A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 20 (Part 2)

The hostility between the Israelites and the Edomites would last for years, until at last King David put Edom under Israel’s control. 2nd Samuel 8:14—He also put garrisons in Edom; throughout all Edom he put garrisons, and all the Edomites became David's servants. But, again, as we see in so much of Israel’s history, this too did not last. For we read in 2nd Kings 8 that Joram becomes king of Israel (this was after Israel and Judah split), and Joram was a king after the ways of Ahab his father, and did not do what was right in the sight of God. And he attacked Edom, after Edom established a king for themselves. 2nd Kings 8:21-22—21 So Joram went to Zair, and all his chariots with him. Then he rose by night and attacked the Edomites who had surrounded him and the captains of the chariots; and the troops fled to their tents. 22 Thus Edom has been in revolt against Judah's authority to this day. For Edom’s rebellion, God sent word by way of the prophet in Ezekiel 25:12-14—12 “‘Thus says the Lord GOD: "Because of what Edom did against the house of Judah by taking vengeance, and has greatly offended by avenging itself on them," 13 therefore thus says the Lord GOD: "I will also stretch out My hand against Edom, cut off man and beast from it, and make it desolate from Teman; Dedan shall fall by the sword. 14 I will lay My vengeance on Edom by the hand of My people Israel, that they may do in Edom according to My anger and according to My fury; and they shall know My vengeance," says the Lord GOD.’”

This tension between the people of Edom and the people of Israel continued for many years. It got to the point that God gave His prophets messages to give to the people concerning Edom. Obadiah 1:18—“The house of Jacob shall be a fire, and the house of Joseph a flame; but the house of Esau shall be stubble; they shall kindle them and devour them, and no survivor shall remain of the house of Esau,” for the LORD has spoken. Malachi 1:2-4—2 "I have loved you," says the LORD. "Yet you say, 'In what way have You loved us?' Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" says the LORD. "Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 but Esau I have hated, and laid waste his mountains and his heritage for the jackals of the wilderness." 4 Even though Edom has said, "We have been impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places," thus says the LORD of hosts: “They may build, but I will throw down; they shall be called the Territory of Wickedness, and the people against whom the LORD will have indignation forever.” And God finally dealt the death blow to the land of Edom, although we don’t read about it in any of the canonical books of Scripture, but in the Apocryphal book of 1st Maccabees 5:3—Then Judas [Maccabee] fought against the children of Esau in Idumea, and them that were in Acrabathane: because they beset the Israelites round about, and he made a great slaughter of them. While Judas Maccabee may have been the overall ruler of the people, the military campaign against the Edomites was carried out by a man named John Hyrcanus. He led the battle and subdued the Edomites circa 120 BC. The victory was such that they forced the men of Edom to be circumcised and become Jews. Flavius Josephus writes in his Antiquities of the Jews (Book 13, chapter 9):

Hyrcanus took also Dora and Marissa, cities of Idumea, and subdued all the Idumeans; and permitted them to stay in that country, if they would circumcise their genitals, and make use of the laws of the Jews; and they were so desirous of living in the country of their forefathers, that they submitted to the use of circumcision, and of the rest of the Jewish ways of living; at which time therefore this befell them, that they were hereafter no other than Jews.

Unfortunately, this was not the last we heard from the Edomites, for a man was born in Idumea, whose father was an Edomite, and he would come to be king over the Jews. The man’s name was Herod. Yes, Herod the Great, who was king at the time of Jesus’ birth, was an Edomite, as were his sons. Which may explain why the Herods were so incensed that the child born in Bethlehem was celebrated as King of the Jews. “So how does an Edomite wind up being King over Israel?” Remember, at the time of Jesus’ birth Judea was under Roman occupation. And Herod was a very shrewd man. He was also a friend of Rome. And he was wealthy. Wealthy enough to buy the kingdom. Josephus (Antiquities, Book 14, chapter 14):

