Numbers

Numbers 32:1-19
Do Not Take Us Over the Jordan

In the verses today, it is readily apparent that Moses becomes almost enraged at the words brought to his ears. He was eighty years old when he last stood this close to entering Canaan. Now he is one hundred and twenty, and except for Joshua and Caleb, he has seen the death of every adult around him since that time.

And even though he will not enter into Canaan, he wants the assurance in his heart that his beloved people will. His appeals to God over these many years have constantly been on their behalf. He has led them like a shepherd and petitioned the Lord for them on his face many times.

But now a possible obstacle has arisen once again that puts their entrance into the promise in jeopardy. It is apparent that he is ready to go to battle to ensure this will not be the case. What will be the outcome? And what is it that has him so upset that he would immediately scold those who have come before him?

Text Verse: “Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? No, but by the law of faith. ²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law. ²⁹ Or is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also the God of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also, ³⁰ since there is one God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith. ³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Romans 3:27-31

Moses is Israel’s lawgiver, and yet he saw the very thing which kept Israel from entrance into the land of promise forty years earlier. It wasn’t an infraction of the law at all. It was a lack of faith in the promises of the Lord.

Moses came to understand that the law had a particular purpose, but it was not that which got the people into Canaan. Rather, their faith in the Lord is what got them in or kept them out. Moses discovered this, and he added it onto what has already been said about his predecessors.

This is a certain truth which is revealed in His superior word. And so, let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Brood of Sinful Men (verses 1-15)

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,

The Hebrew of this first verse of the chapter sets the tone for what is coming. The way it is laid out, there is an emphasis on the word “livestock” which begins and ends the verse. It says, “And livestock many (rav) had sons Reuben and sons Gad mighty very (atsum meod). And when they saw land Jazer and land Gilead – and behold – the place a place for livestock.”

Because of the great amount of livestock, which is especially highlighted by the use of the two descriptions – many and mighty very – and because of the nature of the land being especially suited for livestock, the stage is set for what lies ahead.

It is to be noted that according to Numbers 2, both Reuben and Gad were situated on the south of the camp, along with Simeon. Thus, for almost 40 years these people had grown up together, lived together, and probably shared a very close bond through marriage and the like.

Simeon is probably not included in this joining because they had the largest reduction of men in the second census. They were at this time a small clan and thus their destiny is tied in with the majority of Israel, not a group who desires to branch out from the whole.

Jazer means Helpful, or He Shall Help. In Numbers 21:32, it was seen to be a city of the Amorites which was taken by Israel. Gilead means Perpetual Fountain. When Gilead is referred to, it is more of a great area which extends to both the north and south of the Jabbok River. Here it is identified with the area south of the river.

The area was said to have been taken from Sihon, king of the Amorites in Numbers 21. From there, it said that Israel took possession of the land and dwelt in the cities. It is possibly during those wars that the greatness of the livestock was obtained by Reuben and Gad.

As far as the terrain, scholars noted that even during the time of the desolation of the land for the past 2000 years, it was always an area that remained rich and fertile. During that time, it was known as the Belka, and Arabs had a saying, “You cannot find a country like the Belka.” It was such an enticing place to Reuben and Gad that…

² the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,

Reuben is both the firstborn and the larger of the two tribes. He is also the main tribe of the southern divisions, and yet Gad is placed first in this verse. It indicates that it was probably they who were the chief instigators of what follows. This appears to be borne out in verses we will see next week.

Gad means both “Troop,” meaning a large group, and “Fortune.” It could be that using Gad as the main tribe being referred to is to show that these people are seeking their fortune, represented by Gad, instead of seeking the Lord’s will. Reuben means, “See A Son.” Together, they come forward to the leadership of all of the congregation with words to consider…

³ “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon,

They are the names of nine cities. In the Bible, nine is the number of finality or judgment. The names don’t appear to form any pattern, and this is especially so because the meaning of several of them are almost impossible to determine. They are listed again later in this chapter, with some being named slightly differently.

For a best guess – Ataroth – Crowns; Dibon – Pining; Jazer – Helpful; Nimrah – Place of Leopard or Clear Water; Heshbon – Intelligence; Elealeh – God ascends; Shebam should read Sebam – Spice (?); Nebo – Interpreter or Foreteller (?); Beon – May be a contraction of Baal Meon – Master of the House (?).

⁴ the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel,

ha’arets asher hikah Yehovah – “The land which struck Yehovah.” After naming the towns, they note that it is the Lord who struck the country. This is true, and it is probably intended to show that they expect all such conquests to end in the same manner, but what is also true is that it is Israel who is the Lord’s arm for striking the nations in warfare.

The Lord didn’t just strike them with a plague or send hailstones down on the Amorites. Rather, the battles which defeated Sihon and Og were waged by Israel. This is again attested to in Deuteronomy 2:33 where it says, “And the Lord our God delivered him over to us; so we defeated him, his sons, and all his people.”

^4 (con’t) is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”

It is apparent already that their proposal is based on the fact that they desire this land as their own. The Lord defeated it, and now it is at the disposal of the leaders of Israel to do with it as they best determined. How far their desire goes is what is next stated…

⁵ Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession.

The words are in the singular, and thus the address is to Moses alone. They have noted that the Lord gave the land to Israel, and Moses is the one to speak on behalf of the Lord. And so they say, “If we have found grace in your eyes.”

It is a common expression first introduced when Abraham spoke to the Lord in Genesis 18. Its meaning is obvious. “We have a request, and we look to you for approval if it is your will to favor us in the matter.” In this case, it is for their own possession east of the Jordan instead of in the land of Canaan.

^5 (con’t) Do not take us over the Jordan.”

ha’yarden, or the Jordan, meaning the Descender, is the dividing line between the hope of the promise and the realization of it. It gets its name from the great descent it makes. It goes from the top of Mount Hermon all the way down to the lowest elevation on earth, the Dead Sea.

In typology, the Jordan pictures Christ who descended from the heights of heaven to come to earth, and who even descended to death itself. Passing over the Jordan means to pass over to what God has promised.

To Israel, it is an earthly inheritance. To those whom Israel look to in type, it is restoration and fellowship with God. Moses probably had no idea about the typology, but he certainly had an idea about rejecting the promise, and doing so at the expense of others…

⁶ And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben:

As occurred in verse 2, and as will continue throughout the chapter, Gad is again placed first. The text appears to be showing that it is Gad who is the main tribe behind the plan, and thus the main tribe to be addressed first in the incident. For them, there is the seeking of a fortune east of the Jordan to which Moses now responds…

^6 (con’t) “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?

There is a rather sharp dividing line between what scholars see as the intent behind this request by Gad and Reuben. Some see it in the negative. They are cowardly and self-seeking, or at best uncaring about the plight of the other tribes who must go in and subdue Canaan.

Others see it as a trust in the fact that the Lord won all of the battles so far for them, and thus the conquest of Canaan is a foregone conclusion, of which they need not even be present in order for it to come about.

We can only speculate on which is correct, and we can’t even know if what transpires later in the passage was already considered by them and is something they would have voluntarily acted upon. It is certain, however, that they are content with what they possess.

We have seen how profitable it is to have men of war win in battle. The amount of plunder that came to the soldiers as it was divided would have been an enormous enticement to join all of Israel in each battle. If they did not intend to assist in the battles, it means that they felt what they had was sufficient for them.

But two things are for sure to Moses. The first is that Israel is a collective whole, and secondly, Moses takes their words in the most negative light possible. Rightly or wrongly, he sees this as an act of cowardice and/or uncaring greed.

Because what they have said so far is at best vague as to any other intentions, he takes their request as basically asking for land that has been subdued by the entire congregation of fighting men while they can sit and enjoy the spoils of others’ efforts.

At the same time, the rest of Israel still has to fight its way through its inheritance. And there is good reason for his attitude. And so he begins with…

⁷ Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?

Here Moses uses a word, nu, seen only four times in Numbers 30. That was concerning a father or a husband forbidding a vow which was made by a woman under his authority. It would appear that it should be taken in a similar way.

It is as if these two tribes have the authority to forbid the hearts of the children of Israel from going over the Jordan. It isn’t just that they would merely discourage the hearts of the people, but that they would be the force behind them being incapable of going over.

Moses even says that it is “the land which the Lord has given them.” It is their possession, but he acts as if these two tribes are actively forbidding Israel to enter. To support this, he says…

⁸ Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land.

This goes back to the last time that Israel was at the door of Canaan. They had arrived at the Wilderness of Paran, and Moses had sent men to spy out the land. Here, he calls them “your fathers.”

He is directly tying Gad and Reuben into the family that transgressed against the Lord, showing that they are of the same seed that brought about great woe to the people. Upon their return, they brought back a bad report, thus causing the people to turn their hearts away from advancing into Canaan.

Here, the spot is called Kadesh Barnea for the first time. Before, it was called simply Kadesh, or Holy, and the reason for that was that while in that spot Moses had failed to hallow the Lord before the people’s eyes. Now it is called Kadesh Barnea which means either “Sacred Desert of Wandering,” or maybe in the active sense, “Holy Purifying Wanderings.”

The reason for using the term Kadesh Barnea now for the first time seems to be an indictment on the attitude of the people which caused them to become fugitives, wandering in the desert for thirty-eight years. Moses is reminding them that this was the result of Israel’s previous disobedience while standing right at the door of entrance into Canaan.

His words are intended to wake them up to the severity of the situation and to remind them of the consequences of the actions of the people. With this in mind, he continues with…

⁹ For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land,

Moses could have chosen any point among the journeys of the twelve spies, but his words single out the Valley of Eshcol. And so it needs to be re-explained what nakhal eshkol, or the Valley of Eshcol, means.

The word nakhal signifies a wadi where water would flow through during the seasons of rain. That word comes from nakhal meaning, “to take possession,” or “inherit.” Eshcol means “cluster.” But that comes from the word eshek, meaning testicle.

As we learned, this pictured Christ’s work. Once having been accepted, He took possession of that which proceeds from the spot where man is generated from. In other words, it is a picture of the overriding of original sin in man.

Sin transfers from father to child. The semen, which is generated in man, is what transfers that sin. Christ has, through His work, taken possession of that in all who move from Adam to Him. It is the realization of the kingdom for His people through this act.

This, however, was rejected by Israel, just as the spies who went into the Valley of Eshcol had rejected the promises of the Lord. The Lord, through Moses’ words to these men, is giving us a recounting of what brought them to the disaster that followed – both for that generation, and for the generation who would come and reject the work of Christ. For the wilderness generation…

^9 (con’t) they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel,

Moses again uses the word nu, to forbid, which he used in verse 7. This is its last use in the books of Moses, and he is essentially saying, “…they forbid the heart of the children of Israel.” The word “heart” is in the singular. The people are a collective whole with one undivided heart.

The spies had discouraged that heart, forbidding it to have faith in the promises of the Lord, and causing them to instead disbelieve. One can clearly see the parallel which caused Israel to disbelieve in the work of Christ which is found in Matthew 28 –

“‘“Now while they were going, behold, some of the guard came into the city and reported to the chief priests all the things that had happened. ¹² When they had assembled with the elders and consulted together, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, ¹³ saying, “Tell them, ‘His disciples came at night and stole Him away while we slept.’ ¹⁴ And if this comes to the governor’s ears, we will appease him and make you secure.” ¹⁵ So they took the money and did as they were instructed; and this saying is commonly reported among the Jews until this day.”’” Matthew 28:11-15

The spies in the wilderness, leaders among the people, forbid the people to trust in the Lord through their negative report, and the leaders of Israel at the time of Jesus did the same. They spread a bad report which caused their own extended punishment.

Moses’ final two uses of this word nu here, after its introduction just two short chapters ago, is intended to show us this. It isn’t just that the collective heart of the people was discouraged, but that it was forbidden from faith by the actions of the leaders. This is also exactly repeated by the author of Hebrews.

In Hebrews 4, which is a book directed to the end times Jews, those who are exactly being pictured in these Numbers sermons, we read this in Hebrews 4:1-13 (Please read these verses). Because of this, Moses continues with…

^9 (con’t) so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.

The word that Moses uses here, though not uncommon, is one which is stronger than simply not doing something. It is a failure to do something. One might paraphrase this as, “so that they failed to go into the land.”

Moses is recounting what occurred before directly speaking what is on his mind concerning the request of Gad and Reuben in order to set the stage for why it is on his mind at all. The spies forbid the hearts of Israel, and therefore Israel failed to obtain the promise.

This is what Paul speaks of concerning Israel in Romans 11, where he calls Israel’s rejection of Christ – meaning the promise – a failure, which in turn meant riches for the Gentiles.

The pattern is obvious. Israel’s earthly rejection of Canaan here in Numbers is a direct picture of Israel’s rejection of Christ and thus a spiritual rejection of restoration with God. Canaan the land is representative of restored paradise and fellowship with God. This is seen in the next words…

¹⁰ So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day,

v’yikhar aph Yehovah ba’yom – “And burned nostril Yehovah that day.” The imagery is that of Yehovah’s nostrils flaring with anger and shooting forth flames.

Imagine the anger of the Lord at the faithless people who had seen all of His great wonders cowering at the report and rejecting the Lord and His promises there in Kadesh Barnea. It was a faithless act which brought them punishment, exile, and rejection.

Now imagine the anger of the Lord at the faithless people who had seen all of the miracles and wonders of Christ the Lord, and then rejected Him and His promises. And so…

^{10 (con’t)} and He swore an oath, saying,

The word of the Lord is an oath in and of itself. He does not need to say, “I swear,” for His word to be confirmed. But when He does, it is a sign to the people that what He says will come about.

In Numbers 14, He added an extra confirmation to what he will next say in verse 11 with the words, “‘As I live,’ says the Lord.” It was His way of saying that what He was to utter would be performed. The substance of what He then said in Numbers 14 is repeated by Moses now…

¹¹ ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, 

Here Moses speaks to them concerning those who “came up from Egypt.” They were redeemed from Egypt. Egypt pictures bondage to sin. The Lord, in fact, redeemed Israel from their sin through His work. But there is a difference between being redeemed potentially and being redeemed actually.

Jesus redeemed Israel potentially, but they had to accept His redemption to be redeemed actually. In this, Moses calls them ha’anashim ha’olim. The word olim is a verb. Thus it reads, “the men, the ‘coming uppers’ from Egypt.” They were brought up, but they would not continue on the trek into Canaan…

^{11 (con’t)} from twenty years old and above,

Twenty is the number of expectancy. Those who expect have not yet attained. In this case, they never would. Theirs was to be an expectancy which will end in futility.

It is a curse upon the people which was then executed, day by day and step by step through the wildness. For thirty-eight years, they suffered under the curse, leaving none of that generation left to enter into the inheritance.

^{11 (con’t)} shall see the land

Here Moses uses the term ha’adamah, or the land, when speaking of the land the Lord promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. However, in Genesis 12, 13, and 15, and elsewhere when the promises were spoken to Abraham, the Lord used the term ha’aretz, the land. It is also used by Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, and etc.

This is not without purpose. ha’aretz, or “the land,” speaks of the area. ha’adamah, or “the land,” speaks of the soil; the ground. However, the word comes from the same source as “Adam.” This is an obvious picture of the coming Christ. Paul calls Jesus “the last Adam” in 1 Corinthians 15:45.

Moses’ use of the word ha’adamah here is a picture of Christ, the last Adam. He was the hope of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The Messiah to come was their anticipation. The Lord, through the inspiration of these words spoken by Moses, is prophetically looking forward to the generation who would reject Jesus and He is saying that “none of these shall see the Messiah.”

This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t see Jesus. They saw Him, rejected Him, and crucified Him. It is saying that they wouldn’t see what He offered them – meaning Himself. They rejected Jesus and they did not see the last Adam.

It is then reminiscent of what the Lord promised to Israel if they rejected His coming Messiah in Malachi 4. At the end of that chapter, as the Old Testament closes out, He told the people –

“Remember the Law of Moses, My servant,
Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel,
With the statutes and judgments.
⁵ Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.
⁶ And he will turn
The hearts of the fathers to the children,
And the hearts of the children to their fathers,
Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.” Malachi 4:4-6

The people turned away from the Lord and He sentenced them to die in the wilderness over the next thirty-eight years. The people rejected Christ, and the Lord struck their land with a curse, exiling them for the next two thousand years. Their expectancy would end in futility.

^{11 (con’t)} of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me,

This is the only time in the book of Numbers that Abraham or Isaac is mentioned. It is also the only time that Jacob is mentioned as the man, Jacob. Seven other times Jacob is mentioned, but in those instances, it is speaking of Jacob the people who are Israel. There is an important reason for naming Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob here.

The question that must be asked is, “When did the Lord swear the land to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? Was it before the giving of the law, or after?” It was not after, but before. Therefore, the promise is not of the law, but of grace. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob wholly followed the Lord, because they believed the Lord. They demonstrated faith.

The law is not of faith, but of works. However, those under law can still demonstrate faith. It is by faith, and by faith alone that the promise is obtained. That is why Paul said this in Galatians 3 –

“And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. ¹⁸ For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.” Galatians 3:17, 18

Abraham was given the promise. He believed. Isaac received the promise. He believed. Jacob received the promise. He believed. Israel received the promised, and they failed to have faith in the promise.

This is why Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are mentioned here, and only here, in the book of Numbers. Moses is reminding the people of their responsibility as they stand at the very borders of Canaan. Nobody of that faithless generation was to enter the promise…

¹² except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun,

The Lord uses the same word as in verse 9 where it said they did not go into the land. They failed to do so. Here, he uses the same word with an attached preposition, translated as “except.” Where Israel failed, they are the exception.

