A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 22-24 (Part 1)

Numbers 22:1-6—1 Then the children of Israel moved, and camped in the plains of Moab on the side of the Jordan across from Jericho. 2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. 4 So Moab said to the elders of Midian, "Now this company will lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time. 5 Then he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor, which is near the River in the land of the sons of his people, to call him, saying: "Look, a people has come from Egypt. See, they cover the face of the earth, and are settling next to me! 6 Therefore please come at once, curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed." The next three chapters deal with the prophet Balaam, who was sent by Balak, another king of Moab, to curse Israel. Balak had seen how the people of Israel had defeated the armies of southern Moab, as well as Sihon king of the Amorites and Og of Bashan, and decided war with the people of Israel was not his best course of action. And we will see how even the hiring of Balaam did not work out for him the way he intended.

First, let’s clear up one geographical question. Some translations, even some of the better ones, translate verse one in a manner similar to this: Then the people of Israel set out and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho (ESV). This could give the impression that the people crossed the Jordan River and were encamped at Jericho, which was in the land of Canaan. This could thus lead to the question, “If God told Moses he would not enter the Promised Land, then why did he wind up in Jericho, which is in Canaan?” That would be a good question. This is a matter of translation, and there are some translations that render it better than others. The NASB renders Numbers 22:1—Then the sons of Israel journeyed, and camped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan opposite Jericho. The Bishop’s Bible says And the children of Israel departed and pitched in the fieldes of Moab, on the other side of Iordane from Iericho. The God’s Word Bible renders it Then the Israelites moved and set up camp across from Jericho, on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River. Suffice to say, the people of Israel were still on the east side of the Jordan River, in the northern part of the land of Moab. Kinda like Point Roberts, WA. It is part of the state of Washington, and within the borders of the United States. But it is separated from the rest of the state by the Strait of Georgia, and there is no ferry service across the strait. So to get from Point Roberts to Seattle, you must first cross into Canada, then back into the United States. 

 The Expositor’s Bible describes the land:

While a part of the army of Israel was engaged in the campaign against Bashan, the tribes remained "in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho." The topography is given here, as elsewhere, from the point of view of one dwelling in Canaan; and the locality indicated is a level stretch of land, some five or six miles broad, between the river and the hills. In this plain there was ample room for the encampment, while along the Jordan and on the slopes to the east all the produce of field and garden, the spoil of conquest, was at the disposal of the Israelites. They rested therefore, after their long journey, in sight of Canaan, waiting first for the return of the troops, then for the command to advance; and the delay may very likely have extended to several months.

And since they were stationed along the banks of the Jordan River, guess what else they had? WATER! They wouldn’t have to complain about having water, for it was there for the drinking, running, living water! 

2 Now Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 And Moab was exceedingly afraid of the people because they were many, and Moab was sick with dread because of the children of Israel. Just as I said last time about the people of Jericho learning of how mighty was the God who fought for Israel, so first Balak and the people of the Moabite plains were sore afraid of Him. So rather than use a military strategy against them, Balak devised a stratagem based on their following God. He would hire a prophet to curse them and stave off an invasion by Israel. They did, indeed, fear God. There was a fear of God before their eyes. And if they had approached Moses and submitted themselves to YHVH, and kept His commandments, they would have had peace. But how often do those who do not want to submit to God find ways to oppose Him and store up wrath for themselves?

Numbers 22:7-14—7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the diviner's fee in their hand, and they came to Balaam and spoke to him the words of Balak. 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 Then God came to Balaam and said, "Who are these men with you?" 10 So Balaam said to God, "Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, 11 'Look, a people has come out of Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come now, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to overpower them and drive them out.'" 12 And 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 back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you." 14 And the princes of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, "Balaam refuses to come with us." Moab entered league with Midian, a tribe which was located to the southwest of the Dead Sea. The thought, I suppose, was to box Israel in between the two nations and, once (so they thought) the Israelites were cursed, it would be no great things to defeat them. About that whole “cursing Israel” thing…

Balaam was indeed a prophet, even a prophet who was recognized by God. And here we see that Balaam, although a Moabite and hired by the Moabite king to curse Israel, does not initially go against the word of God. The princes of Balak offer him a large sum of money to call down a curse upon Israel. But what is his response, after talking with God? And notice, there is no hint of insolence in Balaam’s words when he is talking with God. He tells the princes "Go back to your land, for the LORD has refused to give me permission to go with you." For any rational human being, this should have been the end of things. But calling Balak rational would not be a correct assessment of his mental state. Had the people of Israel made any kind of threatening movement towards him? No. They were simply hanging out by the Jordan River, waiting to cross it into Canaan. But Balak didn’t care, he wanted them gone. But he was afraid to engage them in combat after they had destroyed Sihon and Og. So now, since Balaam has returned and told him that he could not curse Israel, he starts to panic a bit.