[Mark Antony] was very ready to give him [Herod] the assistance he desired, and this because he called to mind the friendship he had had with Antipater because Herod offered him money to make him king, as he had formerly given it him to make him tetrarch, and chiefly because of his hatred to Antigo he was very ready to give him the assistance he desired, and this because he called to mind the friendship he had had with Antipater because Herod offered him money to make him king, as he had formerly given it him to make him tetrarch, and chiefly because of his hatred to Antigonus; for he took him to be a seditious person, and an enemy to the Romans… And this was the principal instance of Antony’s affection for Herod, that he not only procured him a kingdom which he did not expect, (for he did not come with an intention to ask the kingdom for himself, which he did not suppose the Romans would grant him, who used to bestow it on some of the royal family, but intended to desire it for his wife’s brother, who was grandson by his father to Aristobulus, and to Hyrcanus by his mother,) but that he procured it for him so suddenly, that he obtained what he did not expect, and departed out of Italy in so few days as seven in all…when the senate was dissolved, Antony and Caesar went out of the senate house with Herod between them, and with the consuls and other magistrates before them, in order to offer sacrifices, and to lay up their decrees in the capitol. Antony also feasted Herod the first day of his reign. And thus did this man receive the kingdom, having obtained it on the hundred and eighty-fourth Olympiad, when Caius Domitius Calvinus was consul the second time, and Caius Asinius Pollio [the first time].

In fact, the entire family was in Rome’s back pocket. No wonder Christ referred to Herod Antipas as “that fox” in Luke 13:32!

Numbers 20:20-29—20 Then he said, "You shall not pass through." So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. 22 Now the children of Israel, the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor. 23 And the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron in Mount Hor by the border of the land of Edom, saying: 24 "Aaron shall be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you rebelled against My word at the water of Meribah. 25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to Mount Hor; 26 and strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; for Aaron shall be gathered to his people and die there." 27 So Moses did just as the LORD commanded, and they went up to Mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation. 28 Moses stripped Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain. 29 Now when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, all the house of Israel mourned for Aaron thirty days.

Again, this Aaron, who was the first high priest over the people of Israel, gets a very short notice of his death. So as we took a brief glimpse at the life of Miriam at the beginning of the chapter, let us end the chapter by examining the life of Aaron. He was three years old when Moses was born (Exodus 7:7), and we first see his name mentioned in Exodus 4:14 when God tells Moses that Aaron will be his mouthpiece, since Moses expressed reluctance at speaking to Pharaoh. And we see Aaron called a prophet by God in Exodus 7:1—So the LORD said to Moses: “See, I have made you as God to Pharaoh, and Aaron your brother shall be your prophet.” And most times when you see Aaron mentioned, Moses is mentioned with him. That is how closely these two were knit together. They are mentioned together 295 times. It is Aaron who cast down his rod at Pharaoh’s feet and it became a serpent (Exodus 7:10). It is Aaron who took his rod and smote the waters of the Nile to turn them to blood (Exodus 7:20). It was Aaron who, with his rod, smote the dust and turned it into lice (Exodus 8:17). So many times Aaron was faithful to do the commands of God and to glorify Him in Pharaoh’s sight. However…

In Exodus 32 we see just how human Aaron was. Moses is up on Mount Sinai as God is giving him the law for the people. He is up there 40 days and 40 nights. The people start wondering if he is going to come back down. They have not seen God, only the smoke and the fire on the mountain. But in Egypt, they could see Ra. They could see Osiris. They could see Isis. But they could not see יהוה‎. And since their leader is on the mountain, they turn to the one they believe to be the second in command, that being Aaron. They want a god that will lead them, and more specifically a god they can see. Exodus 32:1—Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him." And in the same way that Adam did not correct Eve when she took and ate of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, so Aaron does not correct the people of their folly here. Rather, Aaron said to them, "Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me" (Exodus 32:2). This man that God used so many times in speaking to and against Pharaoh had now cast in his lot with the people who were so fondly reminiscing of the gods they had in Egypt. They had forgotten יהוה and now wanted a god they could touch and see and feel. Abraham knew the God he could not see (Genesis 13:4). Isaac knew the invisible God (Genesis 25:21). Jacob knew God (Genesis 28:13). Joseph knew God (Genesis 39:4).