Here, Caleb, or “Dog,” is named first. He is identified by his father’s name Yephunneh, or “He will be beheld.” He is also identified here as a Kenizzite, a descendant of Canaan, or a son of Kenaz, which is an Edomite name. Later in Joshua, his brother Othniel is identified as a son of Kenaz.

Thus, it is likely that he was of foreign birth and brought into the people of Israel and the tribe of Judah. The emphasis on him being a Kenizzite is to show his Gentile heritage.

Next Joshua, or “The Lord is Salvation,” is named. He is identified as the son of Nun, or “To propagate” or “Increase.” These two then, as was seen in Numbers 14, picture both Gentiles and faithful Jews who would receive the inheritance in Christ, even while collective Israel was in their time of punishment.

This is not to say that Caleb himself was a Gentile, but the identification of him as a Kenizzite is given to show this in typology. Where Jews regarded Gentiles as dogs, seen in Caleb, the Lord accepted them because of Christ. His father’s name further shows this, “He will be beheld.”

For those faithful Jews who have come to Christ, they are represented by Joshua, or “the Lord is Salvation.” Naming his father, Nun, shows that the Lord, would propagate, or increase His offspring through these faithful Jews. As always, the typology is given to show Christ and His redemptive plans for His people. This is because His people are represented by them. As He says…

^{12 (con’t)} for they have wholly followed the Lord.’

Moses now takes the words he just cited from the Lord in the previous verse and turns them. Quoting the Lord, he said, ki lo milu aharai – “for no fully followed after Me.” But of Caleb and Joshua, he says, ki milu ahare Yehovah – “for they fully followed after Yehovah.”

The question is, “How did they fully follow after the Lord?” The answer is simple – They believed in Him, and they believed Him. They demonstrated faith in the promise of the Lord, just as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob did. They were men of faith, and it is by their faith that they would receive the promise. Those of the law are shown to be excluded from the promise because the law is not of faith, but of works.

¹³ So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel,

Moses repeats the same thought as in verse 10. There he said, “And burned nostril Yehovah that day.” Now he says, “And burned nostril Yehovah in Israel.” The spies discouraged the heart of the people which caused the people to not wholly follow Him. The one action led to the other, and the Lord’s anger was aroused…

^{13 (con’t)} and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years,

The number forty in Scripture points to a period of probation, trial, and chastisement. Israel failed to believe, and they were judged for that, receiving the Lord’s chastisement for their unbelief. The pattern follows through with Israel’s rejection of the Lord.

Though Israel could be considered to have been punished, they were not destroyed. God had promised to never forsake His covenant with them, and He has kept that promise. Though chastised, they were not destroyed. Instead, they died off…

^{13 (con’t)} until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.

The question must be asked, “What evil did they do which brought about their state?” The fact is that Israel did a lot of evil, but the specific evil that the Lord, and now Moses, imputes to them is the evil of unbelief. Whereas Caleb and Joshua demonstrated faith, Israel was faithless. It is that simple. One is deemed right through belief, or he is deemed as out of the Lord’s favor through unbelief.

And it is not enough to simply believe in God. That is something most people do. One must also believe God. When He speaks, His word is to be accepted. Israel failed with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.

¹⁴ And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place,

v’hinneh qamtem takhat abotekhem – “And behold! You have risen up under your fathers.” Moses’ words in verse 14 are direct, specific, and powerful. The meaning of this clause is that they have now risen up in the same way as their fathers did who came before them. The God’s Word Translation paraphrases this as, “You’re just like your parents!” Or, as John Gill says, “Like fathers, like sons.”

^{14 (con’t)} a brood of sinful men,

tarbut anashim khataim – “an increase of men – sinners.” God’s Word Translation again gives a resounding paraphrase – “You’re a bunch of sinners…”

The idea here is that just as their fathers were sinners, so they have risen up in place of their fathers and are simply adding more sinners to that heap of sinners who came before them. It is evident that Moses is severely upset with these people. He is even beside himself. And so he goes on…

^{14 (con’t)} to increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord against Israel.

lispot od al kharon aph Yehovah el Yisrael – “to scrape up still more upon the burning nostril of Yehovah towards Israel.” The words must have been like arrows coming off of Moses’ lips.

The word he uses, and which is translated as “increase,” is saphah. It comes from a root meaning to scrape or to shave. Thus, there is an increase of what is scraped, or there is a removal of what is scraped. In this case, it is combined with the word od, or “again,” and so it is an increase.

Moses has already twice mentioned the burning nostril of Yehovah. Now, his words show that the anger has not gone away. It is still alive from the actions of the faithless men almost forty years earlier. And now, the action of Gad and Reuben is adding fuel to that fire, which has been – and will be – directed towards Israel. This is so certain that Moses continues with…

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

The words take them back to the time when the spies returned from Canaan. The people awaited word about the land, and the spies gave a bad report. In this, they caused the people to turn away from following the Lord.

Moses is saying that exactly the same thing will happen. The people will get disheartened by the display of cowardice on Gad and Reuben’s part, and they will turn from following the Lord. In this, He will again consign them to their fate in the wilderness, and the people will again wander until they are destroyed. Moses speaks out the general substance of Ecclesiastes 1:9 –

That which has been is what will be,
That which is done is what will be done,
And there is nothing new under the sun.

Moses hopes to avoid that through his rebuke of what has come before him.

The Lord desires to show His favor to you
He will open the Door and lead you to glory
This is what He is set to do
If you will but believe the gospel story

In fact, the door is open if you will just but believe
And through that Door, you can enter into glory
All He asks is that His Son you will receive
Yes, He asks you to accept the truth of the gospel story

And when you do, the Door will never again be shut
Your access through Him is a guarantee of glory
This is His promise without an “if,” “and,” or “but”
It is yours forever because you trusted the gospel story

II. The Proposal and Promise (verses 16-19)

¹⁶ Then they came near to him and said:

It says, “And they came near him.” It seems to be that they may have shrunk back from Moses at his rebuke, or they retired from him to talk the matter over, or something such as this.

Whatever the intent is, they had either already determined to take this course of action and had not been given the chance to speak, or they decided on the course of action they will present, and they now bring it forward as a proposal for Moses to hear.

^{16 (con’t)} “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,

The Hebrew term translated as “sheepfolds” is gidrot tson. It means, “walls livestock,” and thus an enclosure of stones which livestock would be led into when they were not grazing.

It is interesting that they mention building the sheepfolds even before mentioning cities for their families. The chapter began with the thought of the tribes possessing much livestock, and that the land was a region for livestock. It seems that these people are almost possessed by their possessions.

In his response to them in verse 24, Moses will place the little ones first before the livestock. After that, in verse 34, it will confirm that they built the cities, along with the sheepfolds following the order of Moses’ words.

Here, the term taph, or “little ones,” normally speaks of children, but in this case it extends out to any who are weak or defenseless.

And finally, the word translated as “build,” signifies the process of building. It can be from scratch, or to fortify. In this case, it is probably the latter. They had gone into a land already occupied and subdued it. They would simply need to repair that which was broken down. It is a process that would not take a great deal of time if so. Once the task was complete, or as it was ongoing…

¹⁷ but we ourselves will be armed,

In contrast to the families who are secured in cities with their livestock, the males promise to instead stand withdrawn from them, implying armed for battle. And to show their determination in the matter, they then say…

^{17 (con’t)} ready to go before the children of Israel

Here is a new word, khush which is certainly an onomatopoetic expression. It means to make haste. Figuratively, it means to be eager with excitement.

To prove they had no intent on cowardice, they show that they are, in fact, eager to go forward with Israel. And so, they will hasten to be set so that there will be no delay for Israel because of them.

They further state that they are ready to go liphne, or “before” them. The word can mean “before,” “in the presence of,” and so on, but it surely indicates “before,” as “in front of.” They have been accused of cowardice, and their response is to indicate that they are exactly the opposite. They will set the pace of the battles for all others to emulate. And this will last…

^{17 (con’t)} until we have brought them to their place;

This means they will be with them during the entire campaign. They will not break ranks with their brothers until the land is subdued. But they must first put up fortifications in the land…

^{17 (con’t)} and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

With the cities being fortified, they could be defended. It is certain that a large portion of the fighting men stayed for that purpose, and neither Moses, nor anyone else, found that unreasonable. The census of the tribes showed that Reuben had 43,730 fighting-aged men. Gad had 40,500, and Manasseh had 52,700. Half of Manasseh would be about 26,350 men. In total, they then had about 110,580 men of battle age, and yet we read this in Joshua 4 –

“And the men of Reuben, the men of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh crossed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses had spoken to them. ¹³ About forty thousand prepared for war crossed over before the Lord for battle, to the plains of Jericho.” Joshua 4:12, 13

Therefore, almost two thirds of the fighting aged men stayed behind, continued to build, defended the people, and so on. These probably rotated in and out of the battles during the campaign to conquer Canaan.

The same would be true for the families of the other tribes west of the Jordan, and it is almost to be understood without being mentioned to or by Moses now.

¹⁸ We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance.

Again, like the previous verse, these words mean the tribe as a whole. It cannot mean that individuals would not return home for a vacation, a family death, or the like. The campaign to subdue Canaan is to last seven years.

Gad and Reuben as tribes of fighting men will remain until all the tribes also have what they are now about to possess. This is their word of assurance to Moses now because of their hope of what the future will provide…

*^{19 (fin)} For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”

The words here are given a precision that actually confuses some scholars. The men now speaking state that they will not take an inheritance me’ever, or on the side of the Jordan. It does not mean specifically, “on the other side.” The term simply means, “on the side,” and it can mean, “on this side,” or, “on the other side.”

In this case, the verse itself twice explains the meaning when they say, “on the side of the Jordan and beyond.” This indicates that the land on the side of Canaan may be extended beyond the original boundaries, towards Lebanon perhaps.

They then say – using the same expression – that their inheritance will fall me’ever ha’yarden mizrakhah, or “on side the Jordan, eastward.” The land of Canaan is the reference point in both. It makes no difference which side is being referred to as long as the point of reference is understood.

However, in an astonishingly inept comment, the normally sound Pulpit Commentary says of this –

“All we can say is, that the awkward use of the phrase in two opposite meanings, with words of clearer definition added, points more or less strongly towards a probability that the passage as it stands was written or revised at a later date.” Pulpit Commentary

The entire point of revision is to fix that which is broken, not to further muddy the waters. The commentator must have slipped in his bathtub and then passed out under the water too long, depriving him of oxygen, to make such a statement. Comparing the term me’ever elsewhere makes the meaning here plain and obvious.

They state that the inheritance of Israel is in Canaan, but their inheritance shall be east of the Jordan. Whether their words are presumptuous, or whether they are in the form of a petition for approval, they (and thus we) will now wait for Moses’ response.

The important point to understand in our verses today is that of what was seen earlier. It is the exemplary note of the Bible concerning a relationship with God, which is that we are to come before Him without adding anything to our request for restoration apart from what He has done in Jesus Christ.

We cannot come to Him saying, “I received Jesus and continued to obey the law to make sure that You would accept me.” Such a presentation does not give God the glory. Rather, it robs it from Him by saying that what He did is insufficient for our restoration.

We also cannot come to Him and say, “I waited for you to regenerate me before receiving Christ.” That puts an onus on God not found in Scripture. The Bible says that God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

However, if God regenerating man first is true, then it means that He must make a second move beyond the giving of His Son, a concept not taught in Scripture. Rather, He has given His Son, and He expects us to receive Him. Israel failed at that; we must not fail unless we too are set to perish.

God has opened the doors of restoration, and He has paved the way to paradise. Be wise and discerning and receive what He has done. Come to Christ and be reconciled to God through Christ’s precious shed blood.

Closing Verse: “We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, ¹⁶ knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified.” Galatians 2:15, 16

Next Week: Numbers 32:20-42 This is the land they will for themselves be a’gainin’… (A Possession East of Canaan) (63^rd Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Do Not Take Us Over the Jordan

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad
Had a very great multitude of livestock
And when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead
That indeed the region was a place for livestock
———-of the herd and the flock 

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben
Came and spoke to Moses, with words to be conveying
To Eleazar the priest
And to the leaders of the congregation, saying 

“Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon
Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon – nine cities in which to walk
The country which the Lord defeated
———-before the congregation of Israel
Is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock

Therefore they said
“If we have found favor in your sight
Let this land be given to your servants as a possession
Do not take us over the Jordan; we think this is right

And Moses said to the children of Gad
———-and to the children of Reuben: Let me get this clear…
“Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 

Now why will you discourage the heart
Of the children of Israel
From going over into the land
Which the Lord has given them? Please do tell!

Thus your fathers did when I sent them away
From Kadesh Barnea to see the land; listen now, I pray

For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land
They discouraged the heart of the children of Israel
So that they did not go into the land
Which the Lord had given them. That didn’t go so well

So the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day
And He swore an oath. Here’s what He did say…

‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt
From twenty years old and above, yes from twenty
Shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
Because they have not wholly followed Me

Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite
———-and Joshua the son of Nun, according to His word
For they have wholly followed the Lord

So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel
And He made them wander in the wilderness forty years
Until all the generation that had done evil
In the sight of the Lord was gone, wandering on a trail of tears

And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place
A brood of sinful men
To increase still more the fierce anger of the Lord
Against Israel once again

For if you turn away from following Him
He will once again leave them in the wilderness
And you will destroy all these people
We’re talking here one giant mess

Then they came near to him and said:
“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock
———-as to you we now tell
And cities for our little ones
But we ourselves will be armed, ready to go
———-before the children of Israel

Until we have brought them to their place
And our little ones will dwell, please now understand
In the fortified cities
Because of the inhabitants of the land

We will not return to our homes, no not even by chance
Until every one of the children of Israel
———-has received his inheritance

For we will not inherit with them
On the other side of the Jordan and beyond
Because our inheritance has fallen to us
On this eastern side of the Jordan of which we are fond

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so, be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 31:25-54
The Spoils of Midian

In the doctrinal and ethical portion of his commentary on this passage, John Lange equates what we see in Numbers 31 with what the Christian should be involved in at all times, meaning a battle against the foe. He says –

“As Jehovah is Israel’s God, who has bound Himself with them, so every attack upon Israel is an attack upon God. The analogy which holds between the war of Israel against the Midianites and the Christian warfare of all the people of God against His foes and theirs, is suggestive and instructive.”

It is certain that he is not referring to a war against non-believers, such as the crusades. What we see in Israel is an earthly nation selected to be the people of God, and who are to be obedient to Him in all ways. As He directs, they are to comply.

At times, what the Lord directs in the Old Testament may hurt our modern sensibilities, but the Lord is God and His judgments are His alone. Our possible dislike of what He has commanded does not negate that what He commanded is right, and that what His people did in the execution of His commands was also right.

Last week we saw that Midian was to face vengeance for what they did, and they indeed received the full measure of it. This week, we will see the rewards for Israel’s obedience to the call. And, along with their rewards, they display something quite often neglected by the Lord’s people – both in the Bible and in our daily life.

Text Verse: “I will remember the works of the Lord;
Surely I will remember Your wonders of old.
¹² I will also meditate on all Your work,
And talk of Your deeds.” Psalm 77:11, 12

The psalmist said that he would remember the works and wonders of the Lord, and that he would also mediate on them and… talk of them. It is a note of gratitude for the Lord’s hand upon his life. It is the sin of ingratitude which must most fill the hearts of Christians in general. Maybe not at first, but as the years go by, we forget that the debt we were forgiven, and the mercies we were shown, were not just small things, but that they bear infinite weight.

Of ingratitude, Benjamin Franklin said, “Most people return small favors, acknowledge medium ones and repay greater ones – with ingratitude.” That is certainly true with the Christian.

When we pray about our sick dog, we are grateful when it gets better and we decide to do something good to return to the Lord the favor. Maybe by praying for another person’s sick dog. That seems fair. When we have something pretty big happen in our life, we will generally acknowledge it. “The Lord sure pulled me out of that fire. I could have died, but the cancer was cured. Maybe I’ll go to church on Sunday. Well, just one Sunday.”

But of the greatest favor of all, that of being forgiven of all of our sin and granted new life in Christ, it is sadly true that most Christians repay the Lord with a state of complete ingratitude. Really think about the lives of those believers we know and see if how they conduct themselves is as if they are truly, truly grateful.

I think that for the most part, you will see that we really don’t demonstrate a level of gratitude commensurate with the size of the favor that was bestowed upon us. Obviously, we can never repay an infinite, but at least we have an infinite amount of time to try. The problem is, that it’s easier to put it off until sometime later. And later is, after all, an infinite all by itself.

Israel demonstrates gratitude in today’s verses, and when they do, Moses and Eleazar take the sign of that gratitude and lay it up before the Lord as a memorial. The word there is zikaron. That comes from zakar, or “remember,” which is the exact word the psalmist used in our text verse, saying that he would remember the works of the Lord.

Let us remember the works of the Lord, and let His works be as a memorial to us so that we never forget, and never fail to be grateful for what He has done for us. Let the eternal “later” not be found on our lips or in our actions.

Instead, may we be grateful right now and forever, and let us do so through the holy war that we engage in. Not an earthly, fleshly battle, but a spiritual one that we have been charged to fight. And, in the conduct of our war, then our deeds of faith in that battle can be stored up as their own memorial before God of our faithfulness to His kind hand upon us.

This is a precept which has been given to us in His superior word. And so, let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Much Plunder (verses 25-47)

²⁵ Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The translation is incorrect. In fact, very few translations caught the change. Such an introductory phrase normally says, “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying…” Here it says the much rarer, “And the Lord said to Moses, saying.”

