Tag: Lord

48.s. Wilderness – 12.y. “Do not take us across the Jordan.”

 

Num 32:1-18  Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, the land that the LORD struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the LORD has given them? Your fathers did this, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that the LORD had given them. And the LORD’s anger was kindled on that day, and he swore, saying, ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me, none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. And behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel! For if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.” Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

Num 32:23  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.

Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land lately conquered might be allotted to them. Two things common in the world might lead these tribes to make this choice; the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. There was much amiss in the principle they went upon; they consulted their own private convenience more than the public good. Thus to the present time, many seek their own things more than the things of Jesus Christ; and are led by worldly interests and advantages to take up short of the heavenly Canaan. The proposal showed disregard to the land of Canaan, distrust of the Lord’s promise, and unwillingness to encounter the difficulties and dangers of conquering and driving out the inhabitants of that land. Moses is wroth with them. It will becomes any of God’s Israel to sit down unconcerned about the difficult and perilous concerns of their brethren, whether public or personal. He reminds them of the fatal consequences of the unbelief and faint-heartedness of their fathers, when they were, as themselves, just ready to enter Canaan. If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it.

Here is the good effect of plain dealing. Moses, by showing their sin, and the danger of it, brought them to their duty, without murmuring or disputing. All men ought to consider the interests of others as well as their own; the law of love requires us to labour, venture, or suffer for each other as there may be occasion. They propose that their men of war should go ready armed before the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and that they should not return till the conquest of Canaan was ended. Moses grants their request, but he warns them of the danger of breaking their word. If you fail, you sin against the Lord, and not against your brethren only; God will certainly reckon with you for it. Be sure your sin will find you out. Sin will surely find out the sinner sooner or later. It concerns us now to find our sins out, that we may repent of them, and forsake them, lest they find us out to our ruin. (Henry)

48.q. “Wilderness” – 12.w. “Have you let all the women live?”

 

Num 31:14  And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.

Num 31:15  Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live?

Num 31:16  Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.

Num 31:17  Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.

Num 31:18  But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.

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. The female children were spared, who, being brought up among the Israelites, would not tempt them to idolatry. The whole history shows the hatefulness of sin, and the guilt of tempting others; it teaches us to avoid all occasions of evil, and to give no quarter to inward lusts. The women and children were not kept for sinful purposes, but for slaves, a custom every where practised in former times, as to captives. In the course of providence, when famine and plagues visit a nation for sin, children suffer in the common calamity. (Henry)

Treatment of the Prisoners. – When Moses went out to the front of the camp with Eleazar and the princes of the congregation to meet the returning warriors, he was angry with the commanders, because they had left all the women alive, since it was they who had been the cause, at Balaam’s instigation, of the falling away of the Israelites from Jehovah to worship Peor; and he commanded all the male children to be slain, and every woman who had lain with a man, and only the young girls who had hitherto had no connection with a man to be left alive. (Brown)

Moses was angry because the children of Israel failed to see the great danger of sexual immorality and idolatry posed by these women who before had led the men of Israel into these exact sins.  God’s people may be deceived by things that were a threat, but do not seem to be a present danger. The Israelite officers of the army thought these women were safe, but they were more dangerous to Israel than an army of mighty warriors. Israel could overcome mighty warriors if they were spiritually strong; but if they were seduced into immorality and idolatry, they would certainly fall.  We often think of many things as dangerous to us as the people of God – hostile government, secular humanism, academic attack, and so forth. But when God’s people accept things among them that open the door to immorality and idolatry, this can be a much greater danger than any of those other things.

God has the right to judge not only individuals but also communities of all different sizes. Such judgments go beyond punishing individuals for their personal guilt; judgment comes upon the society as a whole, including those who may not be personally and individually guilty (such as children; the little ones). Sometimes God sends these judgments directly (as in the Genesis flood or with Sodom and Gomorrah), and sometimes God sends nations as instruments of His judgment (as with the Assyrians against the northern kingdom of Israel and the Babylonians against the southern kingdom of Judah). In the broader conquest of Canaan, God uniquely used His people (Israel) as that instrument of judgment.

This harsh judgment often makes us uncomfortable but is rooted in both God’s fundamental right to judge (Psalm 9:8, 50:6), and in His merciful granting of much time for people to repent (Genesis 15:16). We can trust that God is a righteous judge (Genesis 18:25, Psalm 7:11). (Guzik)

“For this action I account simply on the principle that God, who is the author and supporter of life, has a right to dispose of it when and how he thinks proper; and the Judge of all the earth can do nothing but what is right.” (Clarke)

 “The nations today are at risk from the judgment of God. This is true whether they acknowledge it or not. One day that judgment will come. At that time there will be no weeping over women and boys who died in ancient Midian three and a half millennia ago; at that time the judgment of God will transcend anything ever written in the harshest Scripture.” (Allen)

48.p. “Wilderness” – 12.v. “They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses”

Num 31:7  They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male.

Num 31:8  They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.

Num 31:9  And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.

Num 31:10  All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,

Num 31:11  and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.

Num 31:12  Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.

There was this material difference between the wars of other nations and those of the Jews, that the former followed the bent of their own passions; whereas the Jews were only the ministers or executioners of divine justice, most evidently appointed to this work by God himself, as he manifested by a train of miracles wrought among and for them, such as had never been known on the earth before. So that no consequence can be deduced from their conduct in their wars, to warrant the like conduct in other people. (Benson)

It is a terrible thing to fall under the vengeance of God. Can you imagine the wrath God has stored up in this time of grace and mercy towards those who have not only rejected God but have also rejected and denied the sacrifice of Jesus Christ for their redemption? Through God’s grace, mercy, and love He has reached out to His creation with an offer of restitution, forgiveness, and salvation – to reject or deny His Son, Jesus Christ, is to say to God; “I don’t need you, I don’t believe in you, I will do as I please, I willfully reject and deny any need of your grace, mercy, and love”. And yet, God in all of His holiness, grace, mercy, and love, and not wanting any to perish and spend eternity in Hell, sent His Son to redeem all mankind if they would but, believe, trust, cling to, rely on, obey, and follow Jesus Christ for their salvation, redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life. 

Judgment, wrath, and anger are reserved but a time is coming when these will be unleashed on mankind. No one will be able to stand against the power and might of God.

48.n. “Wilderness” – 12.t. “Vows of Women”

 

Num 30:3  “If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth,

Num 30:4  and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:6  “If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,

Num 30:7  and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.

Num 30:9  (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)

Num 30:12  But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her.

Num 30:16  These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father’s house.

Significantly, women were able to make vows and have a direct dealing with God. Even young women (with the approval of their father) could make promises to God, vow offerings to Him, or pledge seasons of self-denial to the LORD. “The very fact that women were making vows in this antique age is a step of great significance.” The father of a young woman in such circumstances also had the right to disapprove of his daughter’s vows, and to declare the vow invalid. He could approve of her vow by silence, with silence being understood as agreement. (Guzik)

 But if her father held her back when he heard of it, i.e., forbade her fulfilling it, it was not to stand or remain in force, and Jehovah would forgive her because of her father’s refusal. Obedience to a father stood higher than a self-imposed religious service.(Keil)

 If a husband objected to vows made by his wife, he had the right to overrule her. God considered the wife released from such disapproved vows.  “The husband, as the male authority figure in the relationship, may choose from several courses of action: (1) permit the vow or oath to remain in effect by default—no action, (2) negate the obligation, or (3) affirm the commitment by word or deed.” if the husband confirmed his wife’s vow (either by silence or by specific approval), then he was responsible to make sure the vow was fulfilled (he shall bear her guilt).

That the widow and the divorced woman have the same status regarding the making of vows is significant. Such vows made by a woman not living with her parents and not married to a husband were considered binding. Any vows she made shall stand against her. “A woman who was no longer under the patriarchal authority of her father or her husband, whether by his death or by divorce, possessed the same status and responsibility of a man with regard to vows and obligations.”