Numbers 22:15-19—15 Then Balak again sent princes, more numerous and more honorable than they. 16 And they came to Balaam and said to him, "Thus says Balak the son of Zippor: 'Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will certainly honor you greatly, and I will do whatever you say to me. Therefore please come, curse this people for me.'" 18 Then Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the word of the LORD my God, to do less or more. 19 Now therefore, please, you also stay here tonight, that I may know what more the LORD will say to me." So after he has told Balak that he cannot curse Israel because God prevented him from doing so, Balak doubles down and sends even more princes and more money to him, in an effort to persuade Balaam to transgress against what God has said. But again, Balaam stands his ground and says even if Balak offered all of his wealth, he cannot go against God. So he tells the princes to stay the night with him again while he goes and talks to God. And I suppose Balaam could have sent away the princes and been done with the whole matter, but we see how he equivocates and even (perhaps) hopes that God will give him a different word. As if he was perhaps double-minded.  James 1:8 (KJV)—A double minded man is unstable in all his ways. And Balaam will find that out next.

Numbers 22:20-22—20 And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, "If the men come to call you, rise and go with them; but only the word which I speak to you—that you shall do." 21 So Balaam rose in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the princes of Moab. 22 Then God's anger was aroused because he went, and the Angel of the LORD took His stand in the way as an adversary against him. And he was riding on his donkey, and his two servants were with him. Now this is a confusing passage. In verse 19 God says to Balaam to go with the princes, then in verse 20 He is angry because he went with the princes. So something must have happened between God telling him to go with the princes and him actually going with the princes. The best hypotheses I have seen say that in this meantime Balaam took the money from the princes and this was the reason for God’s anger. Which would make sense of 3 New Testament verses which paint Balaam in a less-than-favorable light. 2nd Peter 2:15—They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness.  Jude 1:11—Woe to them! For they have gone in the way of Cain, have run greedily in the error of Balaam for profit, and perished in the rebellion of Korah. Revelation 2:14—“But I have a few things against you [the church at Pergamos], because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality.” FB Meyer wrote that:

If only Balaam had abided by his first answer to Balak’s request, he would have been saved from the disgrace and suffering which ensued. But he seemed to think that it was possible to alter God’s mind; hence his request to the second company of messengers that they give him time to ascertain God’s will. Already that will had been clearly made known to him; what object had he in pressing for a further response? When, finally, he was told that he might go, he rose up in the morning, saddled his ass, and started post-haste. He was trying to serve two masters-to speak as God bade him, but to please Balak and pocket his gold. How many agencies God uses to arrest our evil courses! Peter specially refers to this incident. Many cries are raised to stop the boat that is caught in the rapids above Niagara! Thus the way of transgressors is made hard by the love of God!

CI Scofield:

In Numbers 22:12 the directive will of Jehovah is made known to Balaam, in Numbers 22:20 Jehovah’s permissive will. The prophet is now free to go, but knows the true mind of the Lord about it. The matter is wholly one between Jehovah and His servant. The permission of Numbers 22:20 really constitutes a testing of Balaam. He chose the path of self-will and self- advantage, and Jehovah could not but gravely disapprove. The whole scene, Numbers 22:22-35 prepared Balaam for what was to follow.

So yes, God allowed him to go, but did not want him to go. He already had his answer once, but allowed himself to be played along with wealth. How many times does God need to say something for it to be true? But he stepped further away from the commands that God had given him. It is no different for many people today, who creep away from the fences God has put up to keep us away from sin. Hebrews 1:13-2:1—1 But to which of the angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? 14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?  2:1 Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. Let us always hold fast the words given to us, lest we slide away, by little and little, away from the goodness of God.

Numbers 22:23-33—23 Now the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand, and the donkey turned aside out of the way and went into the field. So Balaam struck the donkey to turn her back onto the road. 24 Then the Angel of the LORD stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on this side and a wall on that side. 25 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she pushed herself against the wall and crushed Balaam's foot against the wall; so he struck her again. 26 Then the Angel of the LORD went further, and stood in a narrow place where there was no way to turn either to the right hand or to the left. 27 And when the donkey saw the Angel of the LORD, she lay down under Balaam; so Balaam's anger was aroused, 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 abused me. I wish there were a sword in my hand, for now I would kill you!" 30 So the donkey said to Balaam, "Am I not your donkey on which you have ridden, ever since I became yours, to this day? Was I ever disposed to do this to you?" And he said, "No." 31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat 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 stand against you, because your way is perverse before Me. 33 The donkey saw Me and turned aside from Me these three times. If she had not turned aside from Me, surely I would also have killed you by now, and let her live." 

Do you not find it odd that Balaam answered his donkey when it spoke to him as if it were a natural thing? Think about it. You’re riding along the path on your donkey, it bucks against you, so you strike it. Then the third time you strike it, the donkey turns around and begins talking to you. And you answer! This is one of those places where the skeptic discards the Bible. “A talking donkey! And in Genesis a talking snake?? Nope, not gonna believe this! Next thing you’re gonna tell me an angel slew 200,000 soldiers in one night!” That is because they do not want to believe in a God that can do things in His Creation that we as humans do not understand.

Neil deGrasse Tyson is probably the most famous scientist of our day. And although he does not classify himself as an atheist (he calls himself an agnostic) and consistently argues against the existence of God. He has said in the past, “‘God’ is an ever-receding pocket of scientific ignorance that's getting smaller and smaller and smaller as time moves on.’” But did the scientists like Michael Faraday and Johannes Kepler not believe in God simply because they were scientists? No. Kepler wrote, “The chief aim of all investigations of the external world should be to discover the rational order and harmony which has been imposed on it by God and which He revealed to us in the language of mathematics.” These were men upon whose shoulders Neil deGrasse Tyson purports to stand. But he says of them, “They [scientists of centuries past] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations, however, God gets hardly a mention.” Almost mocking them for their faith. But that’s what he does. But these men knew the truth and sounded forth the truth of Psalm 19:1—The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. But alas, The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God" (Psalm 14:1). And here is Balaam arguing with his donkey, knowing that it was God who was speaking through his donkey. And let us remember the words of our Lord. Luke 19:39-40—39 And some of the Pharisees called to Him from the crowd, "Teacher, rebuke Your disciples." 40 But He answered and said to them, "I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out." And you could say the donkey was smarter than Balaam in this instance. The donkey saw the Angel of the Lord, and bowed himself to it. Well did Isaiah say in Isaiah 1:3—“The ox knows its owner and the donkey its master's crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider.”

But we could probably cut Balaam some slack as he did not see the Angel in the road. Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the Angel of the LORD standing in the way with His drawn sword in His hand; and he bowed his head and fell flat on his face. How many times do we see in the Scriptures that God opens people’s eyes to see what is right in front of them. When Jesus is sitting with the two travelers on the road to Emmaus, and He is talking with them, and they do not know that it is Him, we see in Luke 24:30-31—30 Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. God hid Balaam’s eyes from seeing the Angel until the appropriate time. And when his eyes were opened he realized the wrong he had done. Numbers 22:34-35—34 And Balaam said to the Angel of the LORD, "I have sinned, for I did not know You stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it displeases You, I will turn back." 35 Then the Angel of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but only the word that I speak to you, that you shall speak." So Balaam went with the princes of Balak. God repeats what He told Balaam when Balaam went with the princes of Moab. Only this time, Balaam knew better. Kinda like when God called Jonah to go preach to Nineveh, and instead the prophet got on a boat headed to Spain. God sent a great fish that swallowed him up, took him back to where he started from and spit him out onto the dry land. And what did God say to Jonah once the fish spit him out? Jonah 3:2—"Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you."

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 21 (Part 2)

Numbers 21:21-26—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 fields or vineyards; we will not drink water from wells. 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. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. 24 Then Israel defeated him with the edge of the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon; for the border of the people of Ammon was fortified. 25 So Israel took all these cities, and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. So the people are on the border of Moab and the Amorites. They need to continue northward to the land to which God has called them. To do so they must pass through the land of the Amorites. Now to take a little side trip, the term “Amorites” is a bit tricky, as there is not a land named “Amor” as there is Moab or Edom. If you look back at verse 13, it mentions that the Arnon River is the border between Moab and the Amorites. This is because the Amorites were an amalgamation of people of the Babylonian empire. If you look to find a region called “Amor” or anything similar, you will not find it. According to the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia:

 

Assyriological discovery has explained the varying use of the name. The Hebrew form of it is a transliteration of the Babylonian Amurrū, which was both singular and plural. In the age of Abraham the Amurru were the dominant people in western Asia; hence Syria and Palestine were called by the Babylonians “the land of the Amorites”… The use of the name “Amorite” in its general sense belongs to the Babylonian period of oriental history.

 

(https://timeintheword.org/2017/03/09/warning-moab-and-ammon/)

At any rate, the people of Israel need to pass through this land to get to their ultimate destination. But there is a problem. Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. Once again the people are rebuffed from passing peacefully through a particular piece of land (see Numbers 20:20-21). But this time things are different. Whereas when Edom refused them passage and the people simply went around that land, here a battle is engaged. So Sihon gathered all his people together and went out against Israel in the wilderness, and he came to Jahaz and fought against Israel. Why would Sihon do this? In part to (at least partly) fulfill what God said in Genesis 15:13-16—13 Then He said to Abram: "Know certainly that your descendants will be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and will serve them, and they will afflict them four hundred years. 14 And also the nation whom they serve I will judge; afterward they shall come out with great possessions. 15 Now as for you, you shall go to your fathers in peace; you shall be buried at a good old age. 16 But in the fourth generation they shall return here, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete." Here we see God give a prophecy to Abram that his descendants would dwell in Egypt as sojourners, would serve them for 400 years, that God would judge Egypt, and in the fourth generation after they leave Egypt they would return to the land of the Amorites. And this delay would be because the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete. Which answers the inevitable question, “Why would God lead them to lands where they would have to fight?” Why would He do that? So that the iniquity of the Amorites would be completed. Why would God command Jeremiah to prophesy, knowing he would be cast into a deep well? Why would God lead Paul to Lystra and Derbe, where he would be stoned with stones to within an inch of his life? Why would He lead the remaining Apostles to lands where He knew they would be martyred? Why would He lead Jim Elliott to the Waodoni people, knowing he would die before he would ever meet them? 

First, so His gospel could be proclaimed. Second, to fill up the iniquity of those who oppose Him. Matthew 23:31-32—31 “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers' guilt.” The Pharisees had many more sins to commit before they had finished filling the cup that their father began with. There is, for each one who is opposed to God, a measure of guilt they must fulfill. And this measure must be filled. And God will leave these people on the earth until this measure is filled. “But that’s not fair! That’s not the God I worship! The God I believe in wants everyone to be saved, and would never want anyone to sin!” Well, that may be the god you worship, but that is not the God of Scripture. God says many times, from Genesis to Revelation, that there are measures of sin that must be fulfilled. Revelation 14:18-19—18 And another angel came out from the altar, who had power over fire, and he cried with a loud cry to him who had the sharp sickle, saying, "Thrust in your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for her grapes are fully ripe." 19 So the angel thrust his sickle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth, and threw it into the great winepress of the wrath of God. What does the angel mean when he says “the grapes are fully ripe” but that the sinners have filled their cup with sin to the measure which God has decreed, and the time has come for them to be gathered and cast into the winepress of God to receive their eternal due? 

And here we see the onset of the kings of the Amorites completing the measure of their sin. First by Sihon, then by Og od Bashan. Numbers 21:33-35—33 And they turned and went up by the way to Bashan. So Og king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Do not fear him, for I have delivered him into your hand, with all his people and his land; and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon." 35 So they defeated him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left him; and they took possession of his land. I'm skipping ahead a few verses, but we will come back to those verses in just a bit. In the Old Testament we see Sihon and Og mentioned together in the same verse 9 times. These were the two kings of the Amorites who tried to destroy the people of Israel when all they wanted was to pass through the land. And it was because of the defiance of Og that the iniquity of the Amorites was completed, their cities destroyed, and all their people killed. As Matthew Henry wrote in his Concise Commentary, Those not awakened by the judgments of God on others, ripen for the like judgments on themselves. Og had not learned from the defeat of Sihon; he thought himself and his soldiers better than these pesky slaves. And he learned the hard way—as did all the people “What do you mean ‘all the people’? Do you mean women and children as well?” Yes, women and children as well. For they were not spared when God commanded the people of Israel to destroy a people. Deuteronomy 3:3, 6—3 “So the LORD our God also delivered into our hands Og king of Bashan, with all his people, and we attacked him until he had no survivors remaining…6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we did to Sihon king of Heshbon, utterly destroying the men, women, and children of every city.” Was this destruction any worse than the eternal fate that awaited them? These were women of peoples that were opposed to God and worshipped idols. The children, had they grown to adulthood, would have also worshipped those same idols. “How do you know that God wouldn’t deliver them the way He did Rahab or Ruth?” Well, He didn’t. Which speaks to the election by God. He saved some from their heathen people and the damnation they would have experienced. But others He didn’t. Why? His election and purpose. 

Even the people of Jericho were not as brazen as Og. Did the people of Jericho go out to battle the people of Israel as they marched around the city? They indeed tried to capture the two spies, but as the people were led by the Levites around the city, did their men go out with swords against them?  Joshua 2:9-10—9 and [Rahab] said to the men: “I know that the LORD has given you the land, that the terror of you has fallen on us, and that all the inhabitants of the land are fainthearted because of you. 10 For we have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og, whom you utterly destroyed. No, the people of the city were terrified of them. Then Joshua fit the Battle of Jericho, and the walls came a-tumblin’ down! 

One last thing about this passage. Then Israel…took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as the people of Ammon. The Ammonites and the Moabites were descendants of Lot. After God rescued them from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the daughters of Lot were under the assumption that they and their father were the last people on Earth, and it was up to them to repopulate the planet. So they got their father drunk and took advantage of him. Genesis 19:36-38—36 Thus both the daughters of Lot were with child by their father. 37 The firstborn bore a son and called his name Moab; he is the father of the Moabites to this day. 38 And the younger, she also bore a son and called his name Ben-Ammi; he is the father of the people of Ammon to this day. God had delivered Lot from the sinful city, only to see his wife look back fondly and turn into a pillar of salt, and for his daughters to conceive children by him who would grow into two nations that were enemies of the people of God. Both of these tribes settled in the area we now call Jordan. Both of these peoples were assimilated into the Roman population by the time of Christ’s arrival. The city of Amman, that capital of Jordan, derives its name from them, as they lived mostly in the northern part of modern-day Jordan. 

And the Moabites? Well, one of them is an ancestor of Jesus. Ruth 1:3-4—3 Then Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died; and she was left, and her two sons. 4 Now they took wives of the women of Moab: the name of the one was Orpah, and the name of the other Ruth. Matthew 1:5-6—5 Boaz begot Obed by Ruth, Obed begot Jesse, 6 and Jesse begot David the king. Ruth, the Moabitess, was the grandmother of King David. “But how could this be, when it says in Deuteronomy 23:3—‘An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter the assembly of the LORD; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the assembly of the LORD forever.’?” This is one of those places where you have to put it in context and look at how it was written in its original language. In the Hebrew, the words “Moabite” and “Ammonite” are in the masculine form. In other words, Israelitish women were prohibited from marrying Moabitish or Ammonitish men, but Israelitish men could marry Moabitish or Ammonitish women. This was to meant to keep the Israelitish stock pure, since children were considered to be descended from the father, and to have the father be of a heathen nation would be an abomination to God. John Gill:

 

 An Ammonite or Moabite shall not enter into the congregation of the Lord…Or marry an Israelitish woman, as Jarchi, and so the Targum of Jonathan, "the male Ammonites and Moabites are not fit to take a wife of the congregation of the Lord;'' for the Jews restrain this to men, because it is, as Aben Ezra observes, an Ammonite, not an Ammonitess, a Moabite, not a Moabitess; they allow that females of those nations might be married to Israelites, that is, provided they were proselytesses, as Ruth was.

Numbers 21:26-32—26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and had taken all his land from his hand as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore those who speak in proverbs say: "Come to Heshbon, let it be built; let the city of Sihon be repaired. 28 For fire went out from Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon; it consumed Ar of Moab, the lords of the heights of the Arnon. 29 Woe to you, Moab! You have perished, O people of Chemosh! He has given his sons as fugitives, and his daughters into captivity, to Sihon king of the Amorites. 30 But we have shot at them; Heshbon has perished as far as Dibon. Then we laid waste as far as Nophah, which reaches to Medeba." 31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites. 32 Then Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its villages and drove out the Amorites who were there. Verses 27-30 is a song sung by the people of Israel after they defeated Sihon. It is a song of almost mockery, as the song went up that Chemosh, the god of the Moab could do nothing to protect the Moabites from the people that YHVH fought for. This is a common theme throughout the Old Testament, that the gods of the pagans are helpless against the one, true, Living God. Because they are mute idols, unable to stand before the one true God.

 

(https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=2685112991572544&set=pcb.2685123044904872)

When the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant, they set it next to their idol Dagon, thinking they would just add one more god to their collection. But, alas! 1st Samuel 5:2-4—2 When the Philistines took the ark of God, they brought it into the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. 3 And when the people of Ashdod arose early in the morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the earth before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set it in its place again. 4 And when they arose early the next morning, there was Dagon, fallen on its face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. The head of Dagon and both the palms of its hands were broken off on the threshold; only Dagon's torso was left of it. 

The ten plagues that were visited upon Egypt under Pharaoh were God’s way of saying their gods were useless. And let us not forget the challenge of Elijah against the prophets of Ba'al atop Mount Carmel. They cut up their sacrifice, they gouged themselves, they danced and cried all day for a god who would not answer. I like the way the ESV renders 1st Kings 18:26-29—26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, "Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened." 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. Did Elijah feel pity for them? Did he sympathize with them? Did he offer them any relief? No. And for good reason. Paul would write that we should avoid those who bring a different message than belief in YHVH. Galatians 1:8—But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge says this about calling on gods who cannot hear and who cannot answer:

 

Such were the absurd and degrading notions which the heathens entertained of their gods. "Vishnoo sleeps four months in the year; and to each of the gods some particular business is assigned. Vayoo manages the winds; Vuroonu the waters, etc. According to a number of fables in the Pooranus, the gods are often out on journeys or expeditions." Ward's Views of the Hindoos, vol. ii. p. 324.

Jeremiah the prophet warns the people about making for themselves idols of wood that are powerless to do anything to affect their lives. Jeremiah 10:3-6—3 For the customs of the peoples are futile; for one cuts a tree from the forest, the work of the hands of the workman, with the ax. 4 They decorate it with silver and gold; they fasten it with nails and hammers so that it will not topple. 5 They are upright, like a palm tree, and they cannot speak; they must be carried, because they cannot go by themselves. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, nor can they do any good, 6 Inasmuch as there is none like You, O LORD (You are great, and Your name is great in might).” And no, he wasn’t talking about Christmas trees! 

