OT Study: Numbers Pt. 2

Review

As we saw previously, the book of Numbers began with instructions for how Israel was to travel and camp throughout the wilderness as they moved from Sinai to the Promised Land. The last section ended with the dedication of the Tabernacle, the commissioning of the Levities, and the celebration of Passover. Israel had given much of their possessions for the building of the Tabernacle and they seem prepared to follow God where He leads as they move their camp away from Sinai. However, as we shall soon see, this dedication and fear of God does not last

2. Preparation in Journeying to the Promised Land ()

A. Dealing with the Complainers (11:1-35)

C. Dealing with the Unbelievers (13:1-15:31)

1 And the people complained in the hearing of the Lord about their misfortunes, and when the Lord heard it, his anger was kindled, and the fire of the Lord burned among them and consumed some outlying parts of the camp. 2 Then the people cried out to Moses, and Moses prayed to the Lord, and the fire died down. 3 So the name of that place was called Taberah, because the fire of the Lord burned among them. 4 Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. 6 But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.”

10 Moses heard the people weeping throughout their clans, everyone at the door of his tent. And the anger of the Lord blazed hotly, and Moses was displeased.11 Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? 12 Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? 13 Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ 14 I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. 15 If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.” 16 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. 17 And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone. 18 And say to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, and you shall eat meat, for you have wept in the hearing of the Lord, saying, “Who will give us meat to eat? For it was better for us in Egypt.” Therefore the Lord will give you meat, and you shall eat. 19 You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, 20 but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’” 21 But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ 22 Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?” 23 And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord's hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.” 24 So Moses went out and told the people the words of the Lord. And he gathered seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tent. 25 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and spoke to him, and took some of the Spirit that was on him and put it on the seventy elders. And as soon as the Spirit rested on them, they prophesied. But they did not continue doing it. 26 Now two men remained in the camp, one named Eldad, and the other named Medad, and the Spirit rested on them. They were among those registered, but they had not gone out to the tent, and so they prophesied in the camp. 27 And a young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.” 28 And Joshua the son of Nun, the assistant of Moses from his youth, said, “My lord Moses, stop them.” 29 But Moses said to him, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all the Lord's people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”

It seems that almost immediately after leaving Sinai the people begin to complain. God makes it very clear that complaining will not be tolerated and will inflict His just wrath against the complainers by sending fire down on them. As he did in , Moses intercedes on behalf of the people of Israel and God’s wrath is appeased. Soon after this, the rabble (a name used to identify the non-Israelites who left Egypt with the people of God at the Exodus) begins to complain about constantly eating manna from heaven. This complaint about God’s provision is really rooted in their desire for the pleasures that they had in Egypt. 

So what we have is the people complaining, the rabble complaining, and then in verses 10-15 we see the leadership complain as well. Moses comes before God and is filled with irritation with the fact that God has made him the leader of such a wretched people. He has no idea where in the wilderness he is going to find meat to feed the people. God then tells Moses of how He will miraculously provide meat for the people of Israel to eat but in vs 21-22 we see that Moses is filled with doubt and does not see how God will feed 600,000 men in the middle of the desert. God declares that His hand is not shortened. As the Creator of the Universe, He has the power and dominion to do what He wills and accomplish all He promises. 

1. The False Report and the People’s Unbelief (13:1-14:10)

God instructed Moses to gather together the 70 elders of the people to the Tabernacle and promised to put the Holy Spirit on them so that they can assist Moses with leading the people. In verse 24-29 we see this exact thing happen. The Holy Spirit was also given to two other men who were inside the camp and they began to prophesy just as the elders did and when Moses received word that this had happened he longs for a time when the Holy Spirit would be placed on all of God’s people. As we will see in Deuteronomy, Moses was longing for the New Covenant. 

B. Dealing with the Insubordinate (12:1-16)

1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. 2 And they said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it. 3 Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. 4 And suddenly the Lord said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. 5 And the Lord came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. 6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. 7 Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. 8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” 9 And the anger of the Lord was kindled against them, and he departed. 10 When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous.

13 And Moses cried to the Lord, “O God, please heal her—please.” 14 But the Lord said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” 15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again.