This was an outworking of the principle of headship. When God declares someone to be in a position of rightful authority and others are expected to submit to that authority, the head is accountable before God for the result. When God grants authority, He also commands accountability. (Guzik)

“These regulations establish the headship of the father and the husband in regard to matters which belong to religion. And the significance of them lies in this, that no intrusion of the priest is permitted…. the father or husband was the family head and the judge. No countenance whatever is given to any official interference.” (Watson)

48.m. “Wilderness” – 12.s. Men – Vows

 

Num 30:1-2  Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, “This is what the LORD has commanded. If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.

Psalms 56:12     I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.

 Psalms 76:11   Make your vows to the LORD your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,

 Psalms 119:106    I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.

 Job 22:27     You will make your prayer to him, and he will hear you, and you will pay your vows.

 Psalms 22:25     From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him.

 Ecclesiastes 5:4-5   When you vow a vow to God, do not delay paying it, for he has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you vow.  It is better that you should not vow than that you should vow and not pay.

 Psalms 66:13-14    I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will perform my vows to you,  that which my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

 Psalms 50:14    Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and perform your vows to the Most High,

Matthew 5:33-37 Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black. Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

A vow made to God is no small thing. God commanded that His people should be careful to keep their vows and to fulfill every oath they made. Psalm 15:4 describes the godly man as the one who swears to his own hurt and does not change. “Vows either took the form of a promise to give something to God, usually a sacrifice, or a pledge to abstain from something.”  Wenham also notes the common tendency: “But when the crisis passes and the prayer is answered, there is a temptation to forget the vow.”

A commonly overlooked and unappreciated sin among God’s people is the sin of broken vows – promising things to God and failing to live up to the vow. Under the old covenant, it was commanded to make an offering to atone for the breaking of vows (Leviticus 5:4). Therefore, those who honor God:

· Will not be quick to make vows to God, especially unwise vows.

· Will be serious about fulfilling vows that they do make.

· Will regard broken vows as sins to be confessed and to be repented of. (Guzik)

The “vow” was positive; the “bond” negative or restrictive. By a vow a man engaged to dedicate something to God, or to accomplish some work for Him: by a bond he debarred himself from some privilege or enjoyment. A vow involved an obligation to do: a bond. (Barnes)

 If a man vow a vow unto the Lord—A mere secret purpose of the mind was not enough to constitute a vow; it had to be actually expressed in words; and though a purely voluntary act, yet when once the vow was made, the performance of it, like that of every other promise, became an indispensable duty—all the more because, referring to a sacred thing, it could not be neglected without the guilt of prevarication and unfaithfulness to God. (Brown)

If a man vow a vow unto the Lord,…. Which must be in a thing that is lawful to be done, which is not contrary to the revealed will and mind of God, and which may tend to the glory of God, the honour of religion, the service of the sanctuary, the good of a man’s self or of his neighbour; or in things purely indifferent, which may, or may not be done, without offence to God or man; as that he will not eat such a thing for such a time, or he will do this or the other thing, as Jarchi observes; who moreover says, that he may forbid himself what is forbidden, and forbid what is free and lawful; but he may not make free or lawful what is forbidden, that is, he may not vow to do a thing which is contrary to the law of God, such a vow will not stand. (Gill)

I think we sometimes think of vows to God like New Year’s resolutions. In the moment of having a date of starting we make a resolution to do something or to stop doing something with full intent upon completion. The first week may be squarely focused and set in our mind, but then something alters the normality of our life and the resolution is not easily maintained. Soon the resolution is nothing more than words written or spoken and the commitment to continue with unwavering focus is no longer there. 

Vows to God were not resolutions. They were solemn acts of devotion and commitment without a hint of not performing. The thought of not fulfilling a vow to God or to another person was not an option or thought. Vow or not to vow – Jesus Said – “Let your yes be yes, and your no be no”

48.l. “Wilderness” – 12.r. “Appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them”

 

Num 27:12-23  The LORD said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the LORD. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” And Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the LORD directed through Moses.

Moses explained that he did – on some occasion – ask God to relent from His judgment that Moses would never set foot in the land of Canaan. God did not relent, and Moses made himself content with knowing he would see the land and be gathered to His God. God reminded Moses of the reason why he would not be allowed to enter Canaan, because of his sin of misrepresenting God at Meribah. After hearing of his coming fate, Moses did not try to change God’s mind, and he did not complain. His only concern was for the congregation of Israel, for the people, not for himself. (Guzik)

Envious spirits do not love their successors; but Moses was not one of these. We should concern ourselves, both in our prayers and in our endeavours, for the rising generation, that religion may be maintained and advanced, when we are in our graves. God appoints a successor, even Joshua; who had signalized himself by his courage in fighting Amalek, his humility in ministering to Moses, and his faith and sincerity in witnessing against the report of the evil spies. This man God appoints to succeed Moses; a man in whom is the Spirit, the Spirit of grace. He is a good man, fearing God and hating covetousness, and acting from principle. He has the spirit of government; he is fit to do the work and discharge the trusts of his place. He has a spirit of conduct and courage; he had also the Spirit of prophecy. That man is not fully qualified for any service in the church of Christ, who is destitute of the graces and gifts of the Holy Spirit, whatever human abilities he may possess. And in Joshua’s succession we are reminded that the law was given by Moses, who by reason of our transgression could not bring us to heaven; but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, for the salvation of every believer. (Henry)

48.k. “Wilderness” – 12.q. “Moses brought their case before the LORD”

 

Num 27:1-7  Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.” Moses brought their case before the LORD. And the LORD said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.

In the orders for the division of the land, just given, no provision had been made for females, in case of failure of male issue. The five daughters of Zelophehad, therefore, considered themselves as destitute, having neither father nor brother, and being themselves entirely overlooked; and they agreed to refer the case to Moses and the rulers, whether it were not equitable that they should inherit their father’s portion. This led to the enactment of an additional law to the civil code of Israel, which satisfactorily ascertained and amply secured the right of succession in cases of inheritance. This law, which is as reasonable as it is just, stands thus –

1. On the demise of the father, the estate descends to the sons.

2. If there be no son, the daughters succeed.

3. If there be no daughter, the brothers of the deceased inherit.

4. If there be no brethren, or paternal uncles, the estate goes to the grand uncles, or brothers of his father.

5. If there be no grand uncles, then the nearest of kin succeeds to the inheritance.

Beyond this fifth degree the law does not extend, because there must always have been some among the Israelites who could be called kinsmen.

 “For it was a hard case; and though their plea seemed reasonable, yet Moses showed his humility and modesty, that he would not determine it himself without God’s particular direction.” (Poole)

 “Allowing daughters to inherit, where there were no sons in the family, created another problem though. When they married, they would take the family land with them, thus destroying the father’s estate. To deal with this, Numbers 36 brings in additional rules governing the marriage of heiresses.” (Wenham)

These laws were made in anticipation – in faith – of coming into the inheritance of land in Canaan. This was only an issue for the daughters of Zelophehad because they were women of faith, who really believed Israel would possess the land of Canaan. (Guzik)

48.j. “Wilderness” – 12.p. “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel”

 

Num 26:1-4  After the plague, the LORD said to Moses and to Eleazar the son of Aaron, the priest, “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.” And Moses and Eleazar the priest spoke with them in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, “Take a census of the people, from twenty years old and upward,” as the LORD commanded Moses. 

Num 26:53-55  “Among these the land shall be divided for inheritance according to the number of names. To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance; every tribe shall be given its inheritance in proportion to its list.  But the land shall be divided by lot. According to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.

Num 26:64-65  But among these there was not one of those listed by Moses and Aaron the priest, who had listed the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. For the LORD had said of them, “They shall die in the wilderness.” Not one of them was left, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.