Even today we have some who set up dumb idols and ascribe to them the attributes of Almighty God. Look in any Roman Catholic “church” and you will find there idolatry. Statues of Mary with candles and incense before them. Names of dead saints upon the doorposts. Prayers being said to those who cannot hear them and can effect no change in the person’s circumstances. Strings of beads to remind the people of what they are supposed to ask of the one who is indeed worthy of our gratitude but can in no wise do anything for the people who chant her name in vain. This idolatry is found not only here in the United States, but in Mexico, in South America, in Italy and many other countries where they cut down a tree, decorate it with silver and gold, and fasten nails and hammer it so it does not topple. They worship bones and pieces of wood. John Calvin, in his “Treatise on Relics”, famously said “In some places there are large fragments of Christ’s cross, as at the Holy Chapel in Paris, at Poitiers, and at Rome, where a good-sized crucifix is said to have been made of it. In brief, if all the pieces that could be found were collected together, they would make a big ship-load.” And they “venerate”—believe it or not—what they believe to be Jesus’ foreskin. And so many are swept up into this idolatry because it has marks and appearances of holiness. But Paul warned Timothy of this. In 2nd Timothy 3:5 he warns us that there will be those who will have the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. And the robes and the vestments and the stained glass all look so holy and religious. But do they address prayers to God? Do they ask Him for forgiveness for their sins? Do they call upon Him to deliver them from evil? Is their Rosary to guide them to God through Jesus Christ our Lord? No. They are no different than the people of Moab who called upon Chemosh to ask him for victory over the Israelites. 

Lord God, Almighty Creator of Heaven and Earth. Please guide our hearts to worship You and You alone. Let us not put our trust in those who cannot hear our prayers, but let our prayers rise to You, that You may hear our petitions and supplications, You being the only One who can hear them. Let us look unto Christ, the Author and Finisher of faith, not depending on our own merit or our own works, which we do not do in order to be saved, but because we are saved. May we always look to You to be our Guide and our Help in the difficult times, and our Joy and Peace in the good times.

 

 Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 21 (Part 1)

 

                    (https://i0.wp.com/www.biblestudywithrandy.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/arad.gif?ssl=1)                   

Numbers 21:1-3—1 The king of Arad, the Canaanite, who dwelt in the South, heard that Israel was coming on the road to Atharim. Then he fought against Israel and took some of them prisoners. 2 So Israel made a vow to the LORD, and said, "If You will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities." 3 And the LORD listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities. So the name of that place was called Hormah. The people have lost their High Priest Aaron, they have mourned for thirty days, and now they are attacked for simply travelling. Let’s look at a couple of the names here. Arad was a city in the southern part of Canaan, making this the first conflict the people had in the Promised Land. Atharim was not a city; the Hebrew הָאֲתָרִים means, literally, “spies”. In fact, verse 1 is better translated in the ESV When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim… or the KJV And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies… So they were going up the same route the spies took in Numbers 13. So The Canaanite king heard they were coming up the same way the 12 went up before, he sent his army out against them and took some of them captives. Then Hormah (חָרְמָה, “devoted”). We saw back in Numbers 14 after the Israelites’ failed attempt to take the land after complaining about the spies’ report. Numbers 14:45—Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah. So what we see here is this: The king of Arad fought against the Israelites, who were coming up the same way as the spies in Numbers 13 and defeated them. The people of Israel, who were slowly learning to trust in the Lord (though not fully, as we will see in a bit) called upon the Lord to deliver this people into their hands—something they should have done before instead of going into battle in their own strength—and this time they defeated the Canaanites and devoted the land to destruction. 

I said the people trusted the Lord but not fully. We see that in the next few verses. Numbers 21:4-9—4 Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the soul of the people became very discouraged 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 our soul loathes this worthless bread." 6 So the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. 7 Therefore 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 Then the LORD said to Moses, "Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and it shall be that everyone who is bitten, when he looks at it, shall live." 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. We see, yet again, the people complaining. They wanted God to win their military battles for them, but they did not want to live their lives in accordance with His will. Much like the people in Israel at the time of Christ. They wanted a Messiah who would cast off the shackles of Rome from their feet, but not one who would show them how to live according to God’s will.

 

(https://biblicalanthropology.blogspot.com/2020/11/tracing-israelites-travels.html)

Then they journeyed from Mount Hor by the Way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. This would be a long and treacherous journey. And the people did have some right to be discouraged. After all, they had to return south to the Red Sea then go around the land of Edom in order to go north again. This would have added hundreds of miles to their journey. And the land they were trekking through did not have food or water in amounts to sustain the people. So they get a little perturbed and lash out at God and Moses for their troubles. But aren’t we often guilty of that very thing? Don’t we often lash out at God because He puts some kind of obstacle in our lives? We want the road to be smooth and easy, yet God makes it more difficult than we want it to be. And we get mad because our happy little life we wanted for ourselves isn’t so happy for a season. Instead of complaining, we should be trusting God to get us through the very obstacle He has put up. 

