Saturday, December 26, 2020

Numbers, chapters 32 through 34, comments: an earthly inheritance for Israel

 

Numbers 32:1 ¶  Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;  2  The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, 3  Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4  Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5  Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. 6  And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 7  And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 8  Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. 9  For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10  And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 11  Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13  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 consumed. 14  And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. 15  For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

 

Numbers 32:16 ¶  And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 17  But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18  We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19  For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. 20  And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 21  And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22  And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24  Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 25  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. 26  Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in

the cities of Gilead: 27  But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.

 

The tribes of Reuben and Gad will take their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan but make a commitment to send their warriors onward to fight alongside of their brethren in Canaan.

 

Numbers 32:28 ¶  So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: 29  And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: 30  But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. 32  We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. 33  And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. 34  And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35  And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 36  And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. 37  And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, 38  And Nebo, and Baalmeon,

(their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded. 39  And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it. 40  And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein. 41  And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair. 42  And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.

 

Numbers, chapter 33

 

Numbers 33:1 ¶  These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. 2  And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out. 3  And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians. 4  For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments. 5  And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth. 6  And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in

Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness. 7  And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baalzephon: and they pitched before Migdol. 8  And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah. 9  And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there. 10  And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. 11  And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin. 12  And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah. 13  And they departed from Dophkah, and

encamped in Alush. 14  And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink. 15  And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai. 16  And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibrothhattaavah. 17  And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth. 18  And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. 19  And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez. 20  And they departed from Rimmonparez, and pitched in Libnah. 21  And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah. 22  And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah. 23  And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher. 24  And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah. 25  And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. 26  And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. 27  And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah. 28  And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah. 29  And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah. 30  And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. 31  And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Benejaakan. 32  And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad. 33  And they went from Horhagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah. 34  And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. 35  And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Eziongaber. 36  And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh. 37  And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom. 38  And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month. 39  And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old

when he died in mount Hor. 40  And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. 41  And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. 42  And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. 43  And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. 44  And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab. 45  And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibongad. 46  And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim. 47  And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo. 48  And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 49  And they

pitched by Jordan, from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim in the plains of Moab.

 

Exodus 17:1 ¶  And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink.

The wilderness or desert of Zin was along by the border of Edom.

Numbers 34:3  Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:

The wilderness of Sin was between Elim and Sinai.

Exodus 16:1  And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt.

The argument is also made that both are the same location which is a contradiction of what the Bible clearly says in the list of wanderings here in Numbers 33:12 and 36.

Numbers 33:50 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 51  Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 52  Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: 53  And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. 54  And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit. 55  But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. 56  Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.

 

Verse 52 reminds us of the way images and idols were worshipped as the Hebrews are ordered to destroy the pictures of the Canaanites, defined by association as molten images of their gods. See other usages of pictures, of course, not referring to photographs or a child’s watercolor painting, or other relatively modern things like a Rembrandt painting unless you are going to worship those things as gods. Do not dumb down the commandments of God just because you don’t like modern art. Fundamentalists do the same thing with persecution in the New Testament when while those people were facing torture and death you gripe because your boss won’t let you put up Leviticus 20:13 in your office booth.

 

Proverbs 25:11  A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.

 

Isaiah 2:16  And upon all the ships of Tarshish, and upon all pleasant pictures.

 

The very physical reality of God’s orders for the Hebrews will come back to haunt them if they do not as commanded. The last line is a chilling threat that what God had planned to do to the cursed Canaanites he will do to Israel if they do not obey.

 

Numbers, chapter 34

 

Numbers 34:1 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2  Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) 3  Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: 4  And your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on to Azmon: 5  And the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. 6  And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. 7  And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: 8  From mount Hor ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: 9  And the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your north border. 10  And ye shall point out your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: 11  And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward: 12  And the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. 13  And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: 14  For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: 15  The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.

 

 

One particularly interesting point, to me anyway, is that while we are tempted to think of the river of Egypt as the Nile River the location of this mentioned river in Numbers 34:5 shows us that this is not so. This is the southern boundary of the land of Canaan. Genesis 15:18 uses the same phrase, the river of Egypt. It is the border of Egyptian domains outright.

 

Joshua 15:4  From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast…47  Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the great sea, and the border thereof:

 

1Kings 8:65  And at that time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days.

 

2Kings 24:7  And the king of Egypt came not again any more out of his land: for the king of Babylon had taken from the river of Egypt unto the river Euphrates all that pertained to the king of Egypt.

 

2Chronicles 7:8  Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt.

 

Numbers 34:16 ¶  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17  These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18  And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. 19  And the names of the men are these: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20  And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21  Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23  The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28  And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. 29  These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.

 

This passage reinforces to me the very, physical nature of God’s chosen people’s kingdom on earth. This direction is specific and these leaders are given a task to perform outlined in the text. The Israelites were put in a very specific location to draw all men to God by the virtue Israel was supposed to have as God’s chosen nation. God showed us that it did not work because of their sin nature and their rebellion. We will see that throughout their history. The Christian has no Christian country to dwell in but there are Christians in every country on earth whose home and loyalty is in heaven. We do not build armies or inherit property as our inheritance is everlasting life and a spiritual dominion. We are ambassadors for the kingdom of God. Trying to model one’s country after the promises given to Israel has created some monstrosities in history and terrible distortions of what the Bible says.

No comments: