A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 32 (Part 2)

Numbers 32:16-24—16 Then they came near to him and said: "We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, 17 but we ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." 20 Then Moses said to them: "If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the LORD for the war, 21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the LORD until He has driven out His enemies from before Him, 22 and the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the LORD and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the LORD; and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth." 

It was simple: if the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh wanted to remain in Gilead, they had to cross the Jordan River and fight alongside their brethren. It was only fair. Why should they live in ease while Dan and Issachar and Judah and the rest are fighting for the land that was promised them? But such is the thought of many today: “I will believe in Christ, and take my rest in leisure. I will argue with no one, I will debate no one lest they ask a question I do not know the answer to. That is too hard for me! I will rather stay in my home and never bring up the name of Christ.” Such is the design of the monks, who squirrel themselves away in the cloisters, some even taking a vow of silence. But that is not the pattern for the Christian to follow. We are to stand up for the gospel, and proclaim it to all, whether they will hear us or not, even if they kill us. Matthew 11:12—“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” [literally, “the kingdom of the heavens is being forced and forceful ones are snatching her”]. There is a sister verse to this, Luke 16:16 (Revised Version)—“The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.” The Kingdom of God is not a place we enter into in a laissez-faire manner. The Christian life is not easy. We are beset daily by sin, and must fight against it daily. Will we stumble and fall? Yes, of course we will. We are human and as such we were born with a nature that wants what it wants, and sometimes that flesh will win some battles. So when it comes to facing those sins that seek to ensnare us, we must become violent against them and enter the Kingdom of God with a red hot hatred of sin, and be the violent men and women we should be. Jude said as much, Jude 1:3 (God’s Word Version)—Dear friends, I had intended to write to you about the salvation we share. But something has come up. It demands that I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God's holy people once for all time. Other translations say “contend earnestly for the faith”. Peter tells us to always be ready to give a defense for the hope we have (1st Peter 3:15). Fight for the faith! Don’t be content to live your days in ease in Gilead. Your Father has promised you a better home, and you do not want to fall short of entering it! The old hymn does not say “Onward Christian Daffodils”. Another old hymn is not entitled “A Mighty Beach Chair Is Our God”. No! We are soldiers, and our God is a fortress! And if our adversary, who prowls about like a roaring lion, wants to ensnare us, we must fight against him, and take our position in the Kingdom of God by force if necessary, always fighting for the faith and letting our enemy know that it is by the Word of God that we have our faith, for it tells us of the mighty love and assurance we have in our risen Savior of our eternal life with God! We have been given the victory in Jesus. If we have a victory, there must have been a battle.

 

Am I a soldier of the cross/a foll'wer of the Lamb,

And shall I fear to own His cause/or blush to speak His name?

Must I be carried to the skies/on flow'ry beds of ease,

While others fought to win the prize/and sailed thro' bloody seas?

Are there no foes for me to face?/Must I not stem the flood?

Is this vile world a friend to grace/to help me on to God?

Sure I must fight, if I would reign/increase my courage, Lord!

I'll bear the toil, endure the pain/supported by Thy word.

The saints in all this glorious war/shall conquer, though they die;

They see the triumph from afar/by faith's discerning eye.

When that illustrious day shall rise/and all Thine armies shine

In robes of vict'ry thro' the skies/the glory shall be Thine.

(“Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” by Isaac Watts)    

Numbers 32:25-33—25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: "Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; 27 but your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, just as my lord says." 28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. 29 And Moses said to them: "If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. 30 But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan." 31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: "As the LORD has said to your servants, so we will do. 32 We will cross over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan." 33 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to 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 its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country. 

The attitude of these two-and-a-half tribes could also be described as worry. They worried that there would not be in the land of Canaan any land to graze their flocks and herds. They were worried that God’s promises would not be enough to fulfill their perceived needs. They worried and, in a way, complained against God once again. But do we ever need to worry when it comes to God? If your answer is anything other than “no”, then you do not know God. He provides for all His children. He even cares for the birds and the flowers (Matthew 6:25-30; Luke 12:22-28). David knew this as well. Psalm 37:22-26—22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed. When he was in the city of Nob, and he and his men were hungry, did they not receive the Showbread from the hand of Ahimelech the High Priest? In the Magnificat, how does Mary describe God? Luke 1:50-55—50 “And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, ‘To Abraham and to his seed forever.’” There is no need to fear when it comes to the things God has promised. His promises are “Yes” and “Amen” (2nd Corinthians 1:20). He may not give us the biggest and shiniest of everything. But He will provide what we need. May not be what we want, but it will be what we need. 