But now these people had been in servitude to Egypt and Pharaoh for 430 years, and had forgotten the name of God, and only knew of the dumb idols worshipped by Egypt. Aaron, who should have corrected the people and given them hope in the Living God, instead went along with their foolishness and made a golden calf. And it happened in the most peculiar manner! Exodus 32:24—And I said to them, 'Whoever has any gold, let them break it off.' So they gave it to me, and I cast it into the fire, and this calf came out." Yep, just threw all the precious metal into the fire and *POOF!* This fully formed calf miraculously popped out! Not only that, he laid the charge at the people’s feet (Exodus 32:22-23). If this sounds familiar, it should. Genesis 3:12—"The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree." Both Aaron and Adam were in position to prevent grievous sin, and instead of doing so they brought the sin full circle (see also Exodus 32:25).

And this is why Jesus is our better High Priest, one who is fully submitted to the will of the Father, and who has never disobeyed nor has even thought of being disobedient. Hebrews 9:26-28—26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people's, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever. The Levitical priests were set apart from their brethren, but Jesus was set apart from all Creation, as He did no sin, nor was guile found in His Mouth (1st Peter 2:22; Isaiah 53:9). He would not have fashioned the Golden Calf simply by the whims of the people; He would not have quarreled with Moses about who was greater. In fact, He calmed such a spirit among His apostles. Matthew 20:26-27—26 “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. 27 And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave.” As humble as Moses was, our Great High Priest was even more humble, and humbled Himself to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8). May we be as humble as He, and serve one another in love. 

Brother, let me be your servant/Let me be as Christ to you.

Pray that I might have the grace/To let you be my servant, too.

We are pilgrims on a journey/We are brothers on the road.

We are here to help each other/Walk the mile and bear the load.

 I will hold the Christ-light for you/In the night time of your fear.

I will hold my hand out to you/ Speak the peace you long to hear.

(“The Servant’s Song”, Richard Gillard)

The next important event in Aaron’s life is when he strives, along with Miriam, against the leadership of Moses due to Moses’ Ethiopian wife (Numbers 12:1). Now we see here in Numbers 20 that Aaron is about to die and his mantle passed to his son Eleazar. We will see God make a covenant with the house of Eleazar in Numbers 25, so we will not go into that now. Let us focus for a moment on Mount Hor. It was, according to most experts, to the northeast of Kadesh, on the edge of the land of Edom (but not within its boundaries), in the land of what we now call Jordan near the city of Petra. There is another site that some have thought to be this Mount Hor, and its location is near the Israel-Egypt border (the position of historian Henry Clay Turnbull), while yet another hypothesis says it is near Medina in Saudi Arabia. Most evidence points to the Petra location. We will read of yet another Mount Hor in Numbers 34, but we will address that when we get there. At any rate, it is only mentioned a few times in the book of Numbers, and nowhere else in Scripture. It is only noteworthy as the place where Aaron died and was buried. But, as they have done so often throughout their history, this was appropriated by the Muslims, who built a mosque at its summit atop an old Byzantine church.

So we see at the beginning of Numbers 20 Moses’ sister dies, and at the end of the chapter his brother dies. Most men would have thrown in the towel and called on God to choose someone else to take his position. But not Moses. He was a most humble man (Numbers 12:3), fully submitted to the will of God and whatever He had planned for his life. As we should be.

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 20 (Part 1)

So in Numbers 16 we read about the rebellion of Korah and Dathan and how they were destroyed for their insolence. In Numbers 17 we read about how God showed that Aaron was High Priest as decreed by God. In Numbers 18 we saw the sacrifices the priests were to bring to purify the priesthood following the rebellion. In Numbers 19 we saw the commands concerning the red heifer. And no we read Numbers 20:1—Then the children of Israel, the whole congregation, came into the Wilderness of Zin in the first month, and the people stayed in Kadesh; and Miriam died there and was buried there. Wait, what? That’s it? That is all we read about the death of Moses’ sister? That she died and was buried? Let’s see some more about the life of Miriam. 