Moses did not number the people but when God commanded him. We have here the families registered, as well as the tribes. The total was nearly the same as when numbered at mount Sinai. Notice is here taken of the children of Korah; they died not, as the children of Dathan and Abiram; they seem not to have joined even their own father in rebellion. If we partake not of the sins of sinners, we shall not partake of their plagues.  The execution of the sentence passed on the murmurers, chap. 14:29, is observable. There was not one man numbered now, who was numbered then, but Caleb and Joshua. Here appeared the righteousness of God, and his faithfulness to his threatenings. Especially observe the truth of God, in performing his promise to Caleb and Joshua. Death makes awful havoc of the human species, and causes surprising changes in families and nations; yet all is appointed in perfect wisdom, justice, and truth, by the Lord himself. This should stir us up to think upon the hateful nature of sin, the cause of all these devastations. We should renew our repentance, seek forgiveness, value the salvation of Christ, remember how frail we are, prepare for the summons of death, and fill up our days in serving our generation according to the will of God.(Henry)

Narrow is the gate that leads to righteousness and wide is the road that leads to destruction. Notice only two of the original generation made it to the promised land. Unbelief, grumbling, and rejecting God’s commands had consequences on those who were originally given the promise of a land flowing with milk and honey. They were given a promise but rejected the commands of the promise giver – God. They were given warnings and examples but failed to listen or obey God. 

Eternal life is a promise from God for all who would trust, rely upon, and cling to Jesus Christ for their forgiveness, salvation, and redemption. Likewise, eternal hell is promised for those who reject God’s plan of salvation. 

48.i. “Wilderness” – 12.o. “Because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel”

 

Num 25:10-18  And the LORD said to Moses, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, has turned back my wrath from the people of Israel, in that he was jealous with my jealousy among them, so that I did not consume the people of Israel in my jealousy. Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, and it shall be to him and to his descendants after him the covenant of a perpetual priesthood, because he was jealous for his God and made atonement for the people of Israel.’” The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites. And the name of the Midianite woman who was killed was Cozbi the daughter of Zur, who was the tribal head of a father’s house in Midian. And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Harass the Midianites and strike them down, for they have harassed you with their wiles, with which they beguiled you in the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of the chief of Midian, their sister, who was killed on the day of the plague on account of Peor.”

Phinehas was passionate about the things God was passionate about. In this situation, Phinehas faithfully demonstrated the zeal of God against Israel’s unfaithfulness to their covenant with God. Zimri the son of Salu…. Cozbi the daughter of Zur: These were the names of the previously unnamed (Numbers 25:6, 8) Israelite man and Moabite woman who so publicly and offensively sinned. This naming was to their everlasting shame. Both of them came from fathers who were leaders.

God commanded Israel to show no tolerance towards the Midianites, who played a role in seducing Israel to these sins of immorality and idolatry. Israel was commanded to battle against the Midianites at every opportunity they had.

We read not that any Midianites died of the plague; God punished them with the sword of an enemy, not with the rod of a father. We must set ourselves against whatever is an occasion of sin to us, Mt 5:29,30. Whatever draws us to sin, should be a vexation to us, as a thorn in the flesh. And none will be more surely and severely punished than those who, after Satan’s example, and with his subtlety, tempt others to sin. (Henry)

The hearts and minds of those who reject and deny God are full of evil ideas that find their way into actions. Sometimes these are overt and other times they subtle nudges to get others to follow after their ungodly acts. Much of the time we do not see the evil intents that others have. They know their intents. They know what they are doing is wrong but have given their hearts and minds over to that which is wrong. It is wrong because God has called it wrong. It is wrong because it is fed by evil desires that result in thoughts, words, and actions that do not honor God or His holiness. There is a point of no return, where the hearts and minds of these people are hardened beyond redemption and god gives them over to the lusts of their hearts. We live in a time of mass communication availability. Literally a person can have a thought posted on social media and it can be sent and picked up by millions of views. Evil thoughts and ideas can be spewed out every second of every day. Some of these thoughts try to defend overt acts of unrighteousness and others try to convince with worldly wisdom that their acts are ok to do. Homosexuality, Abortion, Pornography, Transgenderism, Looting and Destruction, Rewriting or Denying Historical Events, Cancelling Opposition, ETC………… All have evil roots and hurt the souls of those who proclaim and defend them. People void of God and the Word of God will be led astray little by little until what would have been totally absurd 5-10 years ago is now defended and common place. It does not matter how many smooth words are used to convince and proclaim wrong thoughts, words, and actions, Wrong is wrong. When God is removed from the hearts and minds of people they will do what seems right in their own eyes to the eternal damning of their souls. God’s Word rightly says, “The fool says in their heart there is no God”. 