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. 14:1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. ” Twelve spies were chosen from each tribe to spy out the Promised Land. They went and they saw that the land was filled with produce and fruitfulness. However, there were also large cities filled with large inhabitants and mighty warriors and this causes the spies to be filled with fear. After witnessing God deliver them from the greatest superpower in the world, Egypt, they doubted that He would give them victory over the Canaanites. God promised to deliver them from Egypt and He did. God declared that He would return them to the Land that He promised to Abraham and here they are filled with unbelief. The spies come to the people and spread this unbelief and the people are filled with doubt and fear. Of the 12 spies only two remain faithful to God: Joshua, a descendent of Ephriam who was the chosen son of Joseph, and Caleb, a descendent of the royal tribe of Judah.  See how the people based their fear and unbelief in their desire to protect their children. Their unbelief is so rampant that they have convinced themselves that God brought them out of Egypt just to kill them. They devise a plan to find a leader to reverse the Exodus and return them to Egypt. Caleb and Joshua implored them to enter the land at once for they know that God will give them victory. They try and convince them to cease from fearing the Canaanites and start fearing the Lord and trusting Him to deliver. But the people will have nothing of this message and actually take up stones to kill Caleb, Joshua and presumably Moses and Aaron as well. 

In chapter 11 we saw the people rebel and complain against God. Here in chapter 12 we see the leadership complain and rebe as well. Miriam and Aaron, the siblings of Moses, begin to question the authority of Moses and wonder why they aren’t just as qualified to lead the nation as Moses. God summons all three of them to the Tabernacle and declares to them that Moses is the leader He has chosen. God speaks to prophets with visions and dreams. But with His servant Moses, God speaks with him face to face. After speaking to them, Miriam becomes a leapor. Instead of leading the people as she desired, she is now unclean and must be shut out of the camp. Moses intercedes on her behalf and she is healed after seven days.

ople before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it,

1. The False Report and the People’s Unbelief (13:1-14:10)

2. The People’s Great Rebellion (14:11-45) 

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” 3 So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel.

25 At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. 26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.” 30 But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” 31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” 32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. 33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them. 14:1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” 5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. ”

Twelve spies were chosen from each tribe to spy out the Promised Land. They went and they saw that the land was filled with produce and fruitfulness. However, there were also large cities filled with large inhabitants and mighty warriors and this causes the spies to be filled with fear. After witnessing God deliver them from the greatest superpower in the world, Egypt, they doubted that He would give them victory over the Canaanites. God promised to deliver them from Egypt and He did. God declared that He would return them to the Land that He promised to Abraham and here they are filled with unbelief. The spies come to the people and spread this unbelief and the people are filled with doubt and fear. Of the 12 spies only two remain faithful to God: Joshua, a descendent of Ephriam who was the chosen son of Joseph, and Caleb, a descendent of the royal tribe of Judah.  

See how the people based their fear and unbelief in their desire to protect their children. Their unbelief is so rampant that they have convinced themselves that God brought them out of Egypt just to kill them. They devise a plan to find a leader to reverse the Exodus and return them to Egypt. Caleb and Joshua implored them to enter the land at once for they know that God will give them victory. They try and convince them to cease from fearing the Canaanites and start fearing the Lord and trusting Him to deliver. But the people will have nothing of this message and actually take up stones to kill Caleb, Joshua and presumably Moses and Aaron as well. 

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 13 But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” 20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”  36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive. 39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the Lord has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the Lord, when that will not succeed? 42 Do not go up, for the Lord is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.43 For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the Lord, the Lord will not be with you.” 44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah. Upon appearing at the Tabernacle God declares to Moses the just punishment of His wrath for the unbelieving Israelites. As in , Moses intercedes on behalf of the people as their mediator. Moses bases his intercession on the plan and the glory of the Lord. In , after Moses intercedes, God reveals His glory to Moses and declares that He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” () Here in , Moses alludes back to God’s own self-revelation as he pleads for God to have mercy and pardon their unbelief. Moses knew that God’s lovingkindness - His grace - was the basis on which He could pardon their iniquity. Just as in , God listens to the intercession of Moses and  does not exercise His just wrath of killing the nation of Israel right then and there. However, His forgiveness is not unjust and there is punishment for the people’s sin. We saw this in when God still killed 3,000 Israelites in one day as punishment for the golden calf. The punishment here in Numbers is that none of the first generation of Exodus Israelites will enter the promised land. God demonstrated His glory and power to them when He delivered them from Egypt and yet they defamed His name by doubting Him and fearing the canaanites. So then, for the sake of His glory, God decreed that this first generation would die in the wilderness. They refused to enter the land, so God answered the desires of their hearts. Moreover, they blamed their unbelief on a desire to protect their children from being killed by the Canaanites so God decreed that it would be their children who would inhabit the land by killing the Canaanites. Lastly, the ones who experienced this consequence immediately were the 10 spies who led Israel astray. On the other hand, not only were Caleb and Joshua spared, they were the only ones from their generation who were to be allowed to enter the promised land. Upon hearing Moses’ pronouncement of God’s judgement, the people are filled with new found courage and declare that they will now enter the promised land. Moses warned them that they will fail in battle as they go to fight the Canaanites and Amalekites for God was not among them. Before, they were filled with unbelief that God’s presence was enough to give them victory. Now they are so self-assured that they can be victorious without the presence of God. When they went into battle, Moses and the ark of God remained behind and they were humiliatingly defeated and chased away by the Canaanites. 