The name Miriam (מִרְיָם) is Hebrew for “rebellion”. And this name fit the woman well, for we see from the earliest account of her life that Miriam played a vital role in rescuing Moses from the death prescribed by Pharaoh and helping Israel escape the servitude the people were in. Had she not been there at the time when Pharaoh’s sister was bathing, and had she not convinced Pharaoh’s sister to keep the child alive, the people would not have been delivered from the hand of Pharaoh. So she was actually responsible for Moses even being alive to lead the people of Israel.  We first see Miriam in the second chapter of Exodus. Exodus 2:1-9—1 And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. 2 So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. 3 But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river's bank. 4 And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him. 5 Then the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river. And her maidens walked along the riverside; and when she saw the ark among the reeds, she sent her maid to get it. 6 And when she opened it, she saw the child, and behold, the baby wept. So she had compassion on him, and said, "This is one of the Hebrews' children." 7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh's daughter, "Shall I go and call a nurse for you from the Hebrew women, that she may nurse the child for you?" 8 And Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Go." So the maiden went and called the child's mother. 9 Then Pharaoh's daughter said to her, "Take this child away and nurse him for me, and I will give you your wages." So the woman took the child and nursed him. 

But did the people think her to be their deliverer? Did they erect altars to her, to call on her as their deliverer? No. The people were not to follow her or to revere her more highly than they ought. The same can be said of the virgin Mary, whose name in Hebrew would also be “Miriam”. Yet she did not rebel, but rather submitted to the will of God in bearing the One who would lead us out of our servitude to sin. Was she important? Yes, and to say otherwise would be folly. But she, like Miriam, should not be elevated above her station. 

The next time we see Miriam is at the other side of the Red Sea, after it had parted and the people of Israel walked across on dry land, and the Egyptians who pursued them were swallowed up by the waters. Exodus 15:20-21—20 Then Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took the timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. 21 And Miriam answered them: "Sing to the LORD, For He has triumphed gloriously! The horse and its rider He has thrown into the sea!" This is called the “Song of Miriam”. Some claim that the “Song of the Sea” (Exodus 15:1-18) was also sung (and perhaps led) by Miriam, and there may be some evidence in the Dead Sea Scrolls that support this position. The evidence is limited, so we will not delve further into it, as it would only be speculation. Then we next find Miriam complaining with Aaron about Moses’ position as prophet and her being cursed by God with leprosy in Numbers 12, which we have already seen. And now we read about her death and burial. It is interesting to note that when we do read about Miriam there is almost always water involved. When Moses, as a baby, is set upon the water; after the parting of the Red Sea; and here in Numbers 20. Here we see water surrounding the events of her life (and death) as well. Numbers 20:2-5—2 Now there was no water for the congregation; so they gathered together against Moses and Aaron. 3 And the people contended with Moses and spoke, saying: "If only we had died when our brethren died before the LORD! 4 Why have you brought up the assembly of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our animals should die here? 5 And why have you made us come up out of Egypt, to bring us to this evil place? It is not a place of grain or figs or vines or pomegranates; nor is there any water to drink." This is almost an echo of what happened after the parting of the Red Sea and the drowning of the Egyptian military in Exodus 15:23-24, when the people complained because of the bitter waters of Marah. The Wilderness of Zin is indeed a desert, located in the northeast section of the Sinai Peninsula, about halfway between Paran and Canaan. At this point, the people sound like your kids when you take them on a long trip and they keep asking “Are we there yet?” No, the people were not yet in the Promised Land, but—as they have been told before—they were getting there. 

(https://www.thetorah.com/article/solving-the-problem-of-kadesh-in-the-wilderness-of-paran)

They were at a place called Kadesh Barnea. Now, allow me to do some explaining here, because it can get tricky. We also read of a place called Meribah Kadesh—this is, from everything I have read, the same place. The word “Meribah” (וּמְרִיבָה) is Hebrew for “strife” or “contention”, and “Kadesh” (קָדֵשׁ) is simply the name given to the area. It was also called “Massah” (מַסָּה, “temptation” or “testing”) by Moses in Exodus 17:7. So, we have Massah, and Meribah Kadesh, and Kadesh Barnea, which are all the name of the same place. It was where the people of Israel were when the twelve spies came back from Canaan in Numbers 13:26. So why the different names? Well, in those days, people and places were given names according to their chief characteristic. The name “Moses” (מֹשֶׁה, Hebrew “Moshe”) means “drawn”, corresponding to his being drawn from the water. Exodus 2:10—So she called his name Moses, saying, “Because I drew him out of the water.” Kadesh received the names “Meribah” and “Massah” in Exodus 17:7 because the people complained against Moses for the lack of water. So he called the name of the place Massah and Meribah, because of the contention of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, "Is the LORD among us or not?" We will see in Numbers 32 the name Kadesh Barnea as the name of the place.