Don’t be discouraged by these words, my friend, because the Apostle Paul endured the same thing. 2nd Corinthians 12:7—And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Saul of Tarsus was living what many would call “the good life”. He had position, wealth, etc. Everything a person could want. But he did not know Christ. Then Christ met him on the road, and his life got turned upside down. He went from being well-respected among his Jewish peers to being nearly killed by them. But God saw him through it. And Paul could have bragged about it. But rather than allowing him to do so, God put something in his life to teach him humility. A thorn in the flesh. And Paul didn’t like that, 2nd Corinthians 12:8—Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. But just to show Paul that He is who He says He is, Christ tells him in 2nd Corinthians 12:9—"My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." And that is what God was trying to teach these stubborn Israelites. That He is most glorified when He brings them through trials, and He is more able to display His power by leading them through these difficulties. 

But they didn’t want to learn this way. They wanted to go the easy way. They wanted the well-watered plains like Lot. So they complained…yet again. So how does God respond? He sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many of the people of Israel died. They sinned by complaining against God, so God punished them. The words translated as “fiery serpents” is the Hebrew הַנְּחָשִׁים הַשְּׂרָפִים (saraph nahas, “fiery serpents”).We get “seraphim” from saraph. The seraphim of course are angels, like what Isaiah saw in Isaiah 6:1-2—1 In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings… So these serpents were sent by God to bite the people and kill them for their insolence. And what was their only remedy?  So Moses made a bronze serpent, and put it on a pole; and so it was, if a serpent had bitten anyone, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived. To look on the serpent that was lifted up. Think about this for a minute. They were being pursued by things that could kill them, and to avoid death they had to look upon the thing that was like those things. 

Centuries later, that bronze serpent still existed and had never been done away with. Unfortunately, it was being used as a talisman or an idol. 2nd Kings 18:4—He [Hezekiah] removed the high places and broke the sacred pillars, cut down the wooden image and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made; for until those days the children of Israel burned incense to it, and called it Nehushtan. By the time of Hezekiah’s reign the worship of God was falling apart, and the people had resorted to worshipping not only Ba'al and Asherah, but also the very thing that saved the people’s lives in the wilderness. They viewed it as a sort of good luck charm; much like the people did the Ark of the Covenant in 1^st Samuel 4. They did not see it as simply a tool God used to glorify Himself among the people, but they viewed it as God Himself. Don’t think the worship of icons ended there, as the Romanists have done so with the saints and with the Virgin Mary. They build altars to them, they light candles before them, they offer up prayers to them instead of to the only One who can bring true life. They affix crucifixes to the wall and bow to them, thinking they are doing some great reverence to God, when they are simply carrying on the idol worship that Hezekiah threw down. And don’t think this is limited to the Romanists. We Protestants too often set up pastors and teachers as objects of, if not outright worship, then at least near-worship. Written by Joseph Exell in the 19^th Century, The Biblical Illustrator has shed light on the Scriptures for many, and does so here. This is what he has to say about the people’s idolatry that Hezekiah threw down:

 

There is much idol-breaking to be done in the Church of God. When God gives a man to the Church, fitted for her enlargement, for her establishment, and her confirmation, he gives to her one of the richest blessings of the covenant of grace; but the danger is lest we place the man in the wrong position, and look to him not only with the respect which is due to him as God’s ambassador, but with some degree of—I must call it so—superstitious reliance upon his authority and ability. In the Christian Church there is, I am afraid, at this moment too much exaltation of talent and dependence upon education, I mean especially in reference to ministers. Just the same also may be said of human eloquence. Continuing still our remarks with regard to the Christian Church, I will further remark that much superstition may require to be broken down amongst us in reference to a rigid adhesion to certain modes of Christian service. We have tried to propagate the truth in a certain way, and the Lord has blessed us in it, and therefore we venerate the mode and the plan, and forget that the Holy Spirit is a free Spirit.

Bring that into the future by a few more centuries. We are constantly being pursued by sin. As God told Cain, “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it” (Genesis 4:7). The desire of these fiery serpents was for the people. The desire of sin is you. But as they ruled over the serpents by looking at the one that was lifted up on a pole, so do we rule over sin by the One who was lifted up on a tree. The one who was made like the sin that pursues us. Jesus was made sin by God by having had placed upon Him the sins of His elect. 2nd Corinthians 5:21—He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. By His one sacrifice, and by believing in the One who made that one sacrifice, by looking to the Author and Finisher of faith (Hebrews 12:2), we can rule over the sin that pursues us. It was for this reason that our Savior told Nicodemus “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14). And again He says “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself” (John 12:32). “Are you comparing Jesus to a serpent, or sin?” No, but I am saying He was made like that sin. Galatians 3:13—Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. And all we have to do is look to Him, call upon Him, and we will not die the second death because of the sin that pursues us! “But it takes more than faith. Have you not read that James said faith without works is dead?” Of course I have. And I have written about it here. 