2. The People’s Great Rebellion (14:11-45) 

11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” 13 But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” 20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.” 26 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”  36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble ag

Upon appearing at the Tabernacle God declares to Moses the just punishment of His wrath for the unbelieving Israelites. As in , Moses intercedes on behalf of the people as their mediator. Moses bases his intercession on the plan and the glory of the Lord. In , after Moses intercedes, God reveals His glory to Moses and declares that He is “a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, 7 keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children's children, to the third and the fourth generation.” () Here in , Moses alludes back to God’s own self-revelation as he pleads for God to have mercy and pardon their unbelief. Moses knew that God’s lovingkindness - His grace - was the basis on which He could pardon their iniquity.

3. The Hope Ahead (15:1-31)

Just as in , God listens to the intercession of Moses and  does not exercise His just wrath of killing the nation of Israel right then and there. However, His forgiveness is not unjust and there is punishment for the people’s sin. We saw this in when God still killed 3,000 Israelites in one day as punishment for the golden calf. The punishment here in Numbers is that none of the first generation of Exodus Israelites will enter the promised land. God demonstrated His glory and power to them when He delivered them from Egypt and yet they defamed His name by doubting Him and fearing the canaanites. So then, for the sake of His glory, God decreed that this first generation would die in the wilderness. They refused to enter the land, so God answered the desires of their hearts. Moreover, they blamed their unbelief on a desire to protect their children from being killed by the Canaanites so God decreed that it would be their children who would inhabit the land by killing the Canaanites. Lastly, the ones who experienced this consequence immediately were the 10 spies who led Israel astray. On the other hand, not only were Caleb and Joshua spared, they were the only ones from their generation who were to be allowed to enter the promised land. 

Upon hearing Moses’ pronouncement of God’s judgement, the people are filled with new found courage and declare that they will now enter the promised land. Moses warned them that they will fail in battle as they go to fight the Canaanites and Amalekites for God was not among them. Before, they were filled with unbelief that God’s presence was enough to give them victory. Now they are so self-assured that they can be victorious without the presence of God. When they went into battle, Moses and the ark of God remained behind and they were humiliatingly defeated and chased away by the Canaanites. 

3. The Hope Ahead (15:1-31)

15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you,3 and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord, 17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you 19 and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations. 27 “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”In the midst of their rebellion God gives instruction to Moses for when He will bring His people into the Promised Land. Here God gives instructions for the Tabernacle offering when they come into the land. Even while they were under judgement, God still planned to accomplish His promises. There is great hope here. God does not say, “if you come into the land”, instead He declares, “when you come into the land”. These instructions end with the restating of the Levitical offerings for sin. The sin offering was for those who sinned unintentionally. On the other hand, the one who despised the word of the Lord and knowingly broke God’s command should be excommunicated from the people of Israel and deserved the punishment of death.

15:1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you,3 and you offer to the Lord from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the Lord,

17 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 18 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you 19 and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the Lord. 20 Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. 21 Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the Lord as a contribution throughout your generations.

27 “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. 28 And the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. 29 You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. 30 But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the Lord, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. 31 Because he has despised the word of the Lord and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

In the midst of their rebellion God gives instruction to Moses for when He will bring His people into the Promised Land. Here God gives instructions for the Tabernacle offering when they come into the land. Even while they were under judgement, God still planned to accomplish His promises. There is great hope here. God does not say, “if you come into the land”, instead He declares, “when you come into the land”. These instructions end with the restating of the Levitical offerings for sin. The sin offering was for those who sinned unintentionally. On the other hand, the one who despised the word of the Lord and knowingly broke God’s command should be excommunicated from the people of Israel and deserved the punishment of death. 