Now, if these tribes wanted to live in the lush land of Gilead, they had to fight for it. And if they didn’t fight? “But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” Again, the choice is simple: Fight alongside your brethren and return to Gilead. Or don’t fight and you will be removed from Gilead and join your brethren in Canaan. If they wanted their life of leisure, they had to earn it. If they did not put forth the effort to earn it, they would go to Canaan. But, to their credit, they did go forth with their brethren. They crossed the Jordan River, they fought to capture the land of Canaan, and upholding the word that Moses spoke to them, Joshua released the Reubenite and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to go to the land of Gilead in Joshua 22:1-6—1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. God gave them what they wanted, even though it was not what God intended them to have. 

But He will often do that: when we want something so bad, and we don’t want to trust in the goodness of God, He will sometimes let us have our wants, just to show us that what He had in store for us was much better. This principle is summed up in the Ten Commandments. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What can statues do for you? “You shall not steal…you shall no covet”. What God has given is sufficient; you do not need to swindle from your neighbor his possessions. “You shall not commit adultery.” Is not the wife God has given you good enough? “You shall not murder.” The life of someone who was made in the similitude of God should not be ended by someone for any mundane reason. And how do we sum up the Ten Commandments? Matthew 22:37-40—37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The Ten Commandments—even all the Law and all the Prophets—are summed up in the phrases “You shall love the Lord your God” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Did the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh love the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind and strength? That is questionable. At the very least, they seem to have not trusted Him as well as they should have. They wanted to do things their own way; they wanted to have what was right in front of them instead of waiting on Him to fulfill His promise. But let us never do as they did. May we always remember that what God has promised, He will bring to pass. May we cry out “Onward Christian Soldiers”, and shout “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”! May we not be content to rest in Gilead, but fight in Canaan, for we have been given the victory already by our glorious Lord! I leave you with these words of the inimitable Mr. Spurgeon:

 

An idler is a great waster and makes others, wasters, too—his example is likely to make all around him as indolent as himself. I notice in our Churches that a few earnest men and women lead the way and others are sweetly drawn to follow them. How precious are the earnest few in a Christian community! David knew the value of the first three in his band. But if the leading spirits are dead, cold, indifferent—what happens? Why, lethargy spreads over the whole! I am sorry to say that I hear of instances in which a minister laments, "I labor with all my might, but I am persuaded that nothing will ever be done while Mr. So-and-So is here." He is often a cold-blooded deacon, or a purse-proud member. When you come to know him, you feel, "While there is such a great big iceberg floating close to the shore, the garden by the sea must be frostbitten—nothing can grow." 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 32 (Part 1)

Numbers 32:1-5—1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock." 5 Therefore they said, "If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan." Jazer was a city in the land of Gilead, and Gilead was an area to the east of the Jordan River between the Dead Sea and the Sea of Galilee (known at the time as Sea of Chinnereth), and laid to the south, the west, and the north of the land of Ammon. (Do not think Jazer lent its name to the Al-Jazeera media network, as it is based in Qatar on the Arabian Peninsula.) Gilead was a grandson of Manasseh (see Numbers 26:29; 1st Chronicles 2:23). The land of Gilead is mentioned several times in the Old Testament. 

The first time we read of it is in Genesis 31, where we read about Jacob fleeing from Laban after Jacob had taken all the best cattle from him (Genesis 31:1-25). The next time we read of Gilead is in Genesis 37, when Joseph’s brothers sell him to the Midianites. Joseph was the next-to-last son of Jacob, and Jacob loved him more than his other sons, since he was born in Jacob’s old age. This made Jacob’s other sons jealous, and when Joseph came to them one day in the land of Gilead, they first plotted to kill him, until the words of Judah convinced them to not kill him but rather sell Joseph to the Midianites. This could have been all that we read of Joseph, if God did not use him to save the people of Israel alive. We read in Genesis 37:23-25—23 So it came to pass, when Joseph had come to his brothers, that they stripped Joseph of his tunic, the tunic of many colors that was on him. 24 Then they took him and cast him into a pit. And the pit was empty; there was no water in it. 25 And they sat down to eat a meal. This shows how cold and ruthless the brothers of Joseph were, and how much they hated Joseph. They threw him in a deep, dark pit, which had probably before been a well (And the pit was empty; there was no water in it). And what did they do after this? They sat down to eat a meal. Who could do such a thing? What would harden the heart of someone to the point that they would cast their own brother into a pit then not only sit down, but eat a meal? And while they were eating, what do they see? A band of Ishmaelites—descendants of the son of Abraham who despised Isaac—comes by and they talk about selling him into their hand. So they sold him to foreigners (note—verses 27-28 list both Ishmaelites and Midianites. Midian was another son of Abraham, the fourth son of Abraham with his second wife Keturah. The Midianites and the Ishmaelites were neighbors, both dwelling to the north of the Gulf of Aqaba, between the Arabian Peninsula and the mainland of Asia, to the southeast of modern-day Israel. So it would not be uncommon for them to be in a caravan together), thinking they would never see him again. They sold off their own flesh and blood, then he was loaded up to be carried off to who knows where? Well, God knew where they were taking Joseph. They were taking him to Egypt, where he would eventually be second-in-command to Pharaoh, and his actions would save alive Israel and his other sons, Joseph’s brothers, and all the people with them. 

Joseph would show his brothers that he harbored no ill will toward them when they apologized to him and sought his forgiveness. Genesis 50:15-18—15 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "Perhaps Joseph will hate us, and may actually repay us for all the evil which we did to him." 16 So they sent messengers to Joseph, saying, "Before your father died he commanded, saying, 17 'Thus you shall say to Joseph: "I beg you, please forgive the trespass of your brothers and their sin; for they did evil to you. "' Now, please, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of your father." And Joseph wept when they spoke to him. 18 Then his brothers also went and fell down before his face, and they said, "Behold, we are your servants" (see Genesis 37:5-9). They realized their sin that they sinned against Joseph in selling him into slavery. But they were looking at their actions through human eyes. But God used their actions for his glory. You might even say that God planned these things. After all, they just happened to be in Gilead when Joseph just happened to come along at a certain time and the brothers just happened to throw him in a well and sit down and the band of Ishmaelites and Midianites just happened to come along at just a certain time and… You get the idea. With God, there is no such thing as coincidence. If God has a plan, He will work things to make that plan happen according to His good will and pleasure. 

We read again of Gilead at the end of 1^st Samuel, and the death of King Saul. In 1^st Samuel 31, we read of the battle between the Philistines and Israel. This battle took place on Mount Gilboa, which is located in the land of Gilead. The prophet Samuel has told Saul that the kingdom would be taken away from him because of his offering that was in opposition to what God had commanded (1st Samuel 13:9), saving alive King Agag of the Amalekites and the spoils of that battle (1st Samuel 15:9) and enquiring of the Witch of Endor (1st Samuel 28:8-11). We don’t read much about this battle with the Philistines, only that they shot arrows at Saul which pierced his armor and wounded him grievously (1st Samuel 31:3). Saul would then ask his armor bearer to slay him with his sword, so that Saul may not die at the hand of the uncircumcised Philistines. The armor bearer would not harken to the command of his king, so Saul fell on his own sword and died in Gilead. The Philistines found Saul’s dead body, and strung up his head and his armor in their city. This gave great joy to the enemies of God. But isn’t that always the truth? When a person of God falls, the enemies of God rejoice. Herodias, the daughter-in-law of Herod, rejoiced when she received the head of John the Baptist (see Matthew 14:11; Mark 6:28). 

And like the disciples of John the Baptist who took up the body of their teacher and buried it (see Matthew 14:12; Mark 6:29), the men of Gilead took down the body of Saul from the Philistines and buried it. 1st Samuel 31:11-13—11 Now when the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, 12 all the valiant men arose and traveled all night, and took the body of Saul and the bodies of his sons from the wall of Beth Shan; and they came to Jabesh and burned them there. 13 Then they took their bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh, and fasted seven days. As much wrong as Saul had done, he was still the king chosen by God, and his body deserved to be treated properly. 

David, his successor, knew this, which is why he gave Saul and his sons a proper final burial. 2nd Samuel 21:12-14—12 Then David went and took the bones of Saul, and the bones of Jonathan his son, from the men of Jabesh Gilead who had stolen them from the street of Beth Shan, where the Philistines had hung them up, after the Philistines had struck down Saul in Gilboa. 13 So he brought up the bones of Saul and the bones of Jonathan his son from there; and they gathered the bones of those who had been hanged. 14 They buried the bones of Saul and Jonathan his son in the country of Benjamin in Zelah, in the tomb of Kish his father. David saw Saul, even in his worst actions, as the anointed of God, as did the men of Gilead.