The Hebrew words for “spoke” and “said” carry essentially the same idea, that of conveying a message, but “said” is more concise. It usually means the task is complex and it requires a partnership and people working together.” This is what will be seen…

²⁶ “Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast—

sa eth rosh malqoakh ha’shevi – “Lift up the head of the plunder of the captive.” It is a way of saying that each head is to be counted of the living prey. That is further defined as ba’adam u-ba’behemah, or “of man and of beast.” All that was taken as a living prey is what is spoken of here.

^{26 (con’t)} you and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation;

These are certainly required so that no one could later say that an unfair counting was made. The leader, the high priest, and all of the rashe, or heads, of the congregation would be included in the counting. Thus, it would be a fair and unbiased counting.

²⁷ and divide the plunder into two parts, between those who took part in the war, who went out to battle, and all the congregation.

The idea here is that all of the living spoil was gathered in one whole, and then it was divided equally into two parts. The division would be without partiality so that no one could say, “They got the better half.” From there, one half would go to those who went to battle, a small portion of the whole number of Israel.

As there were over 600,000 counted as ready for battle in the recent census, and as only 12,000 of those were selected, the division seems hugely one-sided and unfair, but it is not. By dividing it this way, it would spur those who were battle capable in the future to willingly go out to fight.

These 12,000 represented the whole, and they had earned what was won in battle. But the congregation was still entitled to a half because they were represented by their fighting men who had gone to war. For any who died in battle, a portion would naturally be set aside for the tribe as an honor of their fallen hero. What comes later in this passage does not negate this division. Rather, it highlights it.

²⁸ And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war who went out to battle: 

v’haremota mekes l’Yehovah – “And raise a computation to Yehovah.” The verb is rum, it signifies to lift up or raise. It is the basis for the word terumah, or heave offering. This is what is being conveyed. It is to be as a heave offering to the Lord.

The word translated as “tribute” is a new word, mekes. It signifies a computation or a tax. It will be seen six times in this passage and nowhere else. This first mekes is to be taken from the half set apart for those who went out to the battle.

^{28 (con’t)} one of every five hundred of the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep;

Here it says, ekhad nephesh, or “one soul.” It defines the beings as living. Of the living beings, one of every five hundred of each category is to be raised up to the Lord.

²⁹ take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest as a heave offering to the Lord.

The idea here is that this 1/5^th of a percent would be the Lord’s portion as acknowledgment that the victory was ultimately His. This was to be given to Eleazar who represented the Lord and who stood as representative of all of the priests who would be included in the reception of the offering.

³⁰ And from the children of Israel’s half you shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons, the cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep, from all the livestock,

Instead of 1/5^th of a percent which was drawn out from the warrior’s half, here 2 percent is drawn from the people’s half. There is the obvious reason that because their risks were less, their taxed portion should be greater. Secondly, it is because of who receives what is drawn off in this 2 percent portion…

^{30 (con’t)} and give them to the Levites who keep charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.”

Whereas there are few priests, there are many Levites. Therefore, as a suitable offering to them for their service between the priests and the people, they were given a larger percent from the people’s half.

One can see here how the troops who went to battle were reckoned as the Lord’s army. Phinehas the priest went with them, thus they represented the Lord in battle. The people who remained at camp, remained under the service of the Levites. Thus, the portions which have been levied from the two halves reflect these divisions.

As it says, the Levites are those who “keep the charge of the tabernacle of the Lord.” This is the fifth of nine times that the term mishkan Yehovah, or “tabernacle of the Lord” is used. When the term is used, it anticipates the Person of Christ because every part of the tabernacle reflects Him and His work.

The Levites are those who minister, standing in place of the firstborn of the congregation, and thus they represent Christ, the Firstborn of God. Each thing we are seeing anticipates Christ in one way or another. The offerings made anticipate offerings made to God in Christ.

³¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the Lord commanded Moses.

It is the standard note of compliance. The Lord has commanded, and the command is attended to according to His word.

³² The booty remaining from the plunder, which the men of war had taken,

What these words mean is not clear. It could mean that what is going to be detailed here is besides the other plunder not included in the living beings, some of which will be detailed in verse 50. Or, it could be the plunder that was left after the women and boys had been killed, and any animals eaten by the army during the campaign. Either way, after whatever is being referred to, the following amounts of plunder to be divided are given…

^{32 (con’t)} was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep,

With a total of sheep at 675,000, this would mean 337,500 for the soldiers, and 675 from that to the Lord, meaning to the priests. It would mean that each soldier got 28 sheep as well. The people’s half would also be 337,500, and the Levites would receive 6,750 from that.

³³ seventy-two thousand cattle,

A total of 72,000 cattle means 36,000 for the soldiers, and 72 from that to the Lord, meaning to the priests. It would mean that each soldier got 3 cattle as well. The people’s half would also be 36,000, and the Levites would receive 720 from that.

³⁴ sixty-one thousand donkeys,

A total of 61,000 donkeys means 30,500 for the soldiers, and 61 to the Lord, meaning to the priests. It would mean that each soldier got 2 donkeys, but there would be 6,500 extra that would need to be divided in some fair way between them. The people’s half would be 30,500, and the Levites would receive 610 from that.

³⁵ and thirty-two thousand persons in all, of women who had not known a man intimately.

A total of 32,000 young virgins means 16,000 for the soldiers, and 32 to the Lord, meaning to the priests. There would be one virgin for each soldier, but there would be about 4,000 extra that would need to be divided in some fair way between them. The people’s half would be 16,000, and the Levites would receive 320 from that.

³⁶ And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war, was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep;

This is the warrior’s half. As noted, it would mean that each soldier got 28 sheep. Also…

³⁷ and the Lord’s tribute of the sheep was six hundred and seventy-five.

The priests, being small in number, fared very well.

³⁸ The cattle were thirty-six thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two.

This is the warrior’s half. As noted, it would mean that each soldier received right at 3 cattle, with the priest’s 72 being taken out first.

³⁹ The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred, of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one.

This was the warrior’s half. As noted, it would mean that each soldier got 2 donkeys, but there would be about 6,500 extra that would need to be divided in some fair way between them, but the Lord’s tribute of 61 would be taken out first.

⁴⁰ The persons were sixteen thousand, of which the Lord’s tribute was thirty-two persons.

This is the warrior’s half. As noted, it would mean that each soldier got one virgin, but there would be about 4,000 extra that would need to be divided in some fair way between them, but the Lord’s tribute of 32 would be taken out first.

In all, each soldier who went to war came out with a bit more than 28 sheep, 3 cows, 2 donkeys, and one virgin. And that was only of the living beings. The other plunder is not even reckoned in the total. Thus, being a soldier was a very profitable deal, and the great amount they received would be a huge impetus for all able fighting men to volunteer for such battles.

⁴¹ So Moses gave the tribute which was the Lord’s heave offering to Eleazar the priest, as the Lord commanded Moses.

The priest’s portion totaled 675 sheep, 72 cows, 61 donkeys, and 32 virgins. This was considered the Lord’s heave offering, and it was accepted on His behalf by Eleazar the priest. As a side note to keep you interested, the word mekes or “tribute” was introduced in verse 28. It was seen five more times since then. This being the last time it will be seen in the Bible. Hello and goodbye to mekes.

⁴² And from the children of Israel’s half, which Moses separated from the men who fought—

The numbers for those who did not go out to battle – meaning all of the rest of Israel – is detailed as follows…

⁴³ now the half belonging to the congregation was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep,

Of this, the Levites would receive 6,750 from that.

⁴⁴ thirty-six thousand cattle,

Of this, the Levites would receive 720 from that.

⁴⁵ thirty thousand five hundred donkeys,

Of this, the Levites would receive 610 from that.

⁴⁶ and sixteen thousand persons—

Of this, the Levites would receive 320 from that.

⁴⁷ and from the children of Israel’s half Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast, and gave them to the Levites, who kept charge of the tabernacle of the Lord, as the Lord commanded Moses.

In all, the Levites received 6750 sheep, 720 cows, 610 donkeys, and 320 virgins.

We bear the shield and by faith head in
We gird ourselves with truth as we seek the reward
We have a helmet of salvation for the battle to win
And in our hand, we carry the Spirit’s sword

Yes, the word of God is the instrument by which we fight
And prayer is the line to our side’s Head
Upon our feet is the gospel of peace, as is right
And we have prevailed in the battle; the enemy lies dead

 The spoil is piled high from the battle of which we fought
There is great reward for those who entered the fight
On behalf of the Lord, the battle was wrought
And the rewards piled high are a beautiful sight

II. Not a Man is Missing (verses 48-54)

⁴⁸ Then the officers who were over thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, came near to Moses;

This would be 12 captains of thousands and 120 captains of hundreds. Coming as a united whole, and after the division of living beings having gone so favorably in their direction, this would not be to submit a grievance at their unfair treatment. Rather, they must be amassing for something positive, gratitude perhaps. Or, maybe something even more wonderful…

⁴⁹ and they said to Moses, “Your servants have taken a count of the men of war who are under our command, and not a man of us is missing.

It is a rather astonishing statement, which – of course – some in history have called out as a fabrication of the truth. However, the very fact that they will make the offering they are about to make stands as a testimony to the truth of the account. Stalin once said that “If only one man dies of hunger, that is a tragedy. If millions die, that’s only statistics.”

This is, unfortunately, a true way of looking at death. If a single soldier had died, the entire army would have come together to mourn that one loss – especially standing so close to entry into Canaan. Each and every living soldier would have taken that single loss as a personal failure.

But, if many had died, they would have taken it as a loss expected in a battle, written a warrior’s song of remembrance, and gone back to prepare for the next battle. There would have been personal mourning for friends, but overall, it would be a time of celebration for the victory.

However, neither occurred. Instead, they have come forward in acknowledgment of what is a true miracle. It doesn’t matter if they attacked before sunrise, or if it was a special Midianite holiday to sleep in all day, the expectation is that there would be losses.

Based on the number of virgins and animals that were taken as plunder, the scholar Keil estimates that the number of Midianites would have been about 130,000 to 150,000 people, of whom there would have been about 35,000 fighting-capable men.

That would make the odds about 3 to 1. Even with the advantage of surprise, the battle would have been an uphill one with many expected casualties. Instead, however, there was not only a rout of the enemy, it was a complete rout and an absolute victory. Only this can explain the next words…

⁵⁰ Therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord, what every man found of ornaments of gold: armlets and bracelets and signet rings and earrings and necklaces,

Five types of gold ornaments are named here, the identification of which is difficult for some. The bracelets and signet rings are pretty certainly identified, but the other three are debated due to the rarity of the words used. Five is the number of grace, and this offering is based on the grace granted to the warriors.

All are rare, and two are new words. The first is the etsadah. It will only be seen twice. It comes from tseadah, or “a marching,” and thus it is a type of chain, translated here as “armlets.”

Another new and rare word is agil, or ring. This comes from agol, meaning round, and thus it is believed to be a hoop-style earring. It too will be seen just twice – here and in Ezekiel 16:12.

And finally, this verse contains the second and last use of the word kumaz, translated here as “necklace.” It is some type of gold ornament, though the identity is not certain.

These five types of gold ornaments are brought forward. It is debated whether only the captains brought them forward from their own booty, or whether all of the soldiers gave of what they had to the captains who then brought it all forward. Either way, they state that they are bringing this offering forward…

^{50 (con’t)} to make atonement for ourselves before the Lord.”

The word kaphar, or atonement, simply means “to cover over.” In this, it extends to the idea of appeasing, or covering over for wrongdoing, and thus to make atonement. Scholars suggest that this was brought forward to make atonement for not having killed the women and male children, but that is not what they are tying the offering to.

Rather, they are connecting the giving of the offering to the fact that no loss of life occurred. It can be assumed, then, that if there was a loss of life, they would not have felt impelled to bring this offering forward. Therefore, the covering, or appeasement, seems to be proactive, not reactive.

They are gratefully acknowledging the Lord’s care over them. If they failed to do this, then they would be sinning against the Lord. Ingratitude is one of the greatest offenses man is guilty of. How much more in a situation as rare as this!

⁵¹ So Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments.

The words of the previous verse, along with these words, shows that all of what is presented is of gold. And further, it is gold which is maaseh, or worked. It is not merely gold, which was kept as money, but gold which was fashioned through works, or deeds, of effort. Of this gold, the record then says…

⁵² And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord, from the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels.

Scholars vary in what they believe the weight of a shekel was. The Pulpit Commentary assumes that a shekel equals 66 of an ounce. If that is so, then the total amount of gold presented as an offering to the Lord would have been about 11,000 ounces. As of 19 August, the day I typed this, that would equal at current gold prices about $16,613,850.

Some scholars say that the five kings of Midian alone would be expected to possess that much gold. If so, then it is not an outlandish amount which would make the account implausible, but rather it would confirm the account is accurate and reliable.

Further, in Judges 8, Gideon asked the men of Israel to give him a gift of the earrings alone which had been plundered from the battle against Midian at that time. These were only men who fell in battle, meaning soldiers, and so they would not bear all the gold of the family with them.

The weight of only the earrings given by each man in his army came out to 1700 shekels. Therefore, the amount here is not at all outlandish. It included all of the wealth of the houses and people, and that of the kings as well.

⁵³ (The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.)

Although debated, as is usual, this seems to indicate that all of the men of war had gone about taking spoil, and that each of them gave from his spoil for this offering to the Lord. Others argue that it is telling exactly the opposite, and that only the officers gave of their spoil and everyone else gathered for himself without adding to the offering. The verses, as written, don’t really answer the matter well enough for a fixed stand one way or the other.

*^{54 (fin)} And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the captains of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial for the children of Israel before the Lord.

This final verse of the chapter says that the gift that was offered up to the Lord was then brought into the tent (not tabernacle) of meeting to be a memorial before the Lord. The idea here is that of the faithfulness of the people to show appreciation for the great deliverance He had wrought.

It is certain that thanks and appreciation wax and wane through time and circumstance, and so this memorial was to be a reminder that at one time, the people were grateful, and that the Lord would hopefully remember this and be merciful during those times when appreciation was lacking.

It would also bear the remembrance that Israel had complied with the word of the Lord to take vengeance on Midian. They had mustered men and sent them out in faith that they would be victorious, despite the small force which had been selected to carry out the task.

And further, it is probable that some of the gold had even come from some of the women who had been brought as captives to the outskirts of the camp, and yet who were then sentenced to die without being assimilated into the people of Israel.

It could be that as many as 50,000 women were ordered to be executed, and it could be argued that if there were 32,000 virgins who were spared, there may have been as many as 32,000 young boys who weren’t. That would be over 80,000 destroyed.

Supposing those numbers were high, what number could we reduce it to and still have the soldiers not care about what they needed to do? If the total number was an impossibly low 24,000, that would still mean that each soldier would have to execute two non-combatants.

The offering of the gold was gratitude for the sparing of their souls, but it would also be as a memorial to the Lord that their souls were spared in order to complete the duties they were assigned, and of which they certainly accomplished.

The military force of Israel was the Lord’s arm of judgment for an attack against His people. This meant that it was an attack against Him. If the Lord wished to send a plague among the people, they would have been no less dead, but He chose this time to use Israel to defend the honor of Israel and the honor of His name.

The gold presented to Him had no more intrinsic value to Him than anything else that could have been presented. But it carried the value of a sign of both obedience and of gratitude to Him. King Saul would later fail to show either to the Lord, and it would cost him his kingship.

Saul may have looked back on what occurred here at Midian and thought he was justified to have killed every Amalekite human and to have spared the animals as Israel did here with the Midianites. But that was a different time and his were different orders.

Maybe he thought that the gold of Midian still stood as a memorial which would atone for his failure to obey, but he was mistaken. Instead, Samuel spoke out his words of rebuke to Saul –

“Has the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,
As in obeying the voice of the Lord?
Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice,
And to heed than the fat of rams.
²³ For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft,
And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.
Because you have rejected the word of the Lord,
He also has rejected you from being king.” 1 Samuel 15:22, 23

The obligation of God’s people, at any time in history, is to be obedient to the Lord in accord with His word as it applies to that point in history. We cannot go back to the Law of Moses, for example, and attempt to be righteous before God by adhering to it.

That is to demean the work of Christ who lived out the law and who then offers to us His righteousness as demonstrated in His fulfillment of the law. We cannot use the examples of either war against Midian or war against Amalek as examples of how we are to engage in holy war. Those were earthly battles of Israel, by Israel, and for the honor of Israel’s God.

Today, we may engage in earthly battles as citizens of the nation we are born into, but those are not holy wars. The holy war of the Christian is one which is outlined by Paul in the New Testament. Paul is explicit that our holy war is not against flesh and blood. Rather, it is a spiritual battle.

There is no longer a need for earthly holy wars because Israel’s ultimate battle, that against sin, was won by Christ. We now follow suit in that same battle. And its rules for conduct are not optional. Just as Israel obeyed the Lord and destroyed the women and male children of Midian, we are to obey the precepts of the Lord as He has outlined them to us.

If you are not actively participating in the war we have been charged to conduct, you are not being faithful to the Lord who has so charged you. Church on Sunday morning is only meant to be a place of preparation for you to be ready to conduct your warfare throughout the week. Although Paul’s words in Ephesians 6 are not the total of our obligations in this battle we are to conduct, they do give us a good summary statement of what we are to do –

“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. ¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
¹⁴ Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; ¹⁶ above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; ¹⁸ praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.” Ephesians 6:10-20

Let us be prepared, let us be willing, and let us be obedient to the calling. Israel was told to take vengeance on Midian and a force of men went forward to do so. Their rewards were felt among all of the people of Israel.