D. Dealing with the Irreverent (15:32-41)

32 While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. 33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. 34 They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. 35 And the Lord said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” 36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses. 37 The Lord said to Moses, 38 “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. 39 And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the Lord, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. 40 So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. 41 I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the Lord your God.”

Immediately following these instructions for dealing with unintentional and intentional violations of the commandments of God, we see an example of a person intentionally violating the 4th commandment of upholding the Sabbath. This irreverent display of disobedience was brought before Moses who then received instruction from God. For his sin, the man was taken outside of the camp (excommunicated) and then stoned to death. God is holy. He made the Sabbath holy. So then, any violation of this is an act of unholiness which must be removed.

God then instructs all the Israelittes to sew a tassel on the corners of their clothes as a visual reminder to live holy unto their God and obey His commandments. Naturally they are inclined to follow the passions of their hearts and commit spiritual adultery against God. When their eye sees something more desirable to them than following God they tend to do so. So then God commands a visual deterrent to this tendency. 

E. Dealing with the rebellious (16:1-50)

1 Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men.2 And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. 3 They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?” 4 When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, 5 and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the Lord will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. 6 Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; 7 put fire in them and put incense on them before the Lord tomorrow, and the man whom the Lord chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!”

12 And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. 13 Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? 14 Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” 15 And Moses was very angry and said to the Lord, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.” 16 And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the Lord, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. 17 And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the Lord his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” 18 So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. 19 Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. 20 And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 21 “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” 22 And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” 23 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.” 25 Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. 26 And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” 27 So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.

31 And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. 32 And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.33 So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. 34 And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” 35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.”47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.

35 And fire came out from the Lord and consumed the 250 men offering the incense. 36  Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 37 “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. 38 As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the Lord, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” 39 So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, 40 to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the Lord, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the Lord said to him through Moses. 41 But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the Lord.”42 And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the Lord appeared. 43 And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, 44 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 45 “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. 46 And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.”47 So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. 48 And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. 49 Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. 50 And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Remember that the three families of Levites who were not priests were the Gershanites, the Merarites and the Kohathites. The Kohathites were the most honored of the three families for they were responsible for caring for and transporting the holy things of the Tabernacle. However, for them, this honor was not enough. The Kohathite, Korah desired to be a priest like the sons of Aaron. This desire fueled a rebellion against Moses. He was joined by tribal leaders Dothan, and Abiram, from the tribe of Reuben. Remember that Reuben was the eldest son of Jacob and that he always struggled with the fact that he was not favored as the leader of his brothers (see & 42). The Reubenites wanted to rebel for they believed that Moses led them out of Egypt for selfish reasons. They wished to return to the land of milk and honey, Egypt.

Moses is overcome with frustration and calls the rebels to stand before Moses and Aaron at the Tabernacle as a test who the Lord has chosen to be the priests and leaders of His people. The Reubenites refuse to come to Moses’ assembly. However, 250 Kohathites arrive and are given censures for incense along with the high priest, Aaron. Notice in verse 19 that Korah assembled the entire congregation against Moses and Aaron at the Tabernacle. When the Lord appeared in the Tabernacle He instructs Moses to move away from the rebels and the congregation so that they are consumed. As he did previously in , and then in , and  14, Moses intercedes for the congregation and pleads that they would not be punished for Korah’s sin. The Lord hears the intercession of Moses and instructs the congregation to separate themselves from the 250 rebels and stand with Moses and Aaron. God then punished the rebels by causing the earth to swallow the tents of Korah, Dothan and Abiram and all their family who stood with them. The Lord also consumed the 250 rebels holding incense just as he consumed Nadab and Abihu for offering strange fire.. 

Notice that the very next day after this event, the congregation of Israelites blamed Moses and Aaron for the death of Korah and his rebels. The congregation turned against them to kill them. But in that moment God judged the people with a plague. Moses then instructed Aaron to run into the camp with incense, a symbol of intercessory prayer which stopped the plague from affecting the entire camp. On that day 14,700 disobedient Israelites die. 

F. Reaffirming the Priesthood (17:1-19:22)

1 The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers' house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers' houses, twelve staffs. Write each man's name on his staff, 3 and write Aaron's name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers' house. 4 Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. 5 And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.”

8 On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds.

12 And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. 13 Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the Lord, shall die. Are we all to perish?” 18: 1 So the Lord said to Aaron, “You and your sons and your father's house with you shall bear iniquity connected with the sanctuary, and you and your sons with you shall bear iniquity connected with your priesthood.