 

In this ignominious fate of Saul there was manifested the righteous judgment of God in consequence of the hardening of his heart. But the love which the citizens of Jabesh displayed in their treatment of the corpses of Saul and his sons, had reference not to the king as rejected by God, but to the king as anointed with the Spirit of Jehovah, and was a practical condemnation, not of the divine judgment which had fallen upon Saul, but of the cruelty of the enemies of Israel and its anointed. For although Saul had waged war almost incessantly against the Philistines, it is not known that in any one of his victories he had ever been guilty of such cruelties towards the conquered and slaughtered foe as could justify this barbarous revenge on the part of the uncircumcised upon his lifeless corpse. (Keil and Delitzsch) 

Numbers 32:6-15—6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: "Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7 Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? 8 Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 So the LORD's anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 'Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.' 13 So the LORD's anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation that had done evil in the sight of the LORD was gone. 14 And look! You have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people." 

While the people of Israel are in Gilead in Numbers, and the last of the people that stood in the way of the people of Israel from entering Canaan had been defeated, all that was left for them to do was to cross over the Jordan River and take the land of Canaan. But the tribes of Gad and Reuben (who would be joined later by a half-tribe of Manasseh) saw that the land would be good for grazing the flocks and herds, and wanted to stay there. They did not want to go over into the land that God had promised them; they wanted to graze their animals in Gilead. They knew what God had promised them, but they did not want that. They wanted a land where they could prosper with their flocks and herds. Much like Lot, who wanted the good land (Genesis 13:10-11), not realizing how that would bring strife to the people of God for centuries to come (for the land he chose included Sodom and Gomorrah, which would be destroyed by God. After this destruction, his daughters would get him drunk and lay with him. The children born of these encounters were Ammon and Moab). And like Lot, they would be surrounded by those who despised YHVH, for this was the land of Bashan, king of the Amorites. And they would meet a not unexpected fate because of this. 1st Chronicles 5:3-26—3 The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel were Hanoch, Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi…6 and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria carried into captivity. He was leader of the Reubenites…9 Eastward they settled as far as the entrance of the wilderness this side of the River Euphrates, because their cattle had multiplied in the land of Gilead. 10 Now in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagrites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the entire area east of Gilead. 11 And the children of Gad dwelt next to them in the land of Bashan as far as Salcah…16 And the Gadites dwelt in Gilead, in Bashan and in its villages, and in all the common-lands of Sharon within their borders…18 The sons of Reuben, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh had forty-four thousand seven hundred and sixty valiant men, men able to bear shield and sword, to shoot with the bow, and skillful in war, who went to war…23 The children of the half-tribe of Manasseh dwelt in the land. Their numbers increased from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir, or Mount Hermon…25 And they were unfaithful to the God of their fathers, and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. 26 So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and the river of Gozan to this day. 

They took their eyes off the promises of God and set their eyes on their immediate perceived needs and their immediate comfort. And because they took their eyes off God and His promises, they were indeed blessed for the time being, as their tribes and their flocks and herds grew, but ultimately they were hamstrung by their perceived needs and their comfort. They thought more about their sheep and their cattle than they thought of God and His promises. The promises of the world are fleeting; the promises of the world are here, right in front of our face, for but a moment, then are dissipated in a vapor, never to be seen again. But the promises of God are eternal, they never change, and they are sure and steadfast. That is the theme of the entire first chapter of 1^st Corinthians. The knowledge of the world is finite; the knowledge of God is infinite. The world is often unfaithful; God is forever faithful. The world is fractioned and divided; God is One. The wisdom of this world is fleeting, vanishing; the wisdom of God is greater, and ever present. The world favors the pretty, the wise, and the mighty. But God… 1st Corinthians 1:27-29—27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen…29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. The tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh didn’t want that ugly old land of Canaan that God had promised. They wanted the lush greenery of Gilead. They didn’t want to fight with and for the people of God, they wanted to lean back and just raise their cattle and their sheep. 

But aren’t we guilty sometimes of the same thing? We don’t want to wake up on a Sunday morning and get the kids ready and shower and shave and get dressed to go hear a speech about the Bible, because that is hard. We want to sleep in; we want to relax and watch TV. We don’t want to read God’s Word, because that is hard. We would rather read a new novel or a comic book. We certainly don’t want to study the Bible, because that can take time away from our social media time. “So was there something wrong with these folks wanting a land that was suitable for grazing their animals?” No, not inherently. For they were not the only tribes to own flocks and herds. But it’s as if they did not trust the promise of God, to bring them into a land flowing with milk and honey. 