Likewise, when we are obedient to the charge set before us, our rewards will be great, and the entire body will prosper because of it. But, just as those young virgins were brought into the nation of Israel as an act of grace and mercy, so we must come into the body of believers in the same way.

We must come with nothing in our hands, but the simple petition to be granted life. The physical purity of these Midianite women is to be likened unto our spiritual purity in order to be accepted. And the only way that can come about is through a new birth. And that can only come about by coming to God through Christ Jesus.

So, today you are admonished to first get right with the Lord through faith in Jesus, and then to prepare yourself daily to be right with the Lord through adherence and obedience to His word. May it be so for each one of us who desires to have our maaseh, or deeds of faith, brought before the Lord as a memorial.

Closing Verse: “Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, ¹³ each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. ¹⁴ If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.” 1 Corinthians 3:12-15

Next Week: Numbers 32:1-19 Are they acting as if it is a prison and Moses is the Warden? … (Do Not Take Us Over the Jordan) (62^nd Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Spoils of Midian

Now the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
These words to him He was then relaying

“Count up the plunder that was taken—of man and beast
———-hear now my oration
You and Eleazar the priest and the chief fathers of the congregation

And divide the plunder into two parts
Between those who took part in the war, where my fury was spent
Who went out to battle, and all the congregation
And levy a tribute for the Lord on the men of war
———-who out to battle went 

One of every five hundred of the persons
The cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep; according to this word
Take it from their half, and give it to Eleazar the priest
As a heave offering to the Lord 

And from the children of Israel’s half
You shall take one of every fifty, drawn from the persons
The cattle, the donkeys, and the sheep
From all the livestock and give them to the Levites who the charge
———-of the tabernacle of the Lord keep 

So Moses and Eleazar the priest, as was demanded
Did as the Lord to Moses commanded

The booty remaining from the plunder
Which the men of war had taken, in the war
Was six hundred and seventy-five thousand sheep
Seventy-two thousand cattle. But wait! There’s more

Sixty-one thousand donkeys
And thirty-two thousand persons in all
Of women who had not known a man intimately
Thus by the sword they did not fall

And the half, the portion for those who had gone out to war
Was in number three hundred and thirty-seven thousand
———-five hundred sheep
And the Lord’s tribute of the sheep
Was six hundred and seventy-five; that’s a whole heap

The cattle were thirty-six thousand
Of which the Lord’s tribute was seventy-two
The donkeys were thirty thousand five hundred
Of which the Lord’s tribute was sixty-one, whoo-hooo!

The persons were sixteen thousand, there in plain view
Of which the Lord’s tribute was persons thirty-two

So Moses gave the tribute
Which was the Lord’s heave offering, according to His word
To Eleazar the priest
As had commanded Moses the Lord

And from the children of Israel’s half, as was brought
Which Moses separated from the men who fought

Now the half belonging to the congregation
Was three hundred and thirty-seven thousand five hundred sheep
Thirty-six thousand cattle, thirty thousand five hundred donkeys
And sixteen thousand persons. Once again, that’s a whole heap 

And from the children of Israel’s half
Moses took one of every fifty, drawn from man and beast
And gave them to the Levites, who kept charge
———-of the tabernacle of the Lord
As the Lord commanded Moses, then the dividing ceased

Then the officers who were over thousands of the army
The captains of thousands and captains of hundreds too
Came near to Moses
And they said to Moses – their words to Moses did ensue

“Your servants have taken a count
Of the men of war who are under our command; hear our word
And not a man of us is missing
Therefore we have brought an offering for the Lord

What every man found of ornaments of gold
Armlets and bracelets and signet rings. (So much we have scored!)
And earrings and necklaces
To make atonement for ourselves before the Lord

So Moses and Eleazar the priest, those two fine gents
Received the gold from them, all the fashioned ornaments

And all the gold of the offering that they offered to the Lord
From the captains of thousands and captains of hundreds too
Was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels
That’s a whole heap, I’m telling you

The men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself
And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold
———-according to their word
From the captains of thousands and of hundreds
And brought it into the tabernacle of meeting as a memorial
———-for the children of Israel before the Lord

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 31:12-24
The Captives, the Booty, and the Spoil

The first seven verses of this passage are difficult for many to read and to accept. They don’t seem to fit their idea of a loving God. However, they do fit the concept of a just, holy, righteous, and – yes – even a merciful God. Of verses 15-18 in particular, the commentators at Cambridge frightfully state the following –

“All male children and all women who are not virgins are to be killed in cold blood. This cruel command ascribed to Moses dates from an age when the Jews were approaching their narrowest and hardest state of exclusiveness, when piety consisted in rigid separateness from everything foreign. It need cause no difficulty to Christians who have received the command ‘Love your enemies.’” Cambridge

There are several points to be made about this. First, they call what is mandated here by the Lord through Moses cold-blooded killing. If, in fact, the Lord commanded this, and they have then penned this commentary, then they have accused the Lord of being a cold-blooded killer.

Whether He actively did the killing, or whether He used His instrument of judgment, meaning Israel, to carry out His command, it makes no difference. It is a rather uncomfortable position to be in when you stand before the Lord after having accused him of such.

Secondly, they say that this wasn’t the Lord or Moses at all, but rather Jews who were at a point of narrow and hard exclusivism. If this is true, then why would Bible scholars even bother with being Bible scholars. If this isn’t the word of God, then it is the word of man and it is not worth commenting on it in such an analysis.

And that brings us to the third point. They have said that this, “need cause no difficulty to Christians who have received the command ‘Love your enemies.’” Why would Christians care about the command “Love your enemies,” if this isn’t the word of God?

At what point do we say, “This part is the word of God, and this part isn’t?” Who decides that? As it is an arbitrary decision left up to man, then the message of Christ is unreliable. And if the message of Christ is unreliable, then the words of Christ are equally as unreliable. Everything stands or falls on whether the command of Moses in these verses is in accord with the word of God or not. If it’s not, we are wasting our Sunday morning.

Text Verse: “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” Psalm 51:5 (NIV)

Translations of this verse vary, some of which completely obscure what David is proclaiming under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, but the essential point he is making is that he inherited sin. It is not that he had to do anything to be considered a sinner. It was done for him by being conceived. When he was brought fourth, he was already sinful.

If we can get that simple point of theology correct, then what we see in today’s verses is not at all cruel or unloving. It is what any and all can and should expect from God. He is just, and our inherited sin demands justice.

He is holy, and we are born in an unholy state. Therefore, our just due would be to remain separate from Him for all eternity. He is righteous, and that demands that a payment is due for our simply being conceived; a payment of death.

These things aren’t mere speculation. They are what Scripture teaches. But God is also loving, and He gave of Himself to pay the penalty. He is also merciful, and so He does not always give us what we deserve.

The young virgins deserved exactly what the others who were brought to the camp got, but they were given mercy. Why did God allow that, and what picture was He making for us in that act?

Before we accuse God of wrongdoing, we should have our theology straight. If we are wrong, it will be a sad meeting when we finally stand face to face. In our world today, there are religions which condone what we would call murder – of men, women, and children.

Is there a difference between what they do and what is relayed here in Scripture? The answer is, “Yes.” There is a world of difference. One is sanctioned by the true God, and for very specific reasons, and the others are sanctioned by false gods.

We cannot impute wrongdoing to the Lord and come out unscathed, so let’s look at our verses within their proper context. It’s all to be found in His superior word. And so, let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Defiled by Peor (verses 12-18)

¹² Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil

Here, three separate designations are made. The first are ha’shviy, or “the captives.” This was explained in verse 9 as the women and their little ones. The second are ha’malqoakh, or “the booty.” This signifies “the takings.”

It is an all-encompassing thought that anything of any value was taken in the campaign including the cattle and flocks that were plundered. And finally, are ha’shalal, or “the spoil.” This is anything else that was plundered from Midian. Such types of things will be described in verses 20 and 22. All of this was brought…

^{12 (con’t)} to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the children of Israel,

The words are certainly intended to give the sense of a great military victory where the men of war are heroes who are presenting the rewards of their efforts to the people. Moses, as the leader, is mentioned first. Eleazar is mentioned second, naming his official capacity as “the priest.”

And then “the congregation” signifies the leaders of tribes and heads of families who represent the entire assembly. This will be seen in the next verse. This is a formal presentation of the victory spoils which have been brought…

^{12 (con’t)} to the camp in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

The words el ha’makhaneh, or “to the camp,” mean only to the location of the camp, but not into the camp. Due to defilement, the warriors and their booty would first have to pass through a ritual of purification. Because of this, it next says…

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

There are two reasons for this. The first is, as already stated, that there is defilement of the people and the plunder which must be purified before it can come into the camp. But this could have been conveyed to them by a messenger. Therefore, this is a mark of both respect and congratulations to the fighting men for their efforts.

The meeting probably contained a threefold aspect. First, there would have been words fitting to the victory by Moses, then a blessing spoken over the people by Eleazar, and then something like our modern “hip hip hooray” shouted out by the leaders of the assembly. It is both a reward for their efforts, and an encouragement and a stimulus to continue on in the same manner in future battles.

¹⁴ But Moses was angry with the officers of the army, with the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds,

One can see that just as Moses, Eleazar, and the leaders had come forth from the camp, these three groups had also come forward from the army. They include the pequde or overseers, and the sare, or captains of the larger and smaller divisions.

This would be comparable to the generals and the division and brigade leaders, all coming forward in a modern army. It is they who were responsible for the conduct of the army. It is, therefore, these men to whom Moses shows his displeasure.

^{14 (con’t)} who had come from the battle.

The translation leaves the sense of the verse lacking. There is a noun, tsaba, which is not fully translated. Instead of “who had come from the battle,” it should say something like, “who came in from the host of the battle.”

There are the hosts of Israel, numbering twelve thousand men. Out of these hosts were brought forth those who commanded the force according to their level of authority. It is they who bore the responsibility of ensuring the battle was conducted properly. Moses next verbalizes the reason for his anger…

¹⁵ And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive?

Rather than “women,” it says “females.” “Have you kept all the females alive?” The word is neqevah, and it signifies the sexual form of the female, inclusive of all ages. The instructions from the Lord were neqom niqmat bene yisrael me-et ha’midyanim – “Avenging vengeance sons of Israel on the Midianites.” Moses passed this on to the people with the words latet niqmat Yehovah b’midyan – “give vengeance Yehovah in Midian.”

By keeping the women alive, they failed to do the very thing that was expected of them. It was the women who had been used to seduce Israel. This was a matter of just retribution because of an offense against the Lord which, by default, must include killing the women who brought about the offense, as Moses next explains…

¹⁶ Look, these women caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord in the incident of Peor,

The words are exactingly spoken by Moses. He begins with the word hen, or “Behold!” He is establishing an excited tone to convey the rest of his words. His next words then set these females in contrast to the children of Israel. They were in the wrong, and they caused the Lord’s people to follow them into the wrong.

He then notes that what they did had been counseled by Balaam. They had taken the advice of a soothsayer in an attempt to pit their god, Peor, against the Lord. The intent is obvious. Balaam looked at Yehovah not as the One all-powerful God, but as a lesser “God of the Jews,” just as the god of Peor was a localized god.

The name Peor comes from the verb paar, meaning “to open wide.” Thus, it means, “The Opening.” As was described before, that verb yields no nouns. Thus, Peor is based on the verb itself, suggesting that this god is one who works out of a hunger or desire. Thus, he can be seen as a god of desire, yearning, and lust.

What Moses is doing by using the term neqevah, or females, is showing that they are the very instruments of lust which then caused Israel to fall into sin. They were the weapon (the opening) of Peor, which brought them to the lust of Peor (the Opening). He is using the female form to describe what the female form brought about in the men.

Through Balaam’s counsel, he thus caused the sons of Israel limsar maal Yehovah – “to set apart treachery against Yehovah.” This is the second and last use of the word masar. It was first seen in verse 5. It comes from a primitive root meaning “to sunder.” Thus, it means “to set apart.”

In verse 5, it was the setting apart of a portion of people from the others and to the Lord for battle. Whereas here, it speaks of those who trespassed against the Lord. In this, they were set apart from the Lord in apostasy. They had taken their affections from the Lord and set them on Peor. As a result…

^{16 (con’t)} and there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord.

This is the outcome of what was instigated by the women. It ended in a plague where 24000 had died. The point being made is that the Lord took vengeance against His own people, to defend His own honor, because of Peor. It was, therefore, fully expected that His own people would take full vengeance, to restore that state of honor, against Midian who brought this about.

¹⁷ Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones,

The number of failed commentaries on these words goes on and on. We saw one during the introductory comments, and there are plenty more from the hands of those who don’t understand either the fallen nature of man – meaning the inheritance of original sin – nor the holy and righteous nature of God who allowed Moses to speak forth this command.

The Lord determined that Midian should be destroyed. If the males were allowed to live, the nation would be perpetuated through them. This is not so with the females, whose children would be reckoned through the line of the father.

Further, being identified as Midianites, and because they would remain Midianites, they would carry that name and custom with them. How can we know this? Because the man now giving forth the command to Israel was not an Egyptian, but a Hebrew.

Despite having been taken and brought up as a son of Pharaoh’s daughter, and having been schooled in the wisdom of the Egyptians, Moses first and foremost identified himself with His people, Israel. He was spared and look at what he accomplished.

The evidence of, and justification for, the need to kill every male among the little ones was the Lord’s chosen leader of Israel who stood there before them. And yet, there is more bad news for the captives…

^{17 (con’t)} and kill every woman who has known a man intimately.

Again, we can read this and say, “What a terrible thing to command.” But if there is a war and females are a part of that war, they are reckoned as soldiers to be killed. This was, in fact, a war. Twenty-four thousand of Israel had died because of these women, and they had forfeit their lives because of their active participation. Matthew Henry rightly states –

“The sword of war should spare women and children; but the sword of justice should know no distinction, but that of guilty or not guilty. This war was the execution of a righteous sentence upon a guilty nation, in which the women were the worst criminals.” Matthew Henry

However, Moses makes a fixed guideline by saying, v’kal ishah yodaat ish l’mishkav zakar harogu – “and each woman known of a man by lying of a male you shall kill.” The idea here is that they are the opening.

They have been with a man, and they, therefore, bear a resemblance to Peor – “The Opening.” They cannot be allowed to live because of this. Understanding the concepts behind the words reveals the reason for the decision. Of these words, however, Adam Clarke bizarrely states –

“Of the women killed on this occasion it may be safely said, their lives were forfeited by their personal transgressions; and yet even in this case there can be little doubt that God showed mercy to their souls.” Adam Clarke

In other words, “Because they are women, they get to go to heaven after getting whacked.” Sorry ladies, though it might sound like a sweet deal, it doesn’t work this way. Be sure to check your theology from Scripture, not a from a sentimental old guy.

This is as far from the reality of Scripture as anything you might ever hear. God is no respecter of persons, and he doesn’t give a pass to anyone based on age, sex, culture, color, or for any other reason – apart from being in Christ. Moses’ words are not arbitrary, they are not inappropriate, and they are perfectly in line with the honor of the Lord. But, those who are to be spared are next noted…

¹⁸ But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls who have not known a man intimately.

This command is not because they were to be used as sex slaves, it is not because they were of value for resale, nor for any such reason that someone might casually toss out which would indicate some benefit for Israel. Rather, the reason for this is two-fold. First, it is no different than the edict of Pharaoh in Exodus 1 –

“Every son who is born you shall cast into the river, and every daughter you shall save alive.” Exodus 1:22

The females would be assimilated into Israel. They would not become avengers of blood, nor would they bear the family line of the natural father to the next generation. Instead, their children would become citizens of Israel through the father.

And secondly, they were spared for exactly the opposite reason that the other women were killed. They lo yadeu mishkav zakar – “not have known intimately male.” They remained unopened and thus they did not yet bear the image of the false god Peor. The command makes perfect sense when it is compared to the surrounding text.

What is it that we have done to offend the Lord?
What sin have we committed before His face?
Surely payment for our sins we cannot afford
We are left ashamed, abandoned, and disgraced

What we deserve is death for the things we have done
Our lot is rightly to be cast into the pit of hell
But God made the payment; He sent forth His Son
Such a wonderful story for us does the Bible tell

We have pursued other gods; following after them hard
We have not been faithful to the awesome and terrible Lord
But when He died on Calvary; bearing the scent of nard
Peace between us and God has mercifully been restored

II. The Rites of Purification (verses 19-24)

¹⁹ And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days;

The words are second person plural. It is referring to all those who had come from the campaign. It is explicit but general. All were to remain outside of the camp for seven days. A state of defilement existed because of the battle, the proximity to the pagans, being around unclean things, and so on.

This would have been the unstated standard for any similar future campaigns. No distinction is made for any person. All are together considered as unclean. However, there are different states of defilement for which further action may be required…

^{19 (con’t)} whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain,

Unlike the previous clause, which was explicit but general, this is explicit and specific. It is directed to any who had killed another person, or to anyone who had touched a slain person. The act of killing, regardless as to whether the person actually died at that moment or not, is considered to bring about a state of defilement.

Further, it may be that someone didn’t kill anyone, but he was still a part of the burial team. Picking up the dead to toss them into a grave would also bring about defilement. But what about the person who didn’t kill anyone, and who didn’t have to bury anyone? Why did he have to remain outside the camp?

It is because he was a part of the campaign and would have been defiled by simply being around someone who was directly defiled. He would be required to remain outside the camp. For these defiled people, Moses says…

^{19 (con’t)} purify yourselves and your captives

tit-khateu – “unsin yourselves.” The Hebrew actually places the words “and your captives” at the end of the clause. In other words, it reads, “unsin yourselves on day the third and on day the seventh; you and your captives.”