6 And behold, I have taken your brothers the Levites from among the people of Israel. They are a gift to you, given to the Lord, to do the service of the tent of meeting. 7 And you and your sons with you shall guard your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil; and you shall serve. I give your priesthood as a gift, and any outsider who comes near shall be put to death.”

Following the rebellion of Korah, God reaffirms His choice of Aaron as the high priest and the people of Israel realize their sin. They are rightly filled with fear for God and His presence because of their unholy actions. God then reaffirms the roles of the priesthood to Aaron and charges him and his sons with the responsibility of both ministering for the people within the Tabernacle and guarding the Tabernacle from any outsider. They were to be held responsible for any sin connected to the Tabernacle and to the priesthood. 

iv. Laws of Purification for contact with the Dead (19:1-22)

“1 Now the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 2 “This is the statute of the law that the Lord has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come. 3 And you shall give it to Eleazar the priest, and it shall be taken outside the camp and slaughtered before him. 4 And Eleazar the priest shall take some of its blood with his finger, and sprinkle some of its blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times. 5 And the heifer shall be burned in his sight. Its skin, its flesh, and its blood, with its dung, shall be burned. 6 And the priest shall take cedarwood and hyssop and scarlet yarn, and throw them into the fire burning the heifer. 7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. 8 The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening.

Over a million people died over the 40 years in the wilderness because of God’s judgement of Israel’s sin and unbelief. This ritual was given to the people so that they might be made clean after coming into contact with a corpse. This whole process would have taken time and it would have been performed quite frequently. It would have been a double reminder for the deceased person died because of their unholiness and uncleanness; after carrying for the dead, the living person from the second generation had to perform this ritual to be made clean again. The red hair of the cow and the red yarn that is added to the fire for the ritual may be a visual association with that which cleanses: blood. The message is clear holiness and cleanliness must be maintained within the congregation. 

F. Dealing with Failed Leadership (20:1-29)

1 And the people of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh. And Miriam died there and was buried there. 2 Now there was no water for the congregation. And they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Would that we had perished when our brothers perished before the Lord! 4 Why have you brought the assembly of the Lord into this wilderness, that we should die here, both we and our cattle? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.” 6 Then Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. And the glory of the Lord appeared to them, 7 and the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”9 And Moses took the staff from before the Lord, as he commanded him. 10 Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?”11 And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. 12 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.” 13 These are the waters of Meribah,where the people of Israel quarreled with the Lord, and through them he showed himself holy.

23 And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron at Mount Hor, on the border of the land of Edom, 24 “Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. 26 And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.”

Notice that Israel returns to Kadesh Barnea where they complained against God in by asking for meat and received a bad report from the 10 spies in . After almost 40 years of wandering, God has taken the people back to where their wandering began. Throughout this wandering we have seen the failure of the people, the failure of the Levites and here in this chapter we see the failure of the leader of the first generation, Moses. The chapter begins with the death of Miriam, the sister of Moses, and ends with the death of Aaron, the brother of Moses. These two deaths serve as bookends to the failure of Moses in verses 3-12. 

The people were thirsty and there was no water for them to drink. This caused them to grumble and complain against Moses and Aaron. This situation, including their statement of being brought up with their livestock to die of thirst, is a repeat of the time at the beginning of the Exodus when the people complained about thirst (). In that instance we saw that after being miraculously delivered by God from Egypt and preserved through the crossing of the Nile, the people were filled with unbelief and did not trust God to provide them with water.  God then commanded Moses to go to the base of Sinai and strike the rock which He stood before with his staff. When Moses obeyed God’s command, water came out of that rock. Here in the wilderness of Zin, Moses was instructed to merely speak to the rock that God identified while he held the staff in his hand. Instead, in verse 10, Moses spoke to the people in condemnation and then struck the rock twice. Moses rightly called the people rebels, but in striking the rock he joined them in their rebellion against God. 40 years previously, in this very place, the Israelites did not believe the promise of God by not entering the promised land. In verse 12 we see that God equated Moses’ sin with the same unbelief in God’s promise to provide water if Moses spoke to the rock. Not only did Moses’ sin demonstrate his unbelief, it violated the holiness of God before the people. Just as in , Israel was instructed to name this place Meribah, which means “contention”. Because of his sin, Moses was to be barred from entering into the Promised land. . Aaron passes at the end of the chapter and his son, Eleazar is ordained as the high priest. 

