) "In the most holy place you shall eat it; every male shall eat it. It shall be holy to you."

The most holy things reserved from the fire were to be eaten in a holy place.  This did not mean the holy place or the holiest of holies, but in the holy place of the tabernacle court reserved for the priests, as opposed to eating it in the tents of the camp of Israel.  Only the males were to eat it, the sons of priests, and they only, not their wives or daughters, and therefore it was not to be eaten in their own houses.  It was holy to the priests and to be treated as such.

(11) "And this is yours: the heave offering of their gift, with all the wave offerings of the children of Israel; I have given them to you, and your sons and daughters with you, as an ordinance forever. Everyone who is clean in your house may eat it."

In addition, the heave offering, that right shoulder given to the priest for a heave offering of the sacrifices of peace offerings (Lev. 7:32-34), and wave offerings of the children of Israel, were given to the priests to be eaten by them and their sons and daughters (Lev. 10:14), meaning they were not restricted to the males alone, but extended to their families.  It was to be an ordinance forever that these offerings were to be the priests' and their families', and permitted to be eaten in their own houses, provided they were ceremonially clean.

(12) "All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer to the LORD, them have I given you."

The first of the best oil, wine, and wheat, those first-fruits that the people offered to the Lord, those, too, the Lord had given to Aaron and his sons, the priests.

(13) “Whatever is first ripe in the land, which they shall bring to the LORD, shall be yours; everyone who is clean in your house shall eat it."

Besides oil, wine, and wheat, whatever else ripened first in the land, was to be offered to the Lord, and was to be the priests', and everyone who was ceremonially clean in their houses was permitted to eat of it.

(14) "Everything devoted in Israel shall be yours."

Everything that was devoted solely to the Lord, such as fields, houses, livestock, etc. (Lev. 27:28), was to be for the use of the priests.

(15) “Everything that opens the womb in all flesh, which they bring to the LORD, whether man or beast, shall be yours; nevertheless the firstborn of man you shall surely redeem, and the firstling of unclean beasts you shall redeem."

The firstborn of all life, whether man or beast, was to be given to the Lord, according to Exodus 13:2, and therefore was for the use of the priests.  However, the firstborn of man and the firstborn of any unclean beast, they would receive the redemption price rather than the firstborn itself.  I had to chuckle at Adam Clarke's thought about this:  "Thus vain man is ranked with the beasts that perish; and with the worst kinds of them too, those deemed unclean."  That's the kind of thinking that the godless world view has, that animals are equal to man.  This did not mean that man was ranked with unclean animals, for they were redeemed for different reasons.  Firstborn children were not be be owned and used by the priests; therefore they had to be redeemed with a monetary value that was given to the priests.  Unclean animals were not to be owned and used by priests for obviously different reasons, so they also had to be redeemed; they were redeemed with clean animals (Exodus 13:13).

(16) “And those that are to be redeemed from a month old you shall redeem, according to your estimation, for the money of five shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, which is twenty gerahs."

This refers to the firstborn children who were to be redeemed at one month of age, as unclean animals were to be redeemed with lambs, not money.  Children from a month old were to be redeemed for five shekels, which was said to be twenty gerahs, according to the standard weight of the sanctuary shekel.  I have given up trying to determine the value of these Biblical amounts mentioned for it seems there are so many varying views.  However, the point is that there was a standard redemption price for firstborn children.  Although the redemption price was set, the verse above states it was according to Aaron's estimation.  Perhaps the point is merely that the children were presented to Aaron at which point he declared the redemption price.  Perhaps it was his estimation that was determined according to the age of the person presented.  Leviticus 27:3-7 outlined the different values for people offering themselves or their children to the Lord.

(17) "But the firstling of a cow, or the firstling of a sheep, or the firstling of a goat, you shall not redeem; they are holy. You shall sprinkle their blood on the altar, and shall burn their fat for an offering made by fire, for a sweet savor to the LORD."

However, the firstborn of cows, sheep, and goats were not to be redeemed, because they were holy and for the use of the priests.  They were to be sacrificed and their blood sprinkled on the altar.  Their fat was to be burned for a burnt offering, pleasing and accepted by the Lord (Lev. 7:31).

(18) “And their flesh shall be yours, as the wave breast and as the right shoulder are yours."

The flesh of these firstborn animals were to be the priests', wholly, just as the wave breast and right shoulder were to be theirs (Lev. 7:34).

(19) “All the heave offerings of the holy things, which the children of Israel offer to the LORD, I have given to you and your sons and your daughters with you by a statute forever; it is a covenant of salt forever before the LORD to you and to your seed with you."

All the heave offerings of the holy things before mentioned that the children of Israel offered to the Lord, the Lord had given as a gift to Aaron and his sons, the priests, and their families, as a statute forever.  To be a covenant of salt was said to mean an incorruptible, everlasting covenant.  As salt was used to preserve from decay, it became a symbol of incorruptibility and permanence.  This was to be an everlasting covenant to Aaron and his descendants after him.

(20) And the LORD spoke to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any part among them; I am your part and your inheritance among the children of Israel. (21) And, behold, I have given the children of Levi all the tenth in Israel for an inheritance, for their service which they serve, the service of the tabernacle of the congregation."