The words, “unsin yourselves,” do not mean that they had committed some type of moral transgression. Rather, what they had done was at the command of the Lord. But by coming in contact with death, they had incurred guilt and required purification.

To understand this, and what their purification fully entailed and pointed to, one would have to watch the two sermons from Numbers 19 concerning the Red Heifer and the Water of Purification.

In short, the entire process looks to the purification offered by Christ. The people of Israel, even when acting in obedience to the Lord’s command, incurred guilt. In this, we can then understand the typology in how it points to our state before God, and how that is cleansed by Christ. In a classic misuse of Scripture, the Cambridge commentators say of these words –

“The Hebrews had not yet received the higher teaching that only ‘the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man’ (Mark 7:15).”

Jesus was speaking about foods, not defilement through death, disease, or the like. The Lord, through the Law of Moses, declared these people unclean and were kept separate from the camp because the camp is where the Lord dwelt among the people. The laws were given to fit the typology, which points to Christ.

This is not an issue of eating foods, but of maintaining purity in the presence of the Lord. It is true that the law was given as a tutor to lead us to Christ, but the same principle applies now. Those who are stained with sin cannot enter the presence of the Lord.

It is Christ who purifies from sin; it is Christ who covers us with His righteousness, and it is Christ who therefore keeps us from the imputation of further sin when we are in Him. For those who are not so covered, they are – and will be – excluded from the presence of God. To purify these people in a manner typical of that of the purification of Christ, Moses next says…

^{19 (con’t)} on the third day and on the seventh day.

This is based on the words of Numbers 19. There it says –

“He who touches the dead body of anyone shall be unclean seven days. ¹² He shall purify himself with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then he will be clean. But if he does not purify himself on the third day and on the seventh day, he will not be clean. ¹³ Whoever touches the body of anyone who has died, and does not purify himself, defiles the tabernacle of the Lord. That person shall be cut off from Israel. He shall be unclean, because the water of purification was not sprinkled on him; his uncleanness is still on him.” Numbers 19:11-13

All who were in the campaign, and all of their captives, would have been so defiled. The blood of the dead would have been on hands, on garments, and on articles taken from the dead. Captives might have touched the dead in mourning. None were free from the effect of the sin of death, and thus all required purification.

²⁰ Purify every garment, everything made of leather, everything woven of goats’ hair, and everything made of wood.”

The actual means of purification is stated in verse 23, meaning the water of purification. But because of the defilement of the battle, which permeated everything, all things were to be purified. The list includes every garment. This means the garments of the soldiers as well as the garments of the captives. It would extend to any garments taken from the dead, or out of the homes of the people.

It next says, v’kal keli owr – “and every vessel skin.” This could be a wineskin, some type of purse, or whatever else. The law for this was given in Numbers 19:15 –

“and every open vessel, which has no cover fastened on it, is unclean.” 

The idea is that the vessel is unclean and requires purification. However, the word, keli, or vessel, can extend to anything made of skin – sandals, parchment, tents, saddles, and so on. It next says, v’kal maaseh izzim – “and all worked goats.” Tent coverings, garments, blankets, and so on would all require purification. But this may even be inclusive of other items made from goats, such as horns, bones, hoofs, and the like.

And then it says, v’kal keli ets – “and all vessels wood.” This could be pretty much anything from spoons, bowls, and cups, to beds, boxes, and wagon wheels. Whatever was made of wood was to be sprinkled for purification. Or, as it more literally says again, they are to be “unsinned.”

²¹ Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war who had gone to the battle,

Now Eleazar speaks out. What he will say is based on words given in Numbers 19. There it said, “Now the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying” (19:1).  The law was spoken to Moses as the Lawgiver, and to Aaron who was the priest responsible for these priestly functions.

As the law has been given, it is now the priest who speaks forth what has been received. However, it is now Aaron’s son who stands as the high priest of Israel. Therefore, it is he who addresses the men of war who had gone to the battle…

^{21 (con’t)} “This is the ordinance of the law

zot khuqat ha’torah – “this, enactment of the law.” It is a very rare phrase which combines two common words – khuqat, or “statute,” and torah, meaning “law,” or “instruction.” The two words together in this manner are only seen here and in Numbers 19:2 where this particular type of purification was also the subject. For this combined form, John Lange provides a general meaning –

“We would read: an ordinance for securing the Torah. Without this expedient, for instance, the law of purification would have occasioned endless offences on the right hand and on the left.” John Lange

In other words, the word torah, or “law,” here is an all-encompassing statement concerning not any given law, but the Law of Moses itself. In order to secure the law and keep it free from constant defilement in the people, this statute that was given is now being enacted.

^{21 (con’t)} which the Lord commanded Moses:

asher tsivah Yehovah eth Mosheh – “which commanded Yehovah Moses.” Now the khuqat ha’torah, or “enactment of the law,” is said to have been, tsivah, or commanded, by the Lord. There is a definite importance which is ascribed to what Eleazar conveys to the people.

It is binding on all people because it is a part of the mutually agreed-to covenant between the Lord and His people. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron concerning the guidance that He commanded. Eleazar now conveys that word to the people. The reason for this is because the typology looks to Christ.

The Pulpit Commentary finds it extraordinary that Eleazar would stand and proclaim this while Moses was standing right there –

“This is the earliest instance of the high priest declaring to the people what the law of God as delivered to Moses was, and then applying and enlarging that law to meet the present circumstances. It is no doubt possible that Eleazar referred the matter to Moses, but it would seem on the face of the narrative that he spoke on his own authority as high priest.” Pulpit

The reason for this is that he will speak next of the cleansing of items by fire and water, something which was never explained before. They are so surprised by this that they also say that verses 21-24 were probably added after the death of Moses.

But that completely undermines the purpose of having a high priest. Moses was the one who received and gave out the law. Once the law was given, it was set. There was no need for Moses to interpret a law which was already passed on and in effect.

And further, if someone later inserted these verses, they would have done it without the instructions from Moses. Their interpretation would be no more valid than that of Eleazar, and it would also then have been added, after the fact, into the word of God which was for Moses to receive.

What they propose makes no sense, and it damages the integrity of Scripture. Rather, Eleazar’s coming words stand as appropriate, and their inclusion in the word confirms that it is so.

²² Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,

Six metals are named, one of which is new to Scripture, bedil, or tin. The word comes from badal, meaning to separate, and thus it signifies an alloy, and then – by analogy – tin. The word will be used six times, but one of them, in Zechariah 4:10, will speak of a plumb line, because a plumb line separates that which is considered plumb, or upright, and that which is not.

These metals are capable of withstanding fire, a marvelous source of purification, and so it is no surprise that Eleazar would make his proclamation, and so he now continues…

²³ everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire, and it shall be clean;

This precept has been seen numerous times. When a sin offering is made for the congregation, parts of it were burned on the altar and the rest was burned outside the camp, implying that purification and destruction comes through the fire. In another example, which most poignantly points to purification through fire, it says this in Numbers 16 –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ^37 ‘Tell Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, to pick up the censers out of the blaze, for they are holy, and scatter the fire some distance away. ³⁸ The censers of these men who sinned against their own souls, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar. Because they presented them before the Lord, therefore they are holy; and they shall be a sign to the children of Israel.’” Numbers 16:36-38

Eleazar was personally aware of the purifying effects of fire. These unholy men, with their unholy offerings, were burnt in the fire. The censers withstood it and were purified, and so for him to interpret the law in this way is not only right, it is proper for him to do so.

However, this was not fire on the altar which was holy fire. It is fire outside the camp used for cleansing the items. Once they were declared “clean,” they still required a final purification…

^{23 (con’t)} and it shall be purified with the water of purification.

Translations vary here, but the Hebrew indicates that despite being clean after passing through the fire, the metals still had to be purified or “unsinned” with the water of purification.

Unlike the items that were purified with holy fire, these were only considered clean. They still required the purification which points to Christ – meaning the water of purification which contained the ashes of the red heifer.

^{23 (con’t)} But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water.

This now speaks of all of the other non-metallic items – skins, goats’ hair, wood, or whatever else that could not withstand the fire had to be washed in water. What is implied, though not stated, is that it would then be purified with the water of purification. This is because this water was required on such things in Numbers 19:18.

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

These words are similar to those of Numbers 19:19, with some changes. The people were required to wash their clothes as noted there. It then says, “and be clean.” This is probably an abbreviated way of saying that the individual was also to bathe, thus becoming clean, as also required there in Numbers 19. After this, they could again enter the camp. This is then what is alluded to in Hebrews –

“…let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:22

The people, despite having been commanded to destroy Midian, may have had hearts that were timid, hateful, covetous, or remorseful over the actions they experienced in battle. And they also bore the defilement of the death they participated in. In the time of purification and cleansing, they were used as a picture of what would come in the true cleansing found in Christ.

And for those who were brought into the camp from outside of Israel, meaning the young virgins, they were cleansed and brought into the community from that point on. The water of purification was sprinkled on them. After the required time and cleansings, they became a part of the community.

They certainly could have refused this, even at such a young age. It was a voluntary action to do so as was seen in Numbers 19. To refuse to receive the sprinkling meant to be cut off from the assembly because, as it said, the person had “defiled the sanctuary of the Lord.”

For one of the girls, they would have then met their fate like the others of Midian. The chances of that would have been unlikely, but if so, it is no different than what happens to people who hear the gospel today and who then reject it. They remain apart from the covenant, and they are destined to be destroyed along with all others who fail to come to Christ for whatever reason.

It is to be remembered from the instructions detailed in Chapter 19, that the people who did the sprinkling of those requiring purification were also made unclean by their duties. They were considered unclean until evening. In fact, every person associated with the process of making and transmitting the water of purification became unclean in the process.

The reason was that everything associated with the red heifer pictured Christ in His death. It is Christ who cleanses from all unrighteousness, but uncleanness had to come from His dead body – a real human body that died – in order for that to come about.

That is why there is no sprinkling with blood in this purification. The blood cleansing is accomplished in Christ’s death. It is the death and the body of death which is dealt with in the water of purification. It is that which defiles. The red heifer is the only sacrifice where the blood was burned with the body.

From there, the ashes were mixed with living water. That furthered the picture of Christ. He didn’t die and stay dead, He rose to provide living waters, but that can only be appropriated through His death, even though His dead body brought defilement under the law of Moses.

The truth we found in Numbers 19, and which is seen again here, is that one cannot get to the Living Water until he is first cleansed by the blood, even though the death associated with that blood defiles.

Romans 6:3 says that we are baptized into Christ’s death. Only through that can we be cleansed. His death, however, was for man’s sin. Without Christ becoming sin we could not become the righteousness of God in Him. 

Though we were baptized into His death, we are raised to new life through the power of His resurrection. That is the Living Water with which the ashes were mixed. And it is that which ultimately cleanses us wholly and forever from the defilement of death that we carried in our bodies, even since the first moments of our human existence.

It is an amazing thing that God has done in Jesus Christ. And it is found in this passage which is given to show the effectiveness of the command which was first detailed in Numbers 19.

The lesson is, come to Christ and be freed from the sin of death, and you will be granted life. You will be accepted into the sanctuary of the Lord, and you will be there in the presence of God – the God who loves you enough to do this for you – for all eternity. Come to Christ.

Closing Verse: “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. ² Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. ³ For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.” Colossians 3:1-4

Next Week: Numbers 31:25-54 We see this now and we will see it again with Gideon… (The Spoils of Midian) (61^st Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Captives, the Booty, and the Spoil

Then they brought the captives, the booty, and the spoil
To Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation
———-of the children of Israel, thus they did so
To the camp in the plains of Moab
By the Jordan, across from Jericho

And Moses, Eleazar the priest, and all the leaders
———-of the congregation
Went to meet them outside the camp, probably filled with elation

But Moses was angry with the officers of the army
With the captains over thousands and captains over hundreds too
Who had come from the battle
And Moses said to them: “Have you kept all the women alive?
———-Now let me speak to you… 

Look, these women caused the children of Israel
Through the counsel of Balaam, to trespass against the Lord 
In the incident of Peor
And there was a plague among the congregation of the Lord
———-you yourselves saw that terrible sword

Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones
And kill every woman who has known a man intimately
———-yes, do this as stated by me
But keep alive for yourselves all the young girls
Who have not known a man intimately

And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days
Whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain
Purify yourselves and your captives
On the third day and on the seventh day, once again

Purify every garment
Everything made of leather, be sure this is understood
Everything woven of goats’ hair 
And everything made of wood

Then Eleazar the priest said to the men of war
Who had gone to the battle; to them these words he handed
“This is the ordinance of the law
Which the Lord to Moses commanded

Only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead
Everything that can endure fire, you shall put through the fire
———-and it shall be clean
And it shall be purified with the water of purification
But all that cannot endure fire you shall put through water
———-this cleansing shall be seen

And you shall wash your clothes and be clean on the seventh day
And afterward you may come into the camp, as to you I say

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 31:1-11
Take Vengeance on the Midianites

What is it that breaks our hearts? And why does it happen? I would suggest to you that the main driver of our sadness comes from one thing – familiarity. I know people that love to hunt. They will shoot bears, wild cats, wolves – whatever. They never blink an eye when shooting, and what they shoot becomes a trophy to them.

And yet, I have seen them weep over the death of a family pet, literally mourning over it. And I could go so far as to say that if one of my friends who has many such trophies lost them in a fire, he would mourn over the loss. He didn’t bat an eye when shooting the animals, and yet he would feel loss over the same stuffed animals.

We don’t care diddly about mice – get out the rat trap and get rid of them! And yet, we may have a little mouse cage for our children, and when the mouse dies, we will feel bad for it.

Take this to anything we have around us. Who cares about a mug? You can buy 10,000 different mugs in any store in town. If we go to buy one and drop it in the aisle and it breaks, it means nothing to us. But, we may have a mug that we especially love and have used for years. If we drop it, we will be especially upset over it.

And, though it sounds cold, when a catastrophe happens, and we hear of many deaths, it is separate and dispassionate for the most part. We don’t just break down and mourn over those people. There is no personal connection to them.

But, if we lose our best friend, our father, our brother, or whatever, the loss is personal because there is familiarity. What would happen if we had a brother we never knew? If we read in the paper that Jo Schmo died, and we didn’t know he was our real brother, we would go on to the next obituary without a care.

It is familiarity that brings about closeness, and also a sense of loss. “My car! I’ve had that since I was 16.” And the tears flow…

Text Verse: “O daughter of Babylon, who are to be destroyed,
Happy the one who repays you as you have served us!
⁹ Happy the one who takes and dashes
Your little ones against the rock!” Psalm 137:8, 9

That may be the most disturbing and depressing text verse we will ever encounter. How could someone be happy about such a thing? It is a hard verse for us to think about, but it is a part of God’s word. The commentaries on that verse go to every possible extreme that one can think of.

But the verse is no less striking than what will come up in some of the verses found in Numbers 31. We won’t go through them today, but we will go through them. What is the difference to God of a man killed in battle or a child that dies in an avalanche?

The answer is not, “One is a child and the other is a man?” Nor is it, “One is innocent and one is not.” The same man who died in battle was once a child. The life of that person, from beginning to end, is known to God. Is the size of the person what brings him value? Does age, or the lack of it, bring inherent value? Does God know one person more or less than another? No, no, and no.

We must remember this, and then consider all things from God’s perspective. A cute chihuahua has no more value as an animal than a horse or a lizard. We assign value to things arbitrarily without considering what God has done. Is He less satisfied with a spider than He is with an elephant? Both are magnificent in what they represent – the wisdom of God and the intricacy of His handiwork.

We should never let our emotions drive our theology. Rather we should allow our theology to drive our emotions. When we do this, we will see the world from its proper perspective. And please, never impute wrongdoing to God. That is dangerous waters. Such things as these are to be found in His superior word. And so, let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Take Vengeance (verses 1-4)

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:

The account now resumes the narrative which ended six chapters ago. In Numbers 25, the people of Israel are said to have committed harlotry with the women of Moab. These women invited them to the sacrifices of their gods, and those of Israel are said to have eaten with them and bowed down to their gods.

From this came the saddening and terrible words, “Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” In that account, the hero Phinehas arose and turned back the wrath of the Lord from the children of Israel. As that chapter closed out, the final verses said –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹⁷ ‘Harass the Midianites, and attack them; ¹⁸ for they harassed you with their schemes by which they seduced you in the matter of Peor and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a leader of Midian, their sister, who was killed in the day of the plague because of Peor.’” Numbers 25:16-18

From there, the book has dealt with 1) the second census of Israel (Chapter 26); 2) inheritance laws brought before the Lord because of the daughters of Zelophehad, and then the ordaining of Joshua as Israel’s next leader (Chapter 27); the daily, weekly, monthly, and festal offerings of Israel (Chapters 28 & 29); and then the laws concerning vows (Chapter 30).

Each of those matters was rightly placed into the on-going narrative at that point because each of them dealt with matters which would be needed for the people to know prior to entrance into Canaan.

As Moses is the lawgiver, and the one to ordain his replacement, their placement at that point was necessary before the Lord was to speak out his words, initiated here by verse 1, and which leads directly into the thought of verse 2…

² “Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel.

neqom niqmat bene yisrael me-et ha’midyanim – “Avenging vengeance sons Israel on the Midianites.” As was spoken at the end of Chapter 25, so the act of vengeance is now required. This explains the words of Chapter 25.

There, the Hebrew basically said, “Treat them as enemies because they treated you as enemies.” They were instructed to attack them, and that attack is as vengeance for what they did. Their schemes brought about the disgraceful conduct of Israel, and it brought about the death of twenty-four thousand. Now, they were to be repaid with destruction.

It is questioned why Moab was not included in the destruction which has been pronounced. This is especially so because it was their women who had been the ones to seduce Israel, and it was their gods whom Israel bowed down to.

What has been, and continues to be, apparent is that Midian ruled over Moab to some extent, and it is they who were behind the actual planning of the seduction of Israel. This, however, doesn’t give a full and satisfactory answer for why Moab wasn’t also destroyed.

The answer will be seen more completely in a few verses, but there are purposes beyond the moment for sparing Moab. The Lord is the One who has established the nations, and He is the One who allows them to continue, or to end, according to His plans and purposes.

There is a need for Moab to continue as a people. To destroy them now would change all of redemptive history. Moab will interact with Israel throughout the generations ahead, and those interactions would be in accord with what the Lord has laid out, to include the movement of a family of Judah to the land of Moab during a time of famine.

In that move, one of them would marry a woman of Moab named Ruth. He would die, but Ruth would return to Israel with her mother-in-law and become the wife of a man of Bethlehem named Boaz. From that union would descend David, and from David would come the Messiah, Jesus.

If Moab were exterminated now, this would not occur, but it takes us back to the faith of the two daughters of Lot many centuries earlier who had anticipated the coming of Messiah and did what was otherwise considered unthinkable. But the story of Lot and his daughters led to the very events which are now unfolding before Israel, and to the reason why Moab, despite being a part of the turning of Israel from the Lord at Peor, is spared from destruction.

As far as the timing of the Lord’s words to Moses now, whether they are spoken within days after those which ended Numbers 25, or whether they were weeks later, the time between the two is not long. In Numbers 20, Aaron died on Mount Hor. This was on the 1^st day of the 5^th month of the 40^th year.

The people then mourned for him for 30 days before moving on. That takes them to the 6^th month of the 40^th year. Moses’ death occurred before the first date noted in Joshua when the people crossed the Jordan on the 10^th day of the 1^st month of the 41^st year. The people also mourned for him for 30 days as is recorded in Deuteronomy 34:8. And before that, this is recorded –

“Now it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel according to all that the Lord had given him as commandments to them, ⁴ after he had killed Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and Og king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth in Edrei.” Deuteronomy 1:3, 4

That accounts for all of the specifically recorded dates from the death of Aaron to the crossing of the Jordan, and it means that everything which has occurred since the death of Aaron, and the coming death of Moses, including the speaking out of the entire book of Deuteronomy, had to have occurred within less than five months.

That includes Israel’s travels around Edom, their battles with Sihon and Og, their settling into the area where they now are across from Jericho, and Balak’s request for Balaam to come and curse them. That alone would have taken weeks because he had to be summoned twice before coming.

Therefore, it is not inconceivable that the account of Numbers 25 with the harlotry of Israel, and the order to now destroy Midian, occurred almost immediately after the census of Chapter 26, just a very short time after the people’s transgression. However, you will see below that it was certainly at least seven days after the incident of Peor. When we get there, we will give a defense as to why this is so.

With the battle’s successful completion, however, there will come a great change in the course of events in the narrative – both for Moses and for the people of Israel…

^2 (con’t) Afterward you shall be gathered to your people.”

The idea of being gathered to one’s people doesn’t mean burial itself. Moses is going to be buried in a location that nobody would be aware of. It means to die, but it also means that there is a state of consciousness in death for those redeemed by the Lord.

This is certain based on what it says concerning Samuel after his own death. When he was brought up by the witch of En Dor in 1 Samuel 28, he questioned as to why Saul had disturbed him. He further had an awareness of the ongoing events and even of what would occur.

It would not be right to establish a complete doctrine over such an account, but Jesus noted the fact that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. Whatever the state of those who have been gathered to their people, it is certain that there is potentially some type of awareness among them, even if in a state of restful sleep.

As for the timing and the reason for the Lord’s words to Moses now, this was previously explained to him just prior to the account concerning the inauguration of Joshua –

“Now the Lord said to Moses: ‘Go up into this Mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given to the children of Israel. ¹³ And when you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother was gathered. ¹⁴ For in the Wilderness of Zin, during the strife of the congregation, you rebelled against My command to hallow Me at the waters before their eyes.’” (These are the waters of Meribah, at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin.) Numbers 27:13

Moses and his brother Aaron were judged for their having rebelled against the command of the Lord. They failed to hallow Him before the children of Israel, and they were sentenced to die outside of the promised inheritance. However, we have seen that this was necessary to maintain the typology of the dispensations of law and of grace, and how they relate to the work of Christ.

The law, meaning the Mosaic Covenant (represented by Moses and Aaron) cannot bring anyone into the true inheritance and the presence of God. Only Christ, who fulfilled and embodies the law, and Who is the One to establish a New Covenant, can do so.

God used their rebellion as justification to keep them from the inheritance, but they would not have entered even if they had not rebelled. The typology is set, and it must be maintained. Each story has been carefully placed into the chronology of events to show us exemplary truths of how God is working in Christ to reconcile the world to Himself.

³ So Moses spoke to the people, saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war,

Moses was just instructed that after the battle, he would be gathered to his fathers. There is no record here or in Deuteronomy that Moses then said, “Weeeellllll, we need to whip the men into shape and get them ready for what lies ahead. Let’s plan this for August a year from now.” Rather, without delay – and in obedience to the command despite what that means for him after it is duly fulfilled – he goes to the people and tells them what to do – prepare men for war.

An interesting word is used here, khalats. It means to draw off. If one were to tear stones from a wall, they would be drawn off from their normal purpose. One can draw off his sandal as well.  Here, that word is used when speaking of having men drawn off for war.

They are being detached from their regular purpose within the community and they are being assigned to battle duties. Instead of saying, “Arm some of yourselves for war,” it would more understandably say, “Draw some of yourselves out for war.”

^{3 (con’t)} and let them go against the Midianites to take vengeance for the Lord on Midian.

latet niqmat Yehovah b’midyan – “give vengeance Yehovah in Midian.” In verse 2, the Lord spoke of imposing the vengeance of the children of Israel on the Midianites. Here Moses speaks of giving the vengeance of Yehovah in Midian.

An act against Israel is an act against the Lord. When Israel was seduced, the dignity and the honor of the Lord was violated. Therefore, the vengeance of Israel is the Lord’s vengeance. The state of Israel is the Lord’s interest. There is no disconnect between the two unless it is one brought about by Israel.

This is why the Lord could send a plague against Israel, and yet could – at the same time – determine to destroy those who precipitated the need for the plague in the first place. The plague was a religious war against the disobedient within the community, and yet, the calling of Israel to battle is a religious war against those who had caused the violation to occur.

As I say from time to time, Israel means, “He strives with God.” Israel either strives with God, against God, or he strives with God, for God. But either way, Israel strives with God.

In this coming battle, there will obviously be people on the side of Midian who probably weren’t even aware of what the leaders had done to invite the coming destruction. This is true with those enlisted for service in any situation.

People were pulled out of the woods of Tennessee and from the fields of Kansas in World War II, and other than whatever they were told concerning the enemy, they may not have not had a clue as to what their role was or why they were to go and possibly die.

The same is true with those in Japan or Germany. Some bore no part in what the leaders began and what the populace approved of. But they became guilty of the offense because of the nationality they bore and the language they spoke. The nations have been ordained by God, and the people born into them are a part of them, for good or for ill. The sin of a nation transfers to the people of the nation, regardless as to their own personal guilt. Likewise, the responsibility to live in, participate in, defend, and possibly die for one’s nation is what God has ordained.

Unless it is against the will of God to render unto Cesar what belongs to him, then the people of a nation are obligated to – in fact – render unto Ceasar. For Israel, the call is made to defend the honor of the Lord…

⁴ A thousand from each tribe

eleph la’matteh eleph la’matteh – “A thousand for a staff a thousand for a staff.” The tribe is represented by the staff of its leader. Each tribe is to draw out one thousand from its number.

^4 (con’t) of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.”

Levi is a tribe, but it is not a tribe of war. There are twelve tribes reckoned as designated for war. Levi is not, but Joseph is reckoned between Manasseh and Ephraim. Thus, a thousand from each tribe is a force of twelve thousand to be drawn away from the total and prepared for battle. That is next explicitly stated (after a poem)…

Vengeance is mine, says the Lord
I will repay as I see fit
I will put forth my destroying sword
And those whom I cut will go down to the pit

Israel is my vengeance-taking sword
And with them I shall destroy those set for the pit
In this is nothing unreasonable or untoward
I am the Lord, and I will repay as I see fit

For those who fail to come to Me
Through My Son, Christ the Lord
There lies ahead a time of great calamity
I have offered grace, and they have rejected My word

Come to the Fount now while blessing is at hand
Before the time comes when I sweep clean the land

II. Vengeance Taken (verses 5-11)

⁵ So there were recruited from the divisions of Israel

va’yimaseru me-alphe yisrael – “And were set apart from the thousands of Israel.” It is a new word, masar, which will only be seen here and in verse 16 in the Bible. It comes from a primitive root meaning “to sunder.” Thus, it means “to set apart.”

Interestingly, here, it will be the setting apart of the people from the others and to the Lord for battle. Whereas in verse 16, it will refer to the people of Israel who trespassed against the Lord. In this, they were set apart from the Lord in apostasy.

The only two uses of the word, found in all of the Bible, show a curious and sad contrast between obediently following the Lord, and disobediently turning away from Him. The results of the two are highlighted in Scripture. One has been seen, the other will be seen before the end of the chapter.

As a side note to this special word, the nimwits at Cambridge say that it must be an incorrect reading, otherwise it is a later composition because the word is only found much later in post-biblical Hebrew. But, as the word is used again in verse 16, they say that word must also be an incorrect reading.

The stupidity of that is first seen in the contrasting of the two uses of the word, which is obviously intentional. The Lord is making a theological point concerning separation to Him or from Him based on the word in the context it is presented. This would be entirely lost unless the two different uses Cambridge appeals to were used. And secondly, the use of an ancient word at later times in history is not an unknown event. When someone needs a word to fit a situation, and they find one in an old text or book that suits, that word is brought forward into modern usage.

This short diversion into the foibles of the Cambridge commentary has been brought to you as a public service warning. Please do not simply accept what you read or hear because it comes from a seemingly legitimate source.

^5 (con’t) one thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.

If Levi was reckoned for war, there would be thirteen thousand mustered, but that issue was settled long before in the narrative. The word tsaba, or war was used numerous times in the early chapters of numbers concerning the tribes, other than Levi, who would be counted for war.

The warfare of Levi was defensive only. They were responsible for the service and defense of the sanctuary, even in regards to people from other tribes of Israel. Levi was the line of defense for this purpose, but not as a force to go forth to engage in battle.

The word tsaba was again used in Numbers 26:2 during the second census when counting the men to be considered ready for war. However, Levi was – again – not counted among Israel for that purpose. Now, the first calling of the people for war is made, and twelve thousand are selected. Levi is not considered in this mustering of men.

⁶ Then Moses sent them to the war, one thousand from each tribe;

The number here, twelve thousand men, is obviously a rather small force in comparison to the force they will face. The number of virgins who will be taken as plunder is thirty-two thousand. The number of non-virgins would take the total up much, much higher.

Thus, the total number of men in Midian would have been a sizable force. But the small number of men set apart now, with the guarantee of success, was to embolden the people before their entry into Canaan.

They were to see that it is the Lord who ultimately fights and wins the battle for them when they are aligned with Him in obedience. When this is so, great things will occur. This will be evident based on the details seen later in verses 48-50.

However, this is now given to contrast what will be seen on the other side of the Jordan when Israel chooses a group of men to face a small and insignificant city, but it is after a time when they have been disobedient to the Lord. In this, they will be beaten down by their enemy.

Jonathan, son of king Saul, understood this when he decided to single-handedly engage a larger force in battle in 1 Samuel 14:6 –

“Then Jonathan said to the young man who bore his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised; it may be that the Lord will work for us. For nothing restrains the Lord from saving by many or by few.’”

It is the Lord who wins the battles, or who stands against His people in their own attempts to do so.

^6 (con’t) he sent them to the war with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand.

Curiously, the name of the leader of the battle is not given. One would assume it was Joshua, but that is left unstated. The point is that the Lord is their Head, regardless of a human leader. However, Phinehas is sent to carry out the priestly function of ministering for the people and before the Lord in regard to the holy articles.

This term, u-kele ha’qodesh, or “and articles the holy,” leaves a bit of a problem to be resolved. If the ark went, it would have said so. The ark is never referred to except as a proper name – the ark; the ark of the covenant of the Lord; the ark of the Testimony, etc.

It also cannot be speaking of the Urim and Thummim which were kept in the breastplate of the high priest. As he is not going to battle, that leaves them out. But even if they were taken, there would be no need for them. The matter is decided, and they were used for deciding matters.

There are no other articles which would qualify as “holy articles” which would be necessary for Phinehas to take for the purpose of war. However, the way the Hebrew is structured, it is argued that the words say, “and the holy articles, to wit: the signal trumpets.”

In other words, it isn’t saying there are holy articles and signal trumpets, but that the signal trumpets are the holy articles. These are, in fact, holy articles, and they were used for holy purposes. The same use of the Hebrew, where the word “and” is used in this way is found elsewhere, and so this is certainly what is being said.

These khatsotseroth, or trumpets, were described in Numbers 10. They are two silver trumpets which were to be used at various times when the congregation moved, or when the assembly was to be gathered together. And during feasts and over offerings as a memorial before the Lord. But they were also specifically given to be sounded before war. There it said –

“When you go to war in your land against the enemy who oppresses you, then you shall sound an alarm with the trumpets, and you will be remembered before the Lord your God, and you will be saved from your enemies.” Numbers 10:9

Outside of that passage where they are described, this is the only time they are mentioned in the books of Moses. They will not be mentioned again until the times of the kings.

The name phin’khas, or Phinehas means “Mouth of Brass,” and thus, “Mouth of Judgment,” because brass signifies judgment. Eleazer means, “Whom God Helps.”

As the trumpets are to be blown by Phinehas, his name finds a literal fulfillment in what occurs. Mouth of Judgment blows for the call to judgment by the Lord. And it is against Midian, or Place of Judgment. The picture of the impending defeat of God’s enemies is clearly seen in the names given in the narrative.

As I said in verse 2, and which I promised at that time to explain, the battle now ready to be conducted is at least seven days after the plague which came upon the camp because of the matter of Peor. Can anybody here explain why that must be so? The reason is because of what it says in verse 19 of this chapter –

“And as for you, remain outside the camp seven days; whoever has killed any person, and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.” Numbers 31:19 

The law of the water of cleansing, described in Numbers 19, extended to purification of anyone who had killed any person. Phinehas had killed two people, Zimri and Cozbi. Thus, he would have been unclean until he had been purified on the seventh day. He could not take the holy objects in his hand until he was purified from defilement. Only after that, could he go forth in this manner.

⁷ And they warred against the Midianites, just as the Lord commanded Moses,

The note here is a confirmation of what has already been stated. The war is a holy war, and it is as directed by the Lord through Moses. This cannot be equated with any other supposed holy war in history, because there is one God. If the Lord is God, then His word is set, and it is to be obeyed.

But this also means that any claims to a holy war apart from what Israel conducted, cannot be a valid claim. First, this is because there is no other God who directs the nations. Secondly, because no other group or nation has been given explicit instructions to wage war by the Lord, although it has been claimed by some –

“Have I now come up without the Lord against this place to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land, and destroy it.’” 2 Kings 18:25 

Sennacherib claimed that the Lord had sent him, but his words were proven false when the Angel of the Lord went out and killed one hundred and eighty-five thousand Assyrians in a single night, thus effectively defeating the army and causing the king to depart and return to Nineveh.

The Lord allowed other nations to come and defeat Israel, but these were not their holy wars. Rather, this was the Lord’s discipline upon His holy people. Therefore, no guilt can be imputed to Israel in their obedience to the Lord’s commands…

^7 (con’t) and they killed all the males.

Of this, the nimwits at Cambridge state that it is –

“An imaginative description of success. If it were historically true, Midian would have disappeared from history; but they are found not long afterwards as one of Israel’s most troublesome neighbours (Judges 6-8).”

Thus, they call into question the truth and accuracy of God’s word without simply thinking the matter through. Israel fought Midian. It never says they fought all of Midian. Many people fought and defeated Israel, but none fought and defeated all of Israel.

The Midianites that Israel fought in this battle were defeated, and all of the males were killed. Imagine standing before the Lord on the day of judgment when you spent your life belittling God’s word. If they are saved, there will be a lot of burning up of their insufficient works. If they are not, there will be lots of additional punishment to go with their trip into the fiery pit.

As far as what it says about all the males, the reason for this clause being stated is because of what will be said by Moses concerning the women in verses 16 & 17. It was the women who actively participated in the seduction of Israel. And therefore, to kill only the males is to complete only half of the necessary task.

It was not at Israel’s discretion who should be slain and who should be saved. The order for annihilation was given and all should have been annihilated without mercy. However, they failed to consider this and thus failed to act.

When God determines that sinners will be destroyed, it will come about. His kingdom is one which will exclude all who have sinned. As all have sinned, and as only those in Christ have been forgiven of their sins and no longer have sin imputed to them, then only those in Christ will enter His kingdom.

God’s judgment is without regard to sex or age. All who are not of Christ will find their end apart from God. The sparing of the virgin females later in this chapter is a concession, not a set precept. When Israel enters Canaan, all with the breath of life – even the virgin females will be devoted to destruction.

⁸ They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of those who were killed—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. 