So this is not the first time the people have been here, and like the first time, the people complained about the lack of water. Only this time, the results are different than before. In Exodus 17:6, when the people complain about having no water, God commands Moses to strike the rock. Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. This time, God commands Moses to speak to the rock. Numbers 20:8-9—8 "Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." 9 So Moses took the rod from before the LORD as He commanded him. So far so good. God commanded Moses to take his rod in his hand, which Moses does obediently. But here is where Moses defies God, and his frustration with the people boils over, and his obedience is incomplete. If he had only spoken to the rock as God commanded, all would have been okay. But he didn’t. As you have noticed throughout the book of Numbers, the people complained a lot. Their complaining even irritated Moses a bit in Numbers 11, and in response he cried out to God in Numbers 11:11—“Why have You afflicted Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all these people on me?” This was almost a plea of desperation, borne out of his inability to give the people what they wanted. And it was almost a question of whether he was really the one to lead these people. Yes, he was a humble man (Numbers 12:3), but his humility made him almost too humble. And at that time, God was patient with him.

But now, his humility gave way to anger, and instead of being a tender shepherd coming to them with a staff to lead them, he came to them with a rod to rebuke them in anger. Numbers 20:10-13—10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock; and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels! Must we bring water for you out of this rock?" 11 Then Moses lifted his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. 12 Then the LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe Me, to hallow Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." 13 This was the water of Meribah, because the children of Israel contended with the LORD, and He was hallowed among them. It wasn’t because of Moses striking the rock that God told him to speak to that he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land. The striking of the rock was simply the outward display of what was inside him. Does God say “because you struck the rock you will not enter Canaan”? No. "Because you did not believe Me…you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them." His striking the rock was a manifestation of his unbelief. Yes, it may have been a momentary bout of unbelief, but Moses was not an ordinary man. He was the prophet of God to the people, and should have never had even a moment of unbelief. Thus, he was not allowed to lead the people into Canaan. He could lead them to the border, but not into the land itself.

“Just for one moment of weakness?” Yes, for even this moment of weakness welling up into anger. For he, being a prophet of God, had the responsibility of leading the people and displaying for them the qualities God desires in His people. Consider the Prophet who was like unto him (Deuteronomy 18:15). Imagine if He had a moment of unbelief. Imagine if He let His emotions get the better of Him. “But what about when Jesus flipped over the tables in the Temple (Matthew 21:12; Mark 11:15; John 2:15)?” Yes, let’s consider that. Did Jesus do that out of anger? Yes. Was His anger swift and did He simply lose His temper? No, on the contrary. He was very deliberate in His anger. John 2:14-15—14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the money changers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers' money and overturned the tables. The Apostle tells us in his account that our Lord had time to braid a whip of cords; He had time to think about what He was doing. And He did so, not out of a quick flash of temper, but out of a desire for purity in the house where God had put His name. John 2:17—Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." His desire for the holiness of God to be upheld was what drove Him to flip the tables and to cast out the money-changers. In Moses’ case, he was simply angry, and did contrary to what God commanded him to do. And if God didn’t punish him, what kind of message would this send to the people? But His punishing of Moses caused the people to fear Him and He was hallowed among them.