And God knows what might have been their portion in the land of Canaan—it might have been even better than what they had in Gilead! 14 “And look! You have risen in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.” In short, these people were complaining because it would be harder to cross the Jordan River and fight the people of the land of Canaan than to just stay where they were. Moses tells them as much, that this was what they wanted. They did not want to do the hard thing that would have given them something better than what they then had. They just wanted to take it easy, no matter how it turned out for the rest of the people. He even tells them that if they stayed where they were they would not turn away from the land they were promised, rather they would turn away from following Him. What was Canaan? It was the Promised Land. Who promised it to them? God. So, while it was not wrong for them to want a land where they could raise their flocks and herds, it was wrong to forego a promise made by God. As we saw before, this was the land of Bashan (land of the Amorites), and they simply stayed there, and did not drive out the inhabitants. These inhabitants worshipped Ba'al and Dagon, and would eventually entice these three tribes to worship these false gods. And because of this, God would raise up Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria, to take them away captive in the year 734BC—12  years before King Ahaz and the northern kingdom of Israel was taken captive and led into exile by Shalmaneser, and a full 147 years before the southern kingdom of Judah was taken captive and led into exile by Nebuchadnezzar.

Part 2 next week

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. 

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 28-30 (Part 2)

Well, I jumped the gun and published Numbers 32 before I finished with Numbers 28 & 30 😕. So here is part 2 of those chapters 

A wife was protected from making a rash vow by the headship of her husband. “But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took…and the LORD will release her.” In those days, women were beholden to their husbands. This is not to say that these women were always innocent, given that these commands were given while the people were still encamped in Moab, and were still threatened with deception by the Moabites (which may have also been taught them by the Moabites), and were learning all kinds of ways of deception. So they could have made a vow, the husbands could conceal this vow, then when the time came for the woman to make good on her vow, her husband could say “This is the first I’ve heard of it. I override her vow”. This would not be acceptable to God. John Calvin writes:

 

For many deceptions might have thus arisen; since it is usual with many when they wish to gratify their wives, to conceal their opinion for the time, but, when the period of actual performance arrives, to elude what may have been promised. But unless they use their privilege in proper time, God would have them bear the punishment of their servile indulgence and dissimulation; but because women are often urged to deceive by their levity and inconstancy, this danger is also anticipated. 

This is not to say that all women are deceitful, or that they make vows that they do not intend to perform. But this is to say that this type of deception was anticipated by God, and He would not hold guiltless those who tried to thus deceive. Not to say that husbands could not attempt to deceive. “13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” Some husbands could hold their peace when their wives made a vow, but if he does not overrule her on the day she made a vow, but lingers along for a time, the vow stands. And what would happen if she did not complete what she had vowed? Then the husband, being her head, would bear the punishment that she should have received. “But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” This caveat not only protected the woman, but laid the onus of fulfilling that vow onto the husband. 

The regulations became a little more tricky when the woman was a widow. 9 “Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her.” If any woman made a vow, that vow still stood even after the death of her husband, if that husband held his peace when she made the oath, she was still bound by that oath. She could not, should she remarry, cast off the vow she vowed simply because she now had a new husband. If she made a vow while still married to her first husband, and that husband did not overrule her, then she was still bound by that vow. 

So what happened if someone did not fulfill their vow? Was there a penalty that could be paid or a sacrifice given? Yes. Leviticus 5:1, 4-7, 13—1 “If a person sins in hearing the utterance of an oath, and is a witness, whether he has seen or known of the matter—if he does not tell it, he bears guilt…4 Or if a person swears, speaking thoughtlessly with his lips to do evil or to do good, whatever it is that a man may pronounce by an oath, and he is unaware of it—when he realizes it, then he shall be guilty in any of these matters. 5 And it shall be, when he is guilty in any of these matters, that he shall confess that he has sinned in that thing; 6 and he shall bring his trespass offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a kid of the goats as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement for him concerning his sin. 7 If he is not able to bring a lamb, then he shall bring to the LORD, for his trespass which he has committed, two turtledoves or two young pigeons: one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering…13 The priest shall make atonement for him, for his sin that he has committed in any of these matters; and it shall be forgiven him.” 