The Lord continued speaking to Aaron.  He told him that the tribe of Levi, with Aaron as the head, would have no inheritance in the promised land of Canaan as the other tribes would have.  God alone was to be their inheritance.  They were of the tribe that God had chosen to do His service, and they would have a special and closer relationship with Him than would the other Israelites.  In addition, God gave them the most part of the tenth or tithes that were offered to Him.  When you consider there were twelve tribes, and the Levites received a tenth whereas the other eleven tribes divided the other nine tenths, the Levites actually received a greater share than they would have if they had been given an equal share in the inheritance.  This they were given because of their service to Him in the tabernacle.

(22) "Henceforth the children of Israel must not come near the tabernacle of the congregation, lest they bear sin and die. (23) But the Levites shall do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they shall bear their iniquity; it shall be a statute forever, throughout your generations, that among the children of Israel they have no inheritance."

Again, as in apparent answer to the people's fears in chapter 17 that they might all die, the Lord reiterated the caution that the children of Israel should not come near the tabernacle to do any part of the priest's office, such as burning incense as Korah and his company had done, or to do any part of the service of the Levites, such as keeping watch of the tabernacle and bearing its utensils, etc.  If any of the children of Israel did overstep their bounds and again try to perform some such work of the tabernacle, that person would bear the sin of irreverently handling holy things, disobeying the Lord's direct command, and he would die.  The Levites alone were to do the service of the tabernacle, and they would bear their sin if they failed in their duties as priests or if they willingly or by negligence allowed others to do the work that was the Levites' alone.  It was to be a statute forever that only the Levites were to perform the duties of the tabernacle, and that they would have no inheritance.  The Levites had the honor of attending the tabernacle, which was denied the rest of the Israelites, but the Israelites had the honor of inheritances in Canaan, which was denied the Levites; therefore each had reason to rejoice in the honor shown them, and not be envious and despising the other as had occurred with Dathan and Abiram in chapter 16.

(24) "But the tithes of the children of Israel, which they offer as a heave offering to the LORD, I have given to the Levites to inherit; therefore I have said to them, ‘Among the children of Israel they shall have no inheritance.’”

The tithes of the children of Israel, called heave offerings because they heaved or lifted them up to the Lord, the Lord gave to the Levites as their inheritance.  That was the reason He had stated they would have no part of the inheritance given to the other tribes; they had their own inheritance as specified by the Lord.

(25) And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, (26) "Thus speak to the Levites, and say to them, ‘When you take from the children of Israel the tithes which I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall offer up a heave offering of it to the LORD, a tenth part of the tithe.'"

The Lord now spoke to Moses, telling him to tell the Levites that when they received the tithes from the children of Israel that the Lord had expressly given them, they in turn were to offer a tenth part of what they received to the Lord.  All the people were to offer tithes to the Lord in praise and thanksgiving for all their blessings from Him.

(27) "‘And your heave offering shall be reckoned to you as though it were the corn of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.'"

The heave offering of the Levites would be as acceptable to the Lord as if they had harvested it themselves.

(28) "‘Thus you shall also offer a heave offering to the LORD from all your tithes which you receive from the children of Israel, and you shall give the LORD’s heave offering from it to Aaron the priest.'"

In the manner described above, just as the Israelites offered their tithes to them, the Levites offered their tithes from the tithes received from the children of Israel, and they were to give those offerings to Aaron and the priests.

(29) "'Out of all your gifts you shall offer every heave offering to the LORD, of all the best of them, the hallowed part of them.’"

Not only out of their tithes, but out of whatever gifts were given by the Israelites to them, and out of the produce of the fields which belonged to them as part of the offerings given to them, in all their offerings, they were to give the best part to the Lord, and that was said to be the hallowed part, the tenth part that was always to be the Lord's, and therefore was holy.

(30) “Therefore you shall say to them, ‘When you have heaved the best of it, then it shall be counted to the Levites as the increase of the threshingfloor, and as the increase of the winepress.'"

The Lord continued to tell Moses what to say to the Levites, perhaps specifically the priests in this case.  When they had heaved the best of their offering to the Lord, that tenth part they were to offer to their Lord, it would be as acceptable to Him as if they had harvested it themselves, and the nine tenths that remained would be considered as much their own and lawfully enjoyed, as the corn of the threshing floor and the wine of the wine press.

(31) "'And you shall eat it in any place, you and your households, for it is your reward for your service in the tabernacle of the congregation.'"

Then they could eat their portion, not as a holy thing, but with the same freedom with which the other Israelites ate their parts, in any place they and their households wished.  That was because it was their reward for their service in the tabernacle, and therefore their own to eat wherever they wished.  Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, went further to say that they could even sell it to purchase other necessities, but I will stick with the words given here that say only that they might eat it anywhere.

(32) "‘And you shall bear no sin because of it, when you have lifted up the best of it; but you shall not pollute the holy things of the children of Israel, lest you die.'"

They were to have no guilt or blame placed on them because they did enjoy it wherever they wished, as long as they had offered up the best tenth of it, but they were not to treat the holy gifts of the children of Israel in that manner.  They would be polluting holy things if they ate of the gifts given for holy use, and therefore guilty of irreverence and neglect, or considered even blasphemy, and punishable by death.

In chapter 17 the priesthood of Aaron was confirmed by the budding and blossoming of his rod.  Then the people complained of their peril in drawing near to God.  In chapter 18 the Lord addressed their fears by explaining how it was the duty of the priests to draw near to Him for them, and it was the priests' responsibility to bear the iniquity of the sanctuary.  There should be no puffed up pride of the priests nor envy of them, considering the great care and charge upon them.  This is a good lesson to us all that we should never become high-minded and proud, but fear.  The greater the trust of work and power that is committed to us, the greater danger there is of betraying that trust.  Therefore we should not envy others' honors or high places.