Psalm 106:32-33—32 They angered Him also at the waters of strife, so that it went ill with Moses on account of them; 33 because they rebelled against His Spirit, so that he spoke rashly with his lips. Another way to look at it is this: It is possible that Moses was not striking just any rock, but it could be that He was striking the Rock--Christ. “Okay, you lost me with this one.” Please, hear me out.  1st Corinthians 10:1-4—1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. “But rock is a fixed thing, and now we are supposed to believe that the rock was Christ and walked along with them?” Not quite. It is true, rock—bedrock, πετρα (petra)—is fixed and immoveable. And it did not so much as move, but stayed fixed with them, and so it could be said to “follow” them. And water came out abundantly, and the congregation and their animals drank. “So you’re saying that Jesus was a literal rock?” In a way. For the water came flowing out of the rock. And if you remember what we said in Numbers 19 about flowing water, how it was also called “living water”, and remember what Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:14, It is not a stretch to say that Jesus, who told the woman that He would give living water to any who asked, also provided the people of Israel with this living water. Joseph Benson said, “A manifest type of him, the Rock of ages, who, being smitten in his death and sufferings, poured forth streams of redemption, grace, and heavenly blessings, which follow his people through all this wilderness, and will end in rivers of pleasure at the right hand of God for ever.” The living water Christ gives is not like what the people in the desert drank, or what the woman was drawing up from the well, and thirsted again. He gives us living water which will never run dry!

Numbers 20:14-21—14 Now Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. "Thus says your brother Israel: 'You know all the hardship that has befallen us, 15 how our fathers went down to Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians afflicted us and our fathers. 16 When we cried out to the LORD, He heard our voice and sent the Angel and brought us up out of Egypt; now here we are in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your border. 17 Please let us pass through your country. We will not pass through fields or vineyards, nor will we drink water from wells; we will go along the King's Highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand or to the left until we have passed through your territory.'" 18 Then Edom said to him, "You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword." 19 So the children of Israel said to him, "We will go by the Highway, and if I or my livestock drink any of your water, then I will pay for it; let me only pass through on foot, nothing more." 20 Then he said, "You shall not pass through." So Edom came out against them with many men and with a strong hand. 21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his territory; so Israel turned away from him. This was a very common custom at the time, and even today, to seek permission from a kingdom in order to traverse their land. Today we see nations ask permission from other nations to use, not only their land and sea routes, but even their airspace. It can be seen as, at the very least, a breach of protocol, and at worst an act of war, for one nation to take a shortcut through a country’s land, or even their waters or airspace without permission.

 

Here we see another important event in the history of Israel, the refusal of the Edomites to permit passage of Israel through the land of Edom. The Edomites were the descendants of Esau, the brother of Jacob. Esau, who was also called Edom (Genesis 25:30), established a land to the south and to the southwest of the Dead Sea. And we read about Esau meeting Jacob as Jacob left Laban after making a covenant with him in Genesis 31. Jacob was preparing to enter the land of Seir, where Esau was living. Jacob gets scared, knowing how he weaseled Esau out of the blessing of Isaac as well as the birthright. So he splits up his company, sends one half one way and Jacob goes the other way with the rest of his company. When he finally meets Esau, he bows his face to the ground and calls himself Esau’s servant (Genesis 33:3). And Esau could have been rightly incensed at seeing his heel-catching brother, as he was when Jacob stole the birthright from Isaac, and Esau said in his heart, "The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then I will kill my brother Jacob" (Genesis 27:41). But what do we read of their reunion? But Esau said, "I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself" (Genesis 33:9). Esau had been blessed with wealth and camels and wives, and no longer held a grudge against his brother.

But that peace did not last. As the people of Israel were preparing to leave Kadesh, they were preparing to head north, a trek that would have necessitated their travelling through the land of Edom. And they would have passed through the narrow northwest sliver of Edom, not very long at all, even for their large numbers. Now, they would not have taken the King’s Highway, as this passed on the east of the Dead Sea, but rather one of the other well-trodden highways in the area. But whereas previously, Jacob feared Edom, now Edom feared Jacob, as the king said "You shall not pass through my land, lest I come out against you with the sword."  He thought that Israel would try to fight them as they fought the Amalekites, and as God had defeated Egypt. This denial of passage would cause Edom to be despised in God’s sight. What peace the brothers themselves may have had between them was now supplanted with hostility between their descendants.

Part 2 next week

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen. 