Today, when someone commits a crime, and a person with that group consents to the commission of that crime (either verbally or silently), they are as guilty as the one committing that crime. Depending on their role they can be charged as either an accessory or as an accomplice. I won’t go into all the details of what each of these entail. Suffice it to say that even if they do not participate in the crime, but do not tell of the crime to the proper authorities, they can be charged, convicted and sentenced just as if they themselves had committed the crime. Likewise, if a person heard an oath being made, and the person making the vow reneged on that vow, and they say nothing, they are as guilty as the person making the oath, and they would bear the same guilt as the oath-breaker. King Zedekiah of Judah is a good example of this concept. We read of him in 2^nd Chronicles 36, and he was the last king in Judah before King Nebuchadnezzar took him and the people captive to Babylon. What did he do that was so horrendous that would God allow the people to be taken captive, the city spoiled and the temple burned? 2nd Chronicles 36:12-13—12 He did evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the LORD. 13 And he also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear an oath by God; but he stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. Zedekiah was installed as king by Nebuchadnezzar, after many battles between Babylon and Egypt, with Babylon finally prevailing. He was not a rightful king for Judah. Nebuchadnezzar forced Zedekiah to make a vow to God, and what did Zedekiah do? He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the LORD God of Israel. He reneged on that vow. Does the fact that Zedekiah made the vow under duress change the fact that he vowed to YHVH? No. So he should have completed that vow. But he didn’t. In addition, he allowed the house of God to be defiled, ignored and humiliated those sent by God to turn his heart to God, and filled up the measure of his sin against God, until God had no choice but to allow the nation of Judah to fall into the hands of Nebuchadnezzar for 70 years. 

Today, we would do well to avoid making vows we don’t intend to fulfill. Ecclesiastes 5:4-6—4 When you make a vow to God, do not delay to pay it; for He has no pleasure in fools. Pay what you have vowed—5 Better not to vow than to vow and not pay. 6 Do not let your mouth cause your flesh to sin, nor say before the messenger of God that it was an error. Why should God be angry at your excuse and destroy the work of your hands? Ever hear someone says “I swear to God, if you…”? They have just taken a vow to God. This is another example of the Third Commandment, “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain” (Exodus 20:7). Be careful when you invoke the name of YHVH in swearing or making an oath. The apostle Paul was not rash with the name of God, but he invoked it while making a case that was true. Romans 1:9—For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers. 1st Thessalonians 2:5—For neither at any time did we use flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. The other writers of Scripture also noted that God is a faithful witness. 1st John 5:8-10—8 And there are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree as one. 9 If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater; for this is the witness of God which He has testified of His Son. 10 He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. The examples give credence to another of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:16—“You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” Jesus gave us some good advice about making oaths in His Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:33-37—33 “Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform your oaths to the Lord.' 34 But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne; 35 nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 Nor shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 But let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” When you make a vow, do not go beyond what you can fulfill, lest you become a liar in the eyes of God. If you take an oath to perform more than you can bear—or if your oath is dependent upon someone else fulfilling it—you can become guilty before God (Proverbs 6:1-2). There is One who will swear and will always fulfill. There is One who will always and forever be a true and faithful witness. There is One who will always come through when He makes a promise.

 

Standing on the promises that cannot fail/When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail/Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises of Christ, the Lord/Bound to him eternally by love's strong cord,

Overcoming daily with the Spirit's sword/Standing on the promises of God.

Standing on the promises I cannot fall/List'ning ev'ry moment to the Spirit's call,

Resting in my Savior as my all in all/Standing on the promises of God.

(“Standing on the Promises” by Russell Kelso Carter)

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 28-30 (Part 1)

Numbers 28-29 detail offerings that were to be given at different times during the year. Numbers 28 is a recapitulation of the offerings commanded in Exodus 23:14-17; Exodus 29:38-42; Exodus 31:12-17; and Leviticus 23:1-44. 

Numbers 29:1-6—1 “And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work. For you it is a day of blowing the trumpets. 2 You shall offer a burnt offering as a sweet aroma to the LORD: one young bull, one ram, and seven lambs in their first year, without blemish. 3 Their grain offering shall be fine flour mixed with oil: three-tenths of an ephah for the bull, two-tenths for the ram, 4 and one-tenth for each of the seven lambs; 5 also one kid of the goats as a sin offering, to make atonement for you; 6 besides the burnt offering with its grain offering for the New Moon, the regular burnt offering with its grain offering, and their drink offerings, according to their ordinance, as a sweet aroma, an offering made by fire to the LORD.” 

Numbers 29 outlines the sacrifices which were to be given in the seventh Month of the religious calendar, but the first month of the secular calendar. This is known as the month Tishri. There are many “new years” in Judaism, and they are explained on the website Judaism 101:

 

Judaism has several different "new years," a concept which may seem strange at first, but think of it this way: the American "new year" starts in January, but the new "school year" starts in September, and many businesses have "fiscal years" that start at various times of the year. In Judaism, Nisan 1 is the new year for the purpose of counting the reign of kings and months on the calendar, Elul 1 (in August) is the new year for the tithing of animals, Shevat 15 (in February) is the new year for trees (determining when first fruits can be eaten, etc.), and Tishri 1 (Rosh Hashanah) is the new year for years (when we increase the year number. Sabbatical and Jubilee years begin at this time).

