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.
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