G. Deliverance from Arad (21:1-3)

1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive. 2 And Israel vowed a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into my hand, then I will devote their cities to destruction.” 3 And the Lord heeded the voice of Israel and gave over the Canaanites, and they devoted them and their cities to destruction. So the name of the place was called Hormah.

Notice here that the second generation is beginning to form and they are a people who trusts YHWH. They pray to God for victory, demonstrating their trust and vow that they will destroy the wicked cities of Arad. Up until this point, the surrounding nations have been witnessing God remove the unholy Israelites from His congregation, here they saw God remove the unholy Canaanites from His land. This first victory came at Hormah, which was the very place that Israel experienced their first defeat, in , when they decided to go to battle without the Lord’s consent.  

H. Dealing with the Impatient (21:4-9)

4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.

In chapter 20, the Edomites blocked the Israelites from crossing through their land. Because Edom was the nation of Esau, Israel was not permitted to conquer them. This forced Israel to travel around Edom and during this long journey the people of God continued in their complaining and unbelief. The text does not differentiate between the two generations here. But what is significant is that when God sends the plague of snakes amongst the people, they  come to Moses and confess their sin against YHWH. They beg Moses to mediate between them and God and intercede on their behalf. Then they responded with faith by looking to the serpent raised on a pole, the means of God’s healing, to be saved from dying. Just as Caleb and Joshua looked on the promised land with faith and were granted life, so too were those who looked on the bronze serpent with faith granted life. 

In Jesus uses this story as an illustration, “14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” As John MacArhtur says in his commentary on John “The stricken Israelites were cured by obediently looking apart from any works or righteousness of their own in hope and dependence on God’s word at the elevated bronze serpent. In the same way whoever looks in faith alone to the crucified Christ will be cured from sin’s deadly bite and will in Him have eternal life.” 

I. Deliverance from Wilderness (21:10-35)

16 And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, so that I may give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song: “Spring up, O well!—Sing to it!— 18  the well that the princes made, that the nobles of the people dug, with the scepter and with their staffs.” And from the wilderness they went on to Mattanah, 19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that looks down on the desert.”21 Then Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field or vineyard. We will not drink the water of a well. We will go by the King's Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. He gathered all his people together and went out against Israel to the wilderness and came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 And Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites, for the border of the Ammonites was strong. 25 And Israel took all these cities, and Israel settled in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages.

27 Therefore the ballad singers say, “Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be established. 28  For fire came out from Heshbon, flame from the city of Sihon. It devoured Ar of Moab, and swallowed the heights of the Arnon. 29  Woe to you, O Moab! You are undone, O people of Chemosh! He has made his sons fugitives, and his daughters captives, to an Amorite king, Sihon. 30 So we overthrew them; Heshbon, as far as Dibon, perished; and we laid waste as far as Nophah; fire spread as far as Medeba.” 31 Thus Israel lived in the land of the Amorites. 32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer, and they captured its villages and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.33 Then they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not fear him, for I have given him into your hand, and all his people, and his land. And you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived at Heshbon.” 35 So they defeated him and his sons and all his people, until he had no survivor left. And they possessed his land.

As Israel continues to travel towards the promised land and the Jordan River, God continues to provide for them. There is no recording of grumbling of thirst here. Instead, Israel praises God in song (vs 17-20) when he brings them to a well. When the mightyAmmonite king, Sihon rises up to oppose Israel from crossing through their land God grants them victory and Israel praises Him in song (vs 27-30). As Israel continued to move towards Canaan, the surrounding nations would have noticed that those who opposed them were quickly defeated by the God of the Israelites. 

K. Deliverance from Moab’s Spiritual Attack (22:1-24:25)

i. Balak Summons Balaam (22:1-37)

“Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho. 2 And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were many. Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.” So Balak the son of Zippor, who was king of Moab at that time, 5 sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the people of Amaw, to call him, saying, “Behold, a people has come out of Egypt. They cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling opposite me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” 7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand. And they came to Balaam and gave him Balak's message.8 And he said to them, “Lodge here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, as the Lord speaks to me.” So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 And God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 ‘Behold, a people has come out of Egypt, and it covers the face of the earth. Now come, curse them for me. Perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning and said to the princes of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.” 15 Once again Balak sent princes, more in number and more honorable than these.16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: ‘Let nothing hinder you from coming to me, 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come, curse this people for me.’” 20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you.” 21 So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab. 22 But God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 And the donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand. And the donkey turned aside out of the road and went into the field. And Balaam struck the donkey, to turn her into the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 And when the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she pushed against the wall and pressed Balaam's foot against the wall. So he struck her again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, she lay down under Balaam. And Balaam's anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and she said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 And Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me. I wish I had a sword in my hand, for then I would kill you.” 30 And the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, on which you have ridden all your life long to this day? Is it my habit to treat you this way?” And he said, “No.” 31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, with his drawn sword in his hand. And he bowed down and fell on his face. 32 And the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out to oppose you because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me and turned aside before me these three times. If she had not turned aside from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let her live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the road against me. Now therefore, if it is evil in your sight, I will turn back.” 35 And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.”