48.e. “Wilderness” – 12.k. “Balaam’s Second Oracle”

 

Num 23:11-30  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.” And he answered and said, “Must I not take care to speak what the LORD puts in my mouth?” And Balak said to him, “Please come with me to another place, from which you may see them. You shall see only a fraction of them and shall not see them all. Then curse them for me from there.” And he took him to the field of Zophim, to the top of Pisgah, and built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Stand here beside your burnt offering, while I meet the LORD over there.” And the LORD met Balaam and put a word in his mouth and said, “Return to Balak, and thus shall you speak.” 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?” And Balaam took up his discourse and said, “Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: 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? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. 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. God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!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.” And Balak said to Balaam, “Do not curse them at all, and do not bless them at all.” But Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell you, ‘All that the LORD says, that I must do’?” 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.”  So Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, which overlooks the desert. And Balaam said to Balak, “Build for me here seven altars and prepare for me here seven bulls and seven rams.” And Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

 The king of Moab was understandably disturbed. He paid good money for a curse against Israel, and the prophet blessed them instead. Balaam spoke as a true prophet, but a corrupt prophet. We sense that he was disappointed that he couldn’t please the king who promised him lots of money. Balaam had already told Balak that he could only speak what the LORD told him. Balak wanted to change the word Balaam spoke over Israel from a blessing to a curse. Balak hoped that by changing the place where Balaam stood and changing the perspective he had as he looked out on Israel, then the prophecy would change. Because Balaam seemed so impressed by the size of Israel in the first oracle (Numbers 23:10), Balak thought it was better to put him in a place where he could only see a portion of Israel for the second oracle.

Once again, Balaam could only speak the word that God put in his mouth. Balaam either could not or would not create his own message and claim it was from the LORD simply to please King Balak.

 God is not a man, and can’t be bribed or impressed with riches.

 God does not lie, and He does not change His mind (that He should repent) as man does.

 God always performs His word. If God has spoken, He will perform it.

 God has all strength, and has the power to perform what He promises.

One important feature of the Mosaic covenant was its promise of blessing and cursing (as in Leviticus 26). God promised to bless a generally obedient Israel, and curse a generally or significantly disobedient Israel. When Balaam noted that God had not observed iniquity in Jacob nor has He seen wickedness in Israel, it was a way to say “Therefore, under God’s covenant with them, they will be blessed.” For there is no sorcery against Jacob, nor any divination against Israel: This was a strong and direct way for God to say to Balak (and Balaam), “You can’t curse Israel. Your sorcery can have no effect.” Instead of being defeated by sorcery or divination, Israel was like the lion that will devour its prey.

 Balak was very frustrated and essentially said, “If you can’t curse them, then at least don’t go and bless them!”

Balaam is again presented as corrupt, but not a false messenger or prophet. Balaam’s greed and corruption were not a good example. Balaam simply could not shape God’s message to please his audience. (Guzik)

A person can study Scripture for years and gain much knowledge about them. They can quote them, hang them on the walls in their homes, and even make some decisions about how they interact with others based on them. It is not about knowing scripture but rather knowing Jesus Christ the redeemer and savior of which scripture speaks. Without this godly wisdom, all of the knowledge of scripture is fruitless in a person’s redemption. A person may know of Jesus through scripture but they do not know Him. They may know He is the Son of God, Lamb of God, Redeemer, Savior, and coming again King but they do not know Him.  They have not seen the need for this savior. They have not seen their sin. They have lived in such a way that for all practical reasons, they are a great person void of vises others fall prey to. Yet their heart is void of Jesus Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit. 

Don’t get me wrong, knowing God’s Word, feeding on His Word, desiring to be taught by His Word so that you might live in such a way that continues to grow in a fuller understanding and knowledge of God’s grace, mercy, and love so that you will honor and glorify Jesus Christ in thought, word, and deed – this is not only good but beneficial to our faithful walk to eternity in heaven.