What the Hebrew seems to be saying is that these kings were killed after the battle, in addition to those slain during the battle. These five are only mentioned here and in Joshua 13:21 –

“…all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses had struck with the princes of Midian: Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were princes of Sihon dwelling in the country. ²² The children of Israel also killed with the sword Balaam the son of Beor, the soothsayer, among those who were killed by them.” Joshua 13:21, 22

There in Joshua they are called princes of Sihon. Thus, we can see a hierarchy which existed until the death of Sihon. He was obviously the ruler over a large area, including Midian, and these five were apparently set over their own people and over Moab.

Their names as best as can be determined mean – Evi – Desirous; Reqem – Many Colored; Tsur – Rock; Khur – White; Reva – Fourth. Tsur was the father of Cosbi, the woman who was impaled by Phinehas in Numbers 25. His end did not come much later.

It’s hard to determine why the special detail is given to these five kings, including their names, unless there is some future battle which will apparently be a typological match to what occurred here in Numbers. There isn’t much to go on, and the speculation could go on and on. Suffice it to say that Israel was completely victorious over all, including the kings of Midian.

^8 (con’t) Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword.

From this, it is obvious that Balaam either went back to his home country and then returned, possibly at the request of these kings, or he got on his donkey to go home and then decided to swing by Midian’s camp and try another tact in hopes of destroying Israel.

One way or another, he wound up with these five kings and was successful in influencing them that though a curse against Israel would not be effective, tempting them through seduction would be. In this, and as these five kings were over not only Midian but also Moab, they then took Balaam’s doctrine, passed it on to Balak, and thus Moab drew Israel into the incident at Peor. This is without a doubt, because in Revelation 2, Jesus says this –

“But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” Revelation 2:14

Despite not being mentioned here, Balak returned to the picture through the counsel of Balaam. And for his wicked conduct, Balaam was killed with the sword. In his first oracle over Israel he proclaimed, “Let me die the death of the righteous.” Such was not to be. He died the death of the wicked, and he is remembered as such throughout the rest of sacred history.

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

It was already said that all the men were killed, here, to set up what will follow in the verses ahead, he notes the various categories of those who were not killed, and that which was not destroyed. The men of war were all destroyed, as were the kings over them.

However, the women, virgins and otherwise, were spared and taken captive. Along with them, the Israelites took as plunder all the taph, or little ones. The word comes from taphaph, meaning to take small quick steps. This means these are just small children.

Further, all forms of livestock, meaning both large dumb animals and herding animals, were taken as plunder, and finally it says kal khelam bazazu, or “all wealth was plundered.” Everything of any value at all was gathered up and taken as spoils of war for Israel.

¹⁰ They also burned with fire all the cities where they dwelt, and all their forts.

Two things are mentioned here. The iyr, or cites, and the tirah, or forts. The cities are the commonly referred to dwellings of people. The tirah, or forts, is a much rarer word. It comes from a word meaning “rows.” It could be towers, forts, camps, battlements, or some other thing.

This is stated here to show the remarkable desolation of the area after Israel was done. Midian, as a people, was not completely destroyed, but only this portion of them, this would make others coming in and settling have to go through the laborious task of rebuilding from scratch. They could not just move in and immediately use the area for living or for waging wars. And finally, for today, it says…

*^{11 (fin)} And they took all the spoil and all the booty—of man and beast.

Here again two different things are noted, the shalal, or spoil, and a new word, malqowakh, or booty. It comes from the word which begins the verse, laqakh or “took.” Thus, it signifies “the takings.” It is an all-encompassing thought that anything of any value was taken in the campaign. Midian was completely destroyed, and Israel’s vengeance was complete, and thus the vengeance for the Lord as directed in verse 3 was attained.

Due to the length of the passage, 54 verses long, we have to stop here and pick up with the narrative next week. Until then, continue to remind yourself about the precept that this is the Lord’s war, and thus it is a holy war.

We cannot speak against what God has ordained without falling into sin. Without having read the commentaries on the coming verses at this point, I can imagine that the liberal commentators will, in fact, find fault with what Moses is going to command in the verses ahead.

But that shows their own inability to perceive God as He is. And it is a giant defect in their understanding of His sovereign right to dispose with all life as He determines. Let us not fall into such error, but let us rather take the word of God as it is written, accepting the Lord’s judgments as they are given.

We are not God, nor can we speak for Him. And that goes with the very personal and solemn obligation of each person to receive His offer of peace which is found in Christ Jesus, or to reject it and suffer the consequences of our choice. God is God, and we must be obedient to His will if we are going to be included in what that will has in store for His redeemed.

Closing Verse: “What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, ²³ and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had prepared beforehand for glory, ²⁴ even us whom He called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?” Romans 9:22-24

Next Week: Numbers 31:12-24 This passage will make some leftie’s blood boil…  (The Captives, the Booty, and the Spoil) (60^th Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

Take Vengeance on the Midianites

And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying:
These words to him He was then relaying

“Take vengeance on the Midianites
For the children of Israel
Afterward you shall be gathered to your people
Remember when you did rebel?

So Moses spoke to the people, saying
“Arm some of yourselves for war
And let them go against the Midianites
To take vengeance for the Lord on Midian
———-remember what they did at Peor!

A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel
You shall send to the war, as to you I now tell

So there were recruited
From the divisions of Israel, not less or more
One thousand from each tribe
Twelve thousand armed for war 

Then Moses sent them to the war
One thousand from each tribe, so we understand
He sent them to the war with Phinehas
———-the son of Eleazar the priest
With the holy articles and the signal trumpets in his hand

And they warred against the Midianites
Just as the Lord commanded Moses; as He did tell
And they killed all the males
For the Midianite males, things didn’t go so well

They killed the kings of Midian
With the rest of those who were killed, as directed by the Lord
Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian
Balaam the son of Beor they also killed with the sword

And the children of Israel
Took the women of Midian captive; so they did do
With their little ones, and took as spoil all their cattle
All their flocks, and all their goods too

They also burned with fire all the cities
Where they dwelt, and all their forts as well
And they took all the spoil and all the booty
Of man and beast; so much spoil for Israel

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

Numbers 30:1-16
He Shall Bear Her Guilt

Long before we got to this chapter, my friend Sergio emailed me with a thought about what is going on here in Numbers 30, that was on August 15, 2018. I had never taken the time to really look over the verses, and thought, “Well, isn’t that the cat’s meow.”

I saved his thought under my sermon notes which are for future sermons and eventually on the 29^th of July of this year, I got to sit down and type an evaluation of today’s passage. Until then, I wasn’t going to commit one way or another to his thoughts.

We have to go where the word leads. Advance guessing leads to presuppositions, and presuppositions more often than not lead to faulty doctrine. But within the first five or six hours of sermon typing, it was pretty evident that his speculation was spot on.

I would like to say, “Oh yeah, I would have figured that out,” but I’d better not. Instead, “Thanks Sergio. Great insight.”

Text Verse: “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.’ ³⁴ But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God’s throne; ³⁵ nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. ³⁶ Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. ³⁷ But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” Matthew 5:33-37

Jesus’ words here do not negate the requirements of the law which are partially revealed in our verses today. Rather, they uphold them and further refine what the Lord expects. This is so certain, that James substantially repeats Jesus’ words in his epistle. He says –

“But above all, my brethren, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or with any other oath. But let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No,’ lest you fall into judgment.” James 5:12

Our words reflect what is on our mind, they reflect what we hold sacred, and they reflect the state of our heart – all at the same time. Sometimes our minds and hearts get out of whack, and we make rash statements that we might later regret.

The best option is to listen a lot, think carefully, and speak little. If we get those out of order, or if we don’t apply one or any of these, we are sure to fall into error. And with error comes judgment.

Another thing we will be judged on is how we treated God’s word. Normally, the Pulpit Commentary does a pretty sweet job of evaluating Scripture. But whoever was assigned the latter portion of Numbers has shown a rather liberal streak. Here are his comments on verse 1 –

“The statement, peculiar to this passage, that these instructions were issued to the ‘heads of the tribes’ itself serves to differentiate it from all the rest of the ‘statutes’ given by Moses, and suggests that this chapter was inserted either by some other hand or from a different source.”

That really riles me up. The guy who made this commentary must have been on the board at Cambridge. Let’s just make stuff up, tear the Bible apart, and call ourselves “Bible scholars.” We’ll explain what this person couldn’t figure out, and we’ll continue to hold to the truth that this word isn’t a hodgepodge from various sources, nor is it a word which has arbitrary inserts in it.

Rather, it is a marvelous, intricate, and divinely-inspired source of marvel and wonder. Great things are to be found in His superior word. And so let’s turn to that precious word once again and… May God speak to us through His word today and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Vows and Binding Agreements (verses 1-16)

Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel,

Here is something rather unusual. Quite often the Lord’s words through Moses will be to all the children of Israel, or to the whole congregation, or something similar. Here, in a unique occurrence, Moses is said to speak to the rashe ha’matot, or “heads of the tribes,” concerning the children of Israel.

This unusual address is certainly given based on the nature of what will be explained in the chapter. What is to be presented is similar to that of the redemption or disposition of things dedicated or devoted to the Lord which was recorded in Leviticus 27.

However, this goes beyond that to the act of making the vow in the first place, and who has the authority to override such a vow, and who is obligated to such a vow without the chance of being released from it.

Addressing this to the heads of the tribes shows that it is something which enters into the sphere of family life itself. The heads of the tribes speak for those under them, and they are to be aware of the commands and always be ready to convey what is laid out here to all under them. What is presented here is actually followed closely by Paul in 1 Corinthians 11. Moses now begins his words to these heads of the tribes…

^{1 (con’t)} saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded:

zeh ha’dabar asher tsivah Yehovah – “this the word which has commanded Yehovah.” Moses’ words are not merely cultural precepts which Moses is conveying from his own perspective, but they are the word of the Lord as commanded by Him.

The reason for what will be presented being placed here is probably two-fold. First, the issue of a female receiving her father’s inheritance was resolved in Numbers 27 when the five daughters of Zelophehad came forward concerning their father’s inheritance.

Secondly, immediately after that came the required offerings of Israel throughout the calendar year – the daily, Sabbath, monthly, and annual offerings. At the end of those two chapters, it said –

“These you shall present to the Lord at your appointed feasts (besides your vowed offerings and your freewill offerings) as your burnt offerings and your grain offerings, as your drink offerings and your peace offerings.” Numbers 29:39

There are required offerings, and there are vowed offerings. This section now deals with vows, and so it must be considered who has the responsibility in determining if the vow stands or not. The final verse of Chapter 29 said, “So Moses told the children of Israel everything, just as the Lord commanded Moses.”

In the Hebrew Bible, that verse actually begins Chapter 30. The connection is obvious. A matter concerning the rights of women was presented, the matter of presenting vows has been raised, and so the matter of the binding nature of the vow must be addressed.

It may even be that the heads of the tribes wanted to know what to do if this situation arose. Now that women were explicitly allowed to be inheritors, how would the matter of vows within a family be resolved? Whatever precipitated it, Moses begins with…

² If a man

The first consideration is the sex and age of the one being spoken of here. First, it is a male. The same matters concerning females will be addressed later. Secondly, this is speaking of a man, not a child too young to be involved in what will be presented.

^2 (con’t) makes a vow to the Lord,

There are now two separate things which are to be addressed. The first is ish ki yidor neder l’Yehovah, or “Man if vowing a vow to Yehovah.” A vow to the Lord consists of a promise to give something to Him. Such an offering was usually made during times of danger or special needs.

This is exactly what Jephthah is said to do in Judges 11:30. There he vowed to make a burnt offering of whatever first came out of the doors of his house if the Lord would give him victory in battle.

There it says, v’yidar yiphtakh neder, “And vowed Jephthah a vow.” Unfortunately for him, what first came out of his doors wasn’t a chicken or a goat. Rather, it was his own daughter. He had vowed, and the Bible says he fulfilled his vow to the Lord.

Philo says that such a rash vow was never to be kept because “he who commits an unjust action because of his vow adds one crime to another.” The Bible does not state this, nor does it appear to agree with this, particularly in the case of Jephthah.

One must consider which is of more import, refusing to fulfill a bad vow which was made to the Lord, or following through with a bad vow because it was, in fact, made to the Lord. Guilt is incurred either way, but which is the most important to accomplish? For the man, the Lord expects the vow to be fulfilled.

^2 (con’t) or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement,

The second matter is hishava shevuah lesor isar al naphsho, or “swears oath to bind a binding on his soul.” In this is a new word, isar. It is a noun coming from the common verb also in this verse, asar, which means to tie, bind, or even imprison. Thus, this is a bond or a binding obligation.

When one makes a vow, he binds himself to it. It is as if he is imprisoned by the obligation and he cannot get himself free from it from that point on. Amazingly, this word will be used eleven times in Scripture, but all eleven are here in Chapter 30 of Numbers.

The word’s root is found seventy times, such as the imprisonment of Joseph while he was in Egypt, and it is found in the wonderful words of release described by Isaiah –

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me,
Because the Lord has anointed Me
To preach good tidings to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives,
And the opening of the prison to those who are bound. Isaiah 61:1

This would be an oath or an agreement which would be placed upon oneself, or it would be between a person and another person, or even an oath to God (see Ecc. 8:2). Such an oath is made in the presence of the Lord, and it is binding. It is as if the Lord is a party to the matter either directly or indirectly. In such a case…

^2 (con’t) he shall not break his word;

lo yakhel debaro – “No shall he profane his word.” John Lange notes that the form of the verb “seems to imply the desecration of the subject itself, not the mere treating it in a profane way. The broken word is desecrated.” This can be seen in such an oath as is recorded in Nehemiah 10 where the word shevuah, or oath, is used.

The exiles had returned to Israel and they made a covenant before the Lord concerning their intentions to be faithful to Him. There it says –

“these joined with their brethren, their nobles, and entered into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law, which was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the Lord our Lord, and His ordinances and His statutes:” Nehemiah 10:29

If the people broke this oath, they would desecrate themselves. This is why when this word is used by the Lord in Scripture, we can be absolutely assured that the oath will come to pass. A perfect example of this is the Lord’s shevuah, or oath, concerning the land of Israel –

He is the Lord our God;
His judgments are in all the earth.
⁸ He remembers His covenant forever,
The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations,
⁹ The covenant which He made with Abraham,
And His oath to Isaac,
¹⁰ And confirmed it to Jacob for a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,
¹¹ Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the allotment of your inheritance.” Psalm 105:7-11

This oath is referred to in Jeremiah 11:5. The oath is made, but there are conditions upon it. The land is the Lord’s. He has given it to Israel. When they are obedient, they may dwell in it. When they are not, they may not, but the oath stands. So it is to be with the people…

^2 (con’t) he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

When the vow or oath is made, the Lord says that it shall be accomplished. The word itself is to be considered authoritative and binding. In our text verse, we saw that Jesus took this one step further, He told the people that they were to have every word that came from their mouths be as sure and as fixed as this law. When someone says, “Yes,” it is to be followed through with. No word which issues from the mouth is to be allowed to fail.

³ “Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by some agreement

This now turns from the male, who is obligated and who must perform, to the woman. Here, she makes a vow to the Lord. It could be a Nazirite vow, as described in Numbers 6, for example. In this, she would be binding herself to the vow according to the word spoken. However, there is a caveat now presented…

^3 (con’t) while in her father’s house in her youth,

This is a female, under authority of her father, and at an age where she is not yet considered in a position to speak for herself. The responsibility for her vow belongs to him…

⁴ and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand.

The father is the head of the house in this situation. She is dependent upon him, and he is responsible for the conduct of the house, the operation of the house, the finances of the house, and so on. When such a female under his authority makes a vow, any of these could be affected because she is dependent on him.

If he hears such a vow which would bind her, even if it could affect him, and he says nothing about the matter, then what she has vowed or agreed to will stand. His silence is its own voice, and it bears its own binding authority.

In essence, the father has a legal right to authority in such matters. When he does not exercise that right by negating the vow, he has granted her an acquired right which now has legal standing. She has become legally obligated to what has been vowed. But, importantly, so has he.

What is implied is that this is speaking of the father’s knowledge. This does not apply to a vow which was spoken, and of which he is unaware. At the time he becomes aware of it, and if he says nothing, it is then biding. On the other hand…

⁵ But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will release her, because her father overruled her.

Here is a new word, nu. It signifies to refuse, forbid, neutralize, etc. The girl has spoken a vow, and her father hears of it and overrules what she has said. The vow is not considered binding and it is rescinded. He has exercised his legal right in this matter and, as it says, “v’Yehovah yishlakh lah, “and Yehovah will release her.”

What is painfully obvious here is that the Lord has set a hierarchy within the house, and He defers to that hierarchy in such matters. This is the same premise as that which Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 11, and he says this same family hierarchy stands within the Christian community. John Lange, a Bible scholar of the 1800’s, disappointingly notes –

“It is only an emasculated modern liberalism which would reverse this divinely appointed order of nature, and constitute woman the mistress, give her control of the household in things of religion.” John Lange

One can see the frustration in Lange’s words at the state of the church as it was already, two full centuries ago, as it was casting off this God-ordained hierarchy. Today there is very little of the biblical propriety of male spiritual authority within the church left. Indeed, it is considered improper by much of the church.

One thing which seems obvious is to question why only daughters are discussed here. It says nothing of young men who might still be in the house. What seems logical is that because young males, at some point, would become masters of their own house, they would not transfer to the authority of another.

Whereas a young woman would pass from the authority of her father to a husband. Any vow they made could then affect the state of the future husband. The father would have to consider this in allowing such a vow in a daughter. If she vows and the father says nothing, that vow will remain in full force when she transfers to a husband. However…

⁶ “If indeed she takes a husband,

Care of translation here is important to understand what is going on. The Hebrew reads, v’im hayo tihyeh la’ish. “If being she be to a man.” This is not speaking of a woman who is married and in her husband’s house. That will be addressed later.

This is speaking of a woman who is still in her father’s house, but she is now betrothed to a man. Though still under her father’s care, she is – for all intents and purposes – bound to her betrothed. Anything she says which could affect him from that point on is given to him for consideration. This law of betrothal is found in regards to another circumstance in Deuteronomy 22 –

“If a young woman who is a virgin is betrothed to a husband, and a man finds her in the city and lies with her, ²⁴ then you shall bring them both out to the gate of that city, and you shall stone them to death with stones, the young woman because she did not cry out in the city, and the man because he humbled his neighbor’s wife; so you shall put away the evil from among you.” Deuteronomy 22:23, 24

This is the same law which is tenderly considered in Matthew 1 where Joseph was betrothed to Mary, and yet she was found to be with child of the Holy Spirit. It is this state which is next spoken of concerning vows…

^6 (con’t) while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself,

u-nedareha aleha o mibta sephateha asher aserah al naphsah – “and her vows shall be upon her, or a rash utterance of her lips, by which she has bound her soul.” The idea is that while in a state of betrothal, she vows or makes a rash utterance by which she has become bound.

Here is a new and rare word, mibta or rash utterance. It will be only seen here and in verse 8. It is from bata, meaning to speak rashly or thoughtlessly. She has babbled out something rash. However, she is duly considered under the authority of this man due to the betrothal. Therefore, he has the legal rights over her.

⁷ and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand.

The betrothed husband hears what has been said and says nothing when he hears about it. In this, and because he had the legal right and conceded it to her, what she says now becomes legally binding. It cannot be reversed, and she must follow through with the vow. After their marriage is consummated, he cannot change it…

⁸ But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her.

As was the case with the father, so is the case with the betrothed husband. The authority over her has transferred to him, and he may override the vow, and the Lord will release her. Again, and for the second and last time in Scripture, the word mibta, or rash utterance, is used. She babbled out something unwise, and she is overridden.

What is seen here, and that which will continue to be seen, is that the one designated to be the head of the house is given the discretion to determine the propriety of those things which fall under his authority. He could accept them or reject them. But once accepted through verbal acknowledgment, or through silence, the matters stood and were to be carried through to their fulfillment.

⁹ “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.

Verse 16 will sum up the entire passage, noting the examples where a woman’s’ vow can be accepted or overturned by whatever authority she was under. These words here still fall under that premise. What is said is in the perfect tense. She has bound herself.

It is, like verse 1, a statement of certainty. When a woman who is widowed or divorced has made any type of vow, it is binding upon her, and it shall stand. This would include a woman who was divorced or widowed who would then return to her father’s house. That is noted elsewhere, such as in Leviticus 22:13.

Because she was freed from her father’s authority to a husband, and because she was freed from her husband’s authority through death or divorce, any vow she has made, even if in her father’s house, remains binding. This includes if it was made while under her husband, it still stands even if her husband dies or he divorces her. This is seen in the next words…

¹⁰ “If she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath,

The words are in the perfect tense – “And if in house of her husband she vowed.” This then is explaining the previous verse. Divorce or widowhood does not negate a vow she has made. The husband had the same authority over the woman as the father had over her. If a woman made a vow or bound herself by an agreement with an oath…

¹¹ and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand.

The oath was made while the marriage was in effect. The husband heard, and he did not overrule what she uttered. The verbs are in the perfect tense. These things happened. If so, the vows stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself is binding.

As it says it “shall stand.” What occurred in the past is fixed and firm into the future. The idea here could be something vowed for any reason at all. To give a simple example, a woman may have tired of her husband and thought, “I know how to get away from him for a while.”

And so she says, “Dear husband, I vow to go to church every Thursday for Bible class and every Sunday to listen to Charlie’s prophecy updates and sermons. Unless I’m sick or have some other reason that absolutely keeps me from going, I vow to do this.”

The husband, thoroughly relieved to get some peace on Thursday and Sunday, and wishing Charlie had more classes throughout the week, simply says nothing. Her vow would stand. It has become the law for her. However, when her husband dies or divorces her, she might think, “I really am tired of going to church. There is so much more I can get done now that I have the house all to myself.” It is tough bananas for her. She had made the vow, and despite her new situation, the vow stands. Despite this…

¹² But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the Lord will release her.

v’im haper yaper otam ishah – “and if annulling he annuls them her husband.” A different word is used than of the father overruling the daughter in verse 5. Here, it is a word which means to break, as in a covenant, or to annul it. In this case, it is to annul what is said.

If he takes this action, then whatever she said would not stand. As it says then a third time using the same word, he “has annulled them.” In this annulment of her words, the Lord will release her from them, demonstrating that He has allowed the husband authority over the wife’s words.

The hierarchy which the Lord deems is correct and proper is maintained. She may still wisely choose to come to the Bible classes and weekly sermons, but she is under no obligation to do so, both during the life of her marriage and afterwards.

¹³ Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void.

Here again, both types of interactions are referred to which are described in this chapter – the vow and the binding oath. Whatever she utters in either case, her husband may confirm it, meaning cause it to stand, or he may parar, or annul it.

This word parar, now used again, is the source of the word par, or bull which is described numerous times as being used in the sacrifices offered to the Lord. In type, that bull consistently looked forward to Christ who would defeat the devil, making void – or annulling his power – over man.

¹⁴ Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them.

Here, as has been the case several times, it speaks in the plural of kal nedareha and kal esareha, or “all vows and all agreements.” It is a way of saying that the overriding of any vows, or the agreeing to any vows come as individual instances. Any that are annulled are not binding. Any that were not annulled are binding.

The annulling of one vow does not annul any others. And the confirming of one vow does not confirm all. And in all cases of vows, the husband has the authority over the woman to annul, or he cedes his authority to her over whatever matter is concerned when he stays silent or agrees to her vows.

An example of what we have seen in these verses is found in 1 Samuel 1 where Hanna, the wife of Elkanah, made a vow to the Lord to give her child to the Lord for all the days of his life. Elkanah is never seen to have overruled her, and thus the vow is binding. Because of this, we read the following –

“Hannah did not go and explained to her husband, ‘After the child is weaned, I’ll take him to appear in the LORD’s presence and to stay there permanently.’
²³ Her husband Elkanah replied, ‘Do what you think is best, and stay here until you’ve weaned him. May the LORD confirm your word.’ So Hannah stayed there and nursed her son until she weaned him.” 1 Samuel 1:22, 23 (Holman CSB)

The word isar, meaning to tie or bind, was introduced in verse 2. This is now its eleventh and last time to be seen in Scripture. The heavy stress upon this word shows that such agreements are binding, meaning there are consequences for making them, and it is the authority of the father or the husband to determine what will be done concerning the matter in order to finalize it.

¹⁵ But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.”

v’im haper yaper otam ahare shameo v’nasa eth avonah – “And if annulling he annuls them after he has heard and shall bear her guilt.” Well, doesn’t that just set the whole passage into its proper place. If the husband annuls them, after he has heard, he shall bear her guilt. Here the word parar, or annul, is again used, twice. If there is an annulling after the vow is made, the husband bears the guilt. Of this, Cambridge says –

“If, after tacitly consenting at the time that he heard of the vow, he compels her at a later time to break it, then Jehovah will not (as in the foregoing cases) forgive, but the iniquity will rest upon the husband and not upon the woman.” Cambridge

The premise is correct, but the analysis is flawed. So is true with the Pulpit Commentary which closely mirrors that of Cambridge –

“…if he tacitly allowed the vow in the first instance, and afterwards forbad its fulfillment, the guilt which such breach of promise involved should rest upon him.” Pulpit Commentary

Their analysis is further off. It doesn’t say, “forbad its fulfillment.” Instead, it says “annulled.” Further, it isn’t a single vow that is spoken of. The words refer to the plural – them. It doesn’t say, “And if he annuls a vow after he has heard it.” And it doesn’t say, “And if he annuls each agreement after he has heard it.”  Rather, it speaks of them in the plural.

After that, the words say v’nasa eth avonah, “And he shall bear her guilt.” She was the one to receive guilt for not performing the vow, and her performing or not performing the vow isn’t even mentioned. She is completely left out of the equation from this point on. Instead, by hearing the vows of the wife, and by later annulling the vows, the husband bears the guilt of the wife. Sound familiar?

*^{16 (fin)} These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father’s house.

The hierarchy is set, and it gives the right to the father of the daughter to make decisions concerning vows and oaths in regard to his daughter, and it gives the right and responsibility to the husband concerning the same.

There is nothing demeaning in this, and there is every reason to see the marvelous wonder of what God would do in Christ in it. The law is given, and what the law says must be adhered to, including the bearing of guilt by the husband for the annulling of the vows and oaths of the wife.

I am your Husband, and you are My wife
I have chosen you to always be by My side
We are joined together as one in life
And for you I shall always be your life’s guide 

When you make a vow that you should not make
Or when you make a vow that I find AOK
The appropriate action, I will take
I will make the decision on that very day 

And if a vow that you make I allow to stand
And if I see that you cannot bear up under it
I will take the consequences the Lord does demand
I will bear your iniquity so that you He will acquit

II. Annulling of the Vows

Chapter 30 of Numbers is one of those places in the Bible that modern women certainly hate. To them, the God of the Bible is an ogre who wants to subjugate women, and a male-oriented conspiracy is set in place to perpetuate this concept.

The verses here never mention a son, even when it should apply. The rash vows of a little boy are never mentioned, but the vows of a daughter, and even a wife – a fully developed woman are. And, the vows of a woman that were made binding while she was under her husband’s authority continue to be binding even after his death or divorce. “Ha! I don’t think so” they would say.

What the Lord is teaching us here is a lesson first in authority. God is God and He has established the levels of authority. These are His choices, and it is His sovereign right to define them. He is also teaching us of the necessity of keeping one’s vows, no matter how absurd they are.

If we make a vow to the Lord, nothing here suggests that the vow is not binding, even if it was a nutty one. Although scholars continuously teach this, it is not a precept found in Scripture. One of the reasons for the Lord’s being adamant in this is because He has spoken vows which are recorded in Scripture. His nature demands that they will be upheld, despite the failings of those He has vowed to. In Daniel 9:11 it says –

“Yes, all Israel has transgressed Your law, and has departed so as not to obey Your voice; therefore the curse and the oath written in the Law of Moses the servant of God have been poured out on us, because we have sinned against Him.” Daniel 9:11

The word there translated as “oath” is one used in this passage, shevuah. The Lord made a covenant with Israel, and Israel agreed to it with their own mouths. Thus, this oath goes two ways. The Lord has made His own promises and guarantees – which include the curses for disobedience – to Israel, and Israel agreed to the Lord’s words.

“So Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord and all the judgments. And all the people answered with one voice and said, ‘All the words which the Lord has said we will do.’” Exodus 24:3

Those words qol asher dibber Yehovah na’aseh v’nishma, are properly translated as “All which the LORD has said we will do, and we will hear.” They agreed, in advance, to do what He would say, even before hearing all that He would say – “We will do, and we will hear.”

The Book of the Covenant that was presented to the people in Exodus 24 is not the entire body of the law. It is what the entire body of the law is based on. From that time on, everything which was explained to them was a part of their oath to the Lord.

The covenant continued to be agreed upon as Moses renewed it in Deuteronomy 29:1. Later, for example at the time of Joshua, the people again agreed that they would serve the Lord. They made an oath and Joshua set up a pillar as a witness to them. As he said –

“Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us. It shall therefore be a witness to you, lest you deny your God.” Joshua 24:27

At the time of King Josiah, it says –

“Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.” 2 Kings 23:3

And again, this was repeated after the exile by the people in Nehemiah 9 & 10 when they called out that they were making a sure covenant with the Lord.

These and other such times indicate a wife who made vows to her Husband, the Lord. It is a title used of Him toward Israel several times, either directly, or as an analogy. The Lord was a Father to the people until the time was right.

Eventually, the people, the congregation of Israel, became a wife in a covenant relationship with the Lord. They vowed, He heard the vows, and He allowed them to stand. The words were binding on them, and to not fulfill their words brought avon, or iniquity – meaning guilt – upon them.

However, the Lord would not allow this to continue forever. Eventually, He stepped into the relationship in a new way. He Himself came forward to meet the demands of the oaths and to live the life that Israel is convincingly shown to have failed to measure up to, time and again. One failed vow after another. The power of the law stood over Israel, and as the author of Hebrews says –

“Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵ and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Hebrew 2:14, 15

It is through law that sin is imputed, and it is through sin that the devil has power over the people. But this is where Christ steps in. He is the true High Priest. In Israel, when the High Priest sacrificed for his sins each year on the Day of Atonement, he would offer a, par, or bull for his sin.

That par is derived from the same word, parar, used 7 times today to indicate the annulling of the vow. It is that bull, in type of Christ, who defeated the devil, making void His power of death.

In Christ’s assuming the position within the covenant people, He became a part of the bride. Imagine that. He was of the people. They were under the sentence, they were bound in the prison of the oaths that they had made, and He joined them there.

And in living out those oaths, He also annulled them. The same Lord did both. He fulfilled them and He took the consequence of annulling them. This is why the final verse of the passage says, “And if annulling he annuls them after he has heard, and shall bear her guilt.” He annulled all of the oaths – from Exodus through Nehemiah and on, plural, and He assumed their guilt.

He could be released from the guilt through performance. However, the body of people, His bride, could not be. And so He assumed the penalty that the law said would come upon the husband if the vows she had spoken with her mouth were agreed to. In this, He bore her avon, or iniquity. That is stated explicitly three times in Isaiah 53 –

“But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah 53:5, 6

&

“He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.” Isaiah 53:11

Modern-day feminists are angry for absolutely no reason at all. The Lord placed Himself under the same supposedly oppressive state that they claim they are under in the law, and He did it for them. Those Jews who accepted the premise have become a part of His true Bride, and for those Gentiles who accept this premise, they too are brought into this amazing New Covenant relationship.

Some don’t understand what God is doing in the world. They claim the term “the bride of Christ” is never mentioned in the Bible. It is, just not with those words. Paul says this in 2 Corinthians 11:2 –

“For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.”

So much for the idiotic doctrine known as Hyperdispensationalism. We – Jew and Gentile – are the Lord’s betrothed, meaning we stand in exactly the same relationship as the woman who was promised to a husband in verses 6-8 of the passage today. We are betrothed to Christ, and thus we are His bride.

We are being prepared for our presentation to Him, and unlike the Old Covenant relationship, we do not have a humongous and impossible body of laws to observe. Rather, we have one primary responsibility which is to be joined to the Lord.

All other responsibilities after that fall under that which is pleasing to Him, or that which displeases Him, but none fall under the category of incurred guilt. No! The Lord has borne our guilt and freed us from it. Rather, we are His from the moment we join to Him, and so let us be sure that we are – in fact – joined to Him. The gospel tells us how to make that happen.

Closing Verse: “When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it;
For He has no pleasure in fools.
Pay what you have vowed—
⁵ Better not to vow than to vow and not pay.” Ecclesiastes 5:4, 5

Next Week: Numbers 31:1-11 Another of Israel’s warring fights… (Take Vengeance on the Midianites) (59^th Numbers Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It may seem at times as if you are lost in a desert, wandering aimlessly. But the Lord is there, carefully leading you to the Land of Promise. So follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

He Shall Bear Her Guilt

Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes
Concerning the children of Israel, saying,
“This is the thing which the Lord has commanded:
These word to you from Him, I am now relaying

If a man makes a vow to the Lord
Or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement
———-maybe to some sort of deeds
He shall not break his word
He shall do according to all that out of his mouth proceeds

“Or if a woman makes a vow to the Lord
And binds herself by some agreement
———-by making that agreement sound
While in her father’s house in her youth
And her father hears her vow and the agreement
———-by which she has herself bound

And her father holds his peace
Then all her vows shall stand
And every agreement with which she has bound herself
So it shall stand; this is what the law does demand

But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears
Then none of her vows nor her agreements
———-by which she has bound herself shall stand
And the Lord will release her
Because her father overruled her; it’s the rule of the land

“If indeed she takes a husband
While bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips
By which she bound herself
And her husband hears it, to his ears the sound drips

And makes no response to her on the day that he hears
Then her vows shall stand
And her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand
Such is the rule of the land

But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it
He shall make void her vow which she took, for sure
And what she uttered with her lips
By which she bound herself, and the Lord will release her

“Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman
———-be aware of this for sure
By which she has bound herself, shall stand against her

“If she vowed in her husband’s house
Or bound herself with an oath by an agreement
And her husband heard it, and made no response to her
And did not overrule her, after out of her mouth it went

Then all her vows shall stand; it is the rule of the land
And every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand

But if her husband truly made them void
On the day he heard them; yes he voided them for sure
Then whatever proceeded from her lips
Concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her

It shall not stand; her husband has them void made
And the Lord will release her, the vows have been stayed 

Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul
———-which she has employed
Her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void 

Now if her husband makes no response whatever
———-to her from day to day
Then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her
He confirms them, because he made no response to her
On the day that he heard them, she is bound to them for sure 

But if after he has heard them he does make them void
Then he shall bear her guilt, because he has this tactic employed

These are the statutes which the Lord commanded Moses
Between a man and his spouse
And between a father and his daughter in her youth
In her father’s house

Lord God, we are even now in a wilderness
And we are wanting to be led by You
Without You to direct, our lives would be a mess
And so be our guide, O God; You who are faithful and true

We long for the water in this barren land
May it flow forth from the Rock, our souls to satisfy
Give us this refreshing, spiritual hand
And may we take it, and to our lives daily it apply

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…