In 1967, inscriptions were discovered at an archeological site called Tel Deir ‘Alla that mention Balaam the seer. They tell of Balaam receiving visions of an impending war of the gods of the region of Gilead, east of the Jordan. This is the exact region in which the Israelites find themselves encamped in chapter 22 of Numbers. The king of the Moabites, Balak is fearful of what the Israelites will do when they come to Moab so he sends for this man, Balaam, who was a renowned divinator and prophet of the gods of the Canaanites. Balak wanted Balaam to practice his magic and conjure a curse against the Israelites and he was willing to pay Balaam handsomely for his services. It is interesting to see that Balaak recognizes that YHWH is behind the success of Israel and ultimately Balaak  is trying to move YHWH to his side. However, YHWH is the covenant God of Israel. This can be seen when we look at how God address Himself to Balaam as Elohim as opposed to YHWH. Balaam calls God by His covenant name, but God does not have this relationship with Balaam or with Balak, who were enemies of His people. To them He is Elohim, the awesome and powerful God of the Universe, not YHWH, the compassionate and faithful covenant God of Israel. God does not permit Balaam’s request to curse His people for they are blessed. God would not do the opposite of what He promised to do for to do so would have violated His covenant with Israel. So then Balaam sent the men away at the command of God. Shortly after, Balak’s servants return and make their request to Balaam again. Balaam’s desire for money compels him to approach God again, even after God denied their initial request. God tells Balaam to go in the morning “if the men have come to call you...but only do what I tell you.” The text says that the next morning Balaam woke up, saddled his donkey and went with Balak’s men. He was so eager to earn money that he didn’t listen to every word of God and wait for the men to call him. Because of this heart of greed and lack of attention to all of God’s instructions God’s anger was kindled against him. This leads to the famous story of Balaam’s talking donkey. God sent the Angel of the LORD to block the path of Balaam who was riding on his donkey. The irony here is that the famous prophet and seer couldn’t see what his donkey could: the Angel of the Lord standing in His way. Through this instance, God humbled Balaam and filled him with fear. Balaam was ready and willing to turn back but God commanded him to continue and speak exactly what God tells him to say; no more and no less. 

ii. Balaam’s First Oracle (22:37-23:12)

38 Balaam said to Balak, “Behold, I have come to you! Have I now any power of my own to speak anything? The word that God puts in my mouth, that must I speak.” 3 And Balaam said to Balak, “Stand beside your burnt offering, and I will go. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet me, and whatever he shows me I will tell you.” And he went to a bare height,4 and God met Balaam. And Balaam said to him, “I have arranged the seven altars and I have offered on each altar a bull and a ram.” 5 And the Lord put a word in Balaam's mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus you shall speak.” “From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ 8  How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? 9 For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”11 And Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I took you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have done nothing but bless them.” 12 And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”Upon arriving in the presence of Balak, Balaam declares that he must only speak the words that God puts in his mouth. Balaam then receives an oracle from God to declare to Balak. In this first prophecy, God declares that Israel cannot be cursed by the foreign nations. They are the seed of Abraham to whom God promised blessing and Abraham an “offspring as the dust of the earth” (). Remember that God’s covenant with Abraham was unconditional. God is bound by His covenant faithfulness to fulfill what He pledged to Abraham. 

iii. Balaam’s Second Oracle (23:13-23:26)

17 And he came to him, and behold, he was standing beside his burnt offering, and the princes of Moab with him. And Balak said to him, “What has the Lord spoken?” 18 And Balaam took up his discourse and said,“Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: 19  God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? 20  Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. 21 He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. 22  God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. 23 For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ 24 Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”25 And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” 26 But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the Lord says, that I must do’?” In Balaam’s second oracle, God declares that what He says, He will do. He is not a liar, like man. He will always be faithful to carry out His promises to bless Israel. God will mercifully forgive Israel of their sin and will not devote them to utter misfortune and abandonment. He informs Balak and the nations that He is their King who is among them. Here God also declares that He is for Israel like a protective ox, ready to destroy and demolish the enemies of His people, like an ox with its horns or a lion devouring its prey. Upon hearing this, Balak was furious that Balaam wouldn’t curse Israel. He begs for Balaam to stop blessing them but Balaam knew the consequence for not saying what God commanded him to say. 