Numbers 21:10-20—10 Now the children of Israel moved on and camped in Oboth. 11 And they journeyed from Oboth and camped at Ije Abarim, in the wilderness which is east of Moab, toward the sunrise. 12 From there they moved and camped in the Valley of Zered. 13 From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: "Waheb in Suphah, the brooks of the Arnon, 15 and the slope of the brooks that reaches to the dwelling of Ar, and lies on the border of Moab." 16 From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." 17 Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it—18 the well the leaders sank, dug by the nation's nobles, by the lawgiver, with their staves." And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth, in the valley that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah which looks down on the wasteland.

 

(https://www.bibleodyssey.org/map-gallery/moab-map/) 

Okay, so there are several places here, the majority of which we will not concern ourselves with, but some we will. From there they moved and camped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness that extends from the border of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. The Arnon is a river that begins in the desert east of the Dead Sea, begins flowing in a northerly direction, then empties into the Dead Sea. Today it is referred to as the Wady Mujib. A wady is an Arabic term for a geographical feature in the Middle East that we would call an “intermittent river”—during the dry seasons it is a dry bed, but flows with water in the other seasons. So two things we can gather from this is (1) they must have crossed during the dry season so as not to be swept away by the current, and (2) they must have crossed in a place where the Arnon was flowing northward, as the Arnon Valley becomes a steep-walled ravine once it makes its turn westward. Moab laid to the south of the Arnon and the Amorites to the north of it. This will become more important in the next few verses following this passage. Currently, however, it still functions as a boundary between two governorates in the nation of Jordan, the Karak and the Madaba Governorates.

 

(https://biblehub.com/atlas/full/valley_of_the_arnon.htm#google_vignette) 

14 Therefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: "Waheb in Suphah, the brooks of the Arnon, 15 and the slope of the brooks that reaches to the dwelling of Ar, and lies on the border of Moab." What exactly is this “Book of the Wars of the LORD”? Well, that is a mystery. Many Jewish scholars believe it to be a book of songs sung by the Israelites that were written down to commemorate His victories for the people of Israel over her enemies. Professor Edward Greenstein writes (https://www.thetorah.com/article/what-was-the-book-of-the-wars-of-the-lord) :

 

Abraham Ibn Ezra (1089-1167) in his commentary suggested that the reference is to an ancient and now lost written source describing the various battles fought by the Israelites against their enemies. R. Joseph Bechor Shor (12^th cent.) and Ralbag (R. Levi ben Gershom, 1288-1344) offer the same understanding. That this document is a collection of war and victory songs in which the deity is the hero is also shared by modern scholars such as Jacob Milgrom and Yitzhak Avishur in their Olam HaTanach commentary (ad loc.), and Philip Budd in his Word Bible Commentary (ad loc.) [See, e.g., Philip J. Budd, Numbers (Word Biblical Commentary; Waco, TX: Word, 1984), pp. 238-39.]

We do know that it is mentioned in the extra-biblical and non-canonical Book of Jasher, and is thought to have been compiled by Moses and Joshua. Alas, it is lost to us today. Whatever it was it does give us some insight into how the Pentateuch was formed. It was not a scroll that Moses carried around and wrote down when something happened. It was put together at a later date using smaller written pieces and some oral tradition. Should this be concerning to us? No. For we know that God spoke to the authors of Scripture what to write (2nd Timothy 3:16). If the Bible was nothing but a fabrication of man, it would have included more—and in some places, less—than what we have. But God (I love that phrase!) led the writers of Holy Scripture what to include and what to leave out. 

16 From there they went to Beer, which is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people together, and I will give them water." 17 Then Israel sang this song: "Spring up, O well! All of you sing to it—18 the well the leaders sank, dug by the nation's nobles, by the lawgiver, with their staves." (Verse 18, KJV—The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves). This place Beer (בְּאֵרָה, a well) is not to be confused with Beer-la-hai-roi (בְּאֵר לַחַי רֹאִי, Well of the Living One Seeing Me) mentioned in Genesis as the place where Hagar fled from Sarai. This Beer the people are at now is to the east of the Dead Sea, whereas Beer-la-hai-roi was located to the west of the Dead Sea, between Kadesh and Bered (Genesis 16:14). So they are at a place called “A Well” and they sing a song of celebration, which may also be evidence that they were here in the dry season. And rather than have to have Moses call upon God to provide a miraculous stream of water from the rock or the dry ground, God has already supplied their water from a well. So who are the nation’s nobles referred to here in verse 18? Is it the leaders of Israel, namely Moses and Aaron? Is it the nobles of the land of Moab, or the Amorites? I believe this was dug by the people of Israel by order of Moses from God. This is really the first time when the people have complained about the lack of water, done something about it themselves, and been happy about it.

Part 2 next week

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.