(https://www.jewfaq.org/rosh_hashanah) 

The 1^st  of Tishri was called יוֹם תְּרוּעָה (Yom Teruah, “a day of sounding the shofar”) or what we now know as רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה‎ (Rosh Hashanah, “head of the year”) and is still celebrated by Jews around the world. The month Tishri falls around the Gregorian months of September and October, and the command here to celebrate is an echo of the command given in Leviticus 23:24-25—24 "Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, you shall have a sabbath-rest, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall do no customary work on it; and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD.'" So how is Rosh Hashanah celebrated? 

It is still observed by abstaining from work, and is still treated as sacred and holy by Jews. Another custom is dipping apples (or bread) in honey, as a symbol of the hopes that the new year will be sweet. If bread is used, it is not like the bread we would but in a loaf from a store. This bread is called “challah”, and is a round loaf, as opposed to the oval loaf it is normally made as. The round shape is to symbolize the cycle of life from one year to the next. Prayers are spoken from a prayer book called the Mahzor:

 

The prayer book for the High Holidays is called the Mahzor. Three unique sets of prayers are added to the morning service during Rosh Hashanah. These are known as Malkhuyot, which address the sovereignty of God, Zikhronot, which present God as the one who remembers past deeds, and Shofarot, in which we stand in nervous anticipation of the future.

(https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/rosh-hashanah-101/)

 

 

So are we as Christians, as some claim, to keep this Feast of Trumpets, this Jewish New Year? Are we to keep the feasts outlined in the Old Covenant? No we are not, for they are part of the Law, and Christ has fulfilled them all. Matthew 5:17—“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.” There are some who claim that we are still bound by the Old Testament Law, that we are to follow every jot and tittle of it or we are damned. And they completely miss the work that Jesus did. He has set us free from that Law by fulfilling every requirement of that Law. So they work and labor and sweat for no reason, they deny themselves of different foods, they set their calendars for days and months, they bind themselves up in needless regulations instead of believing what Jesus said, that He fulfilled the Law for us. How many times do we read the words of Paul, that Hebrew of Hebrews, that we are not bound to the Law any longer. Romans 8:1-2—1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. The law could make no man righteous before God, since the Law only pointed to how sinful we are (Galatians 3:11)—it was our guide until it was fulfilled by the only one who could fulfill it (Galatians 3:24-25). Colossians 2:16-17—16  So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths,17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ. Romans 14:4-8—4 Who are you to judge another's servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. 5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. What was Paul’s rebuke of Peter, recorded in Galatians 2? That while Peter was preaching freedom in Christ to the Gentiles, he was leaving them and sitting with the Jews and observing their rules when they came along (Galatians 2:11-21). There are many Peters today—those who claim to love Christ with all their heart, soul, mind and strength, yet deny the freedom He bought for us. They worship Him with their lips, but their heart is far from Him, not believing that He delivered us from a rigid obedience to new moons and Sabbaths. 

“But didn’t Paul says that to the Jews and to those under the Law he became as a Jew and as one under the Law?” But what does the apostle mean by those words? Simply this: that he showed the Jews and those under the Law how the Law pointed to Christ. “But what about when he had Timothy circumcised (Acts 16:3)?” Good question. And John Gill answers it:

 

Wherefore having a mind to take Timothy with him to be assisting to him in the preaching of the Gospel, in point of prudence he thought it proper to circumcise him, that he might be received by them, and be the more acceptable to them; who would otherwise have taken such an offence at him, as not to have heard him: thus the apostle to the Jews became a Jew, that he might gain and save some, for they knew all that his father was a Greek; and that therefore he was not circumcised; for a woman might not circumcise, because she was not a fit subject of circumcision herself; though in case of necessity circumcision by women was allowed of 

Yes, he had Timothy circumcised, but it was not because he felt obligate to under the Law, as the Jerusalem Council had just decided in Acts 15 that it was not necessary to have him circumcised. It was he might by all means save some (1st Corinthians 9:22), that by doing so he might have an audience with them and save some. He did not, as Peter, shrink away from them and live under the Law in front of the Jews, but rather showed them that Timothy was not saved by being circumcised, but that he was saved whether circumcised or not. “So if someone wants to observe Rosh Hashanah, simply because they choose to, are they not saved?” On the contrary.  He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. If one wants to observe it to celebrate the goodness of God and if it helps them in their repentance from sin, then they are free to do so. But let no one lead you to believe that you have to observe it in order to be saved, as he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. Let us now move on to Numbers 30. 