iv. Balaam’s Third Oracle (23:27-24:9)

27 And Balak said to Balaam, “Come now, I will take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God that you may curse them for me from there.”2 And Balaam lifted up his eyes and saw Israel camping tribe by tribe. And the Spirit of God came upon him, 3 and he took up his discourse and said,“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 4  the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 5  How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! 6 Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. 7  Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. 8 God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. 9  He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”Balak foolishly thought that maybe if he took Balaam to a different mountain he would be able to curse Israel - as if a change in scenery could force God to change his mind. God again declared the glorious future of Israel to Balak. Notice how God uses edenic imagery and wording from and 2 to describe the future dwelling places of Israel in the promised land. God also promises a king who will be more powerful than the kings of the Amalakites who were commonly named Agag. The Amalakites were the most prominent and powerful of the desert tribes, but Israel's King will be above them. God promised to bring this King out of Egypt. The prophet Hosea alludes to this when he makes his mesianic prophecy in , “out of Egypt I called my son.”  See in verse 9 that this king will “lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up?” This is a direct quote from Jacob’s prophecy of Judah’s seed in , “Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who dares rouse him?” God is here introducing the nations to the coming King of Israel. The nations will be blessed for blessing the King and cursed for cursing Him when He comes to rule and reign. This is a direct quote from the Abrahamic covenant given in . What is being established here is that the ultimate fulfillment of that covenant will come through the Messiah King. 

v. Balaam’s Fourth Oracle (24:10-25)

10 And Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. 11 Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.” 12 And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, 13 ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? 14 And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”15 And he took up his discourse and said, “The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor,  the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, 16 the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: 17  I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. 18 Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. 19  And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!” 20 Then he looked on Amalek and took up his discourse and said, “Amalek was the first among the nations, but its end is utter destruction.” 21 And he looked on the Kenite, and took up his discourse and said, “Enduring is your dwelling place,  and your nest is set in the rock. 22 Nevertheless, Kain shall be burned when Asshur takes you away captive.” 23 And he took up his discourse and said, “Alas, who shall live when God does this? 24 But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber; and he too shall come to utter destruction.”Balaam’s 4th and final oracle builds on the Messianic message of the previous oracle. This oracle focuses on what will happen in the latter days. This is the first use of the term latter days which refers to the culmination of all history in which the promises of God will be fulfilled to their completion. The prophecy begins with Balaam seeing the coming King who is like a star. In the ancient near east, rising stars were used to describe a rising and powerful king. Not only will this King be a star, He will be a scepter that shall arise. This is a reference to , “The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet,” This again confirms that this coming King will be a descendant of Judah. Moreover, this King shall crush the head of Moab. This is a direct allusion to the promise of , “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall crush your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” This was a promise made of the 2nd Adam, the one who will destroy all the enemies of God including the devil himself. This King that Balaam sees will be the 2nd Adam promised in Genesis. Verse 19 also alludes to Genesis by declaring that this King will exercise dominion. This word for dominion has not been used since which is where God blessed Adam and granted him dominion over all creation. This oracle ends with the prophecies of the destruction of Israel’s neighbors. The nations mentioned will all be defeated in the time of David, but this prophecy will find its ultimate fulfillment in the reign of the 2nd David who will conquer all the nations. Paul looks forward to this time in , “24 Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. 25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26 The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” To review, establishes that there will be a King of Israel who shall arise like a star. He will be the descendant of Judah. He will be the New Adam who will fulfill the promise of and the promises of the Abrahamic Covenant. Lastly, He will conquer all of Israel’s enemies and subdue them under His dominion. 

Questions for Application 

Moses longed for a day when God’s people would be filled with the Holy Spirit. In , we see that that time that Moses has longed for has begun with the church. How does this help you appreciate the gift of being filled with the Holy Spirit that belongs to every believer today? 

What do we learn about the nature of unbelief and doubt of the Israelites? What was at the root of these sins? How can we, as God’s children, avoid falling into doubt and unbelief like them? 

How is faith and repentance pictured in the story of the bronze snake? 

What do we learn about God through His actions towards the sinful and unbelieving Israelites in the Wilderness? ewuil