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 12 (Part 2)

Numbers 12:10-14—10 And when the cloud departed from above the tabernacle, suddenly Miriam became leprous, as white as snow. Then Aaron turned toward Miriam, and there she was, a leper. 11 So Aaron said to Moses, "Oh, my lord! Please do not lay this sin on us, in which we have done foolishly and in which we have sinned. 12 Please do not let her be as one dead, whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother's womb!" 13 So Moses cried out to the LORD, saying, "Please heal her, O God, I pray!" 14 Then the LORD said to Moses, "If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut out of the camp seven days, and afterward she may be received again." 

How angry was God with Miriam? So angry that He caused her to be leprous. We covered all the regulations concerning leprosy in Leviticus 13 and 14. And now, Miriam, sister of the man to whom God spoke face to face, would have to live under these regulations. As I said at the outset, she didn’t like Moses marrying a woman darker than him, so God made her white as snow. And yet again, as in our previous chapter, we see Moses entreat God to stop the consequence of the actions of one who had spoken rashly. 

The question God asks, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not be shamed seven days?” There is no commandment or injunction in the Law like this except in Deuteronomy 25:9, and that only speaks of a woman spitting in the face of a man who will not marry her according to the Levirate marriage. It was, however, from everything I’ve read, a common practice at the time, when a daughter had brought shame on the family, for the father to publicly disgrace her and send her away for a time of remorse and repentance, that she may come back sorrowful and more apt to not disgrace the family any more. The Pulpit Commentary says:

 

It was the distinctive note of public disgrace inflicted by one who had a right to inflict it. In the case of a father, it meant that he was thoroughly ashamed of his child, and judged it best (which would be only in extreme cases) to put his child to shame before all the world. So public a disgrace would certainly be felt in patriarchal times as a most severe calamity, and entailed by ordinary custom (as we learn here) retirement and mourning for seven days at least. How much more, when her heavenly Father had been driven to inflict a public disgrace upon her for perverse behavior, should the shame and the sorrow not be lightly put away, but patiently endured for a decent period!

 God knows how to punish the unruly. He knows how to chasten His children (Deuteronomy 8:5; Hebrews 12:6). He has to chastise us, because we can, many times, be unruly children who need a spanking. He could have very easily sent down fire and consumed her, but He didn’t. He could have turned her into a pillar of salt as He did with Lot’s wife, but He didn’t. He could have made two she-bears appear (2nd Kings 2:23-24) and devour her, but He didn’t. He doesn’t destroy His children. He chastises them, He punishes them, He may even leave them alone with Satan for a spell that they may learn that sin is sin and they may repent and turn again to Him (1st Corinthians 5:5). And this was a case where God chastised Miriam for her speaking so harshly against God’s servant. 1st Chronicles 16:22—"Do not touch My anointed ones, and do My prophets no harm."

You may think “Why didn’t Aaron suffer some kind of punishment?” Well, he was the High Priest. He would have had to have been put outside the camp, and the people would have been without a High Priest for seven days. There were certain duties the High Priest alone had to carry out. Not only that, there would have been the shame of the situation, if the High Priest had become leprous and put outside the camp for seven days. Knowing this people, how rebellious and stiff-necked they were, and how quickly they turned from serving God to serving idols, what kind of shape would the camp be in? Whatever the reason Aaron was spared punishment, we must remember one thing—this was God’s decision, and we must always agree that His is the proper punishment. You see, there are many parents who do not know or understand how to properly punish their children. Many are too harsh and end up abusing their children, leaving scars that the child will bear for most of, if not all of, their life. They grow up into adults that despise authority and rebel any time anyone tries to impose any kind of rules over them. And if you try to share the gospel with them, they spurn it as just another attempt to place them under some ogre who only wants to punish them and berate and abuse them. Dave Pelzer wrote a series of books about the abuse he suffered at the hands of his mother, the first being “A Child Called ‘It’”. These books chronicle his life and how he went from being severely abused to becoming a functioning member of society. Not all such children are so lucky, however. Many never escape the mental problems brought on by the physical abuse, end up in jail and/or prison and, worst of all, never know Jesus as their Savior and wind up spending eternity in Hell. 