Numbers 30:1-16—1 Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, "This is the thing which the LORD has commanded: 2 If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her. 6 If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her. 9 Also any vow of a widow or a divorced woman, by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. 10 If she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an agreement with an oath, 11 and her husband heard it, and made no response to her and did not overrule her, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement by which she bound herself shall stand. 12 But if her husband truly made them void on the day he heard them, then whatever proceeded from her lips concerning her vows or concerning the agreement binding her, it shall not stand; her husband has made them void, and the LORD will release her. 13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt." 16 These are the statutes which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, and between a father and his daughter in her youth in her father's house. 

“If a man makes a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.” When a person took a vow to the LORD, it was a very serious matter. In the tragic case of Jephthah (Judges 11:30-40), he makes a vow to YHVH that he will sacrifice the first thing that comes to meet him when he returns home. Of course his daughter meets him first, and because of the vow he made to God, he has no choice but to sacrifice her. When the Gibeonites ask Joshua and the people to make a vow to save them from harm (albeit under false pretenses) and they made said vow, they could not go back on it, since they vowed to God (Joshua 9:15-27). Even in the New Testament, we read of Jews who wanted to kill the apostle Paul, that they made a vow to God that they would neither drink nor eat until Paul was dead (Acts 23:12-24). We read there that Paul was secretly taken away safely, but we read no more about the men who bound themselves by their oath. We can only speculate that either (a) they died of thirst and starvation, or (b) they went back on their vow to God. And even today, if we take the witness stand in court, and we swear that we will “tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help you God”. When Presidents are sworn in to office, they take what we call the “Oath of Office”, in which they swear "that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God." Now, in each of these last two cases, these oaths have been broken by some who make these oaths, and they will have to answer to none but God for breaking these oaths. 

3 “Or if a woman makes a vow to the LORD, and binds herself by some agreement while in her father's house in her youth, 4 and her father hears her vow and the agreement by which she has bound herself, and her father holds his peace, then all her vows shall stand, and every agreement with which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father overrules her on the day that he hears, then none of her vows nor her agreements by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the LORD will release her, because her father overruled her.” This passage is speaking of a girl (or woman) who makes a vow while still living under her father’s roof. Her father has the right to uphold or to nullify the vow that she has made. This does not take away the girl’s freedom to make a vow, it simply adds a layer of protection to her, for young women may make a vow rashly and later regret it. But her father can overrule her, if she vowed rashly, and nullify that vow. If, on the other hand, her father deems her vow to be legitimate, he can hold his tongue and allow her vow to stand. “So why isn’t this safeguard there for boys or men living under their father’s roof?” Because under the Law, boys were to be taught the importance of vows under the Law. Deuteronomy 6:6-7—6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” Boys, being taught the Law, were expected to have a firm knowledge of the Law, and everything contained therein, and thus if they made a vow, it was binding upon them and they could not be released from it. 

Girls, on the other hand, were still under the care and protection of their father, and their oath could be abrogated if their fathers decided so. Only he has to decide on the day he hears it. Why? This prevented her from seeing that the vow was too great, and she could not keep it, and the father simply saying, “Well, she can’t keep her vow, so I release her from it.” The same was true in the case of married women and their husbands. 6 “If indeed she takes a husband, while bound by her vows or by a rash utterance from her lips by which she bound herself, 7 and her husband hears it, and makes no response to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her agreements by which she bound herself shall stand. 8 But if her husband overrules her on the day that he hears it, he shall make void her vow which she took and what she uttered with her lips, by which she bound herself, and the LORD will release her…13 Every vow and every binding oath to afflict her soul, her husband may confirm it, or her husband may make it void. 14 Now if her husband makes no response whatever to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all the agreements that bind her; he confirms them, because he made no response to her on the day that he heard them. 15 But if he does make them void after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt.” What are the vows we exchange when we get married? “Do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband…to love, honor, cherish and obey…’til death do you part?” In the eyes of God, when we exchange vows we are making a covenant with God that we will become one flesh with the person and we will stay in that covenant until separated by death (Which is why in a wedding the bride’s family sits on one side and the groom’s on the other, and the couple, once they are married, walks between them, thus ratifying the covenant, as a covenant in olden times was ratified by the slaying and dividing of an animal and the two parties walking between the two halves [see Genesis 15:9-21]). So in the Old Testament, the wife was to be under the care and protection of her husband. Now the husband, being cognizant of the regulations contained in the Law, was on his own when he swore a vow. “If a man makes a vow to the LORD…he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.”

Part 2 next week 

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.