Some, on the other hand, are far too lenient and do not punish their children enough, so the child grows up and has no respect for any authority, neither parent, nor human law, nor God. When they grow older, they will not have any respect for any kind of boundaries, and they will be like the Israelites who consistently refused to be ruled by the Great King and Potentate of all Creation. You can see them all over the place, especially on social media, flaunting their sins, never thinking about giving an account to anyone, especially God. They go through life seeking more and more attention from this world, only thinking of what they can get now, only thinking of the material gains of attention, likes, follows, and money. Never thinking that there is One greater than themselves, they chase after one dopamine high after another, never accomplishing anything that will be of any benefit in eternity, only the fleeting winds of what this world can offer. 

James 4:13-14—13 Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit"; 14 whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away. Ecclesiastes 5:13-17—13 There is a severe evil which I have seen under the sun: Riches kept for their owner to his hurt. 14 But those riches perish through misfortune; when he begets a son, there is nothing in his hand. 15 As he came from his mother's womb, naked shall he return, to go as he came; and he shall take nothing from his labor which he may carry away in his hand. 16 And this also is a severe evil—just exactly as he came, so shall he go. And what profit has he who has labored for the wind? 17 All his days he also eats in darkness, and he has much sorrow and sickness and anger. James 5:1-3—1 Come now, you rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you! 2 Your riches are corrupted, and your garments are moth-eaten. 3 Your gold and silver are corroded, and their corrosion will be a witness against you and will eat your flesh like fire. You have heaped up treasure in the last days. Anything we can gain in this life will be burnt up at the last Day. And if it is only something that profits us a little in the here and now, it will be gone forever, never to be remembered again. Parents, make sure you discipline your children in the right way, and for the right reasons. Let them understand why you’re chastening them—not because they are making your life inconvenient, but so they learn correction early, that they may not suffer a far greater and eternal punishment later. Proverbs 13:24—He who spares his rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly. Proverbs 23:13—Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with a rod, he will not die. Proverbs 29:15—The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself brings shame to his mother. So God knows how and whom to punish. And He does so perfectly. So let us not question why Aaron wasn’t punished for his insolence, but rather, let us remember the example that God has given us, and not speak falsely about His leaders. 

And let us also remember another thing: when God chastises us, it is always with a promise. See, the abusive parent simply chastises the child for no reason but to exact punishment. But when God punished us, it is for a reason: that we may know that we have done wrong. You may say, “But Christ died on the Cross for my sins, why do I need to be punished now?” (It is the principle behind the horrendous Roman Catholic idea of Purgatory.) For this reason: that you may turn from your wicked ways and follow Him. It was why God allowed the Babylonians to carry away Israel captive. 2nd Chronicles 36:15-17—15 And the LORD God of their fathers sent warnings to them by His messengers, rising up early and sending them, because He had compassion on His people and on His dwelling place. 16 But they mocked the messengers of God, despised His words, and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against His people, till there was no remedy. 17 Therefore He brought against them the king of the Chaldeans, who killed their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion on young man or virgin, on the aged or the weak; He gave them all into his hand. The kings and priests rebelled against God, they worshipped idols, and were resistant to His urgings. So He gave them into the hands of their enemies and they were taken out of their land. But God… This captivity was but for a moment. He would show the people of Israel that He was not done with them, and had not utterly cast them away. Further on, in 2nd Chronicles 36:22-23—22 Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and also put it in writing, saying, 23 “Thus says Cyrus king of Persia: ‘All the kingdoms of the earth the LORD God of heaven has given me. And He has commanded me to build Him a house at Jerusalem which is in Judah. Who is among you of all His people? May the LORD his God be with him, and let him go up!’” You see, chastisement is much different than condemnation. We are condemned when we reject God and His offer of eternal salvation through Jesus Christ. When we embrace Him, however, He will guide us along, and correct us when we do wrong. Just as a father does his son. And a good father will explain to his son that the punishment he receives for his disobedience is so that he may know to do right rather than wrong, that he may grow up to live a peaceable life. Hebrews 12:6-11—6 “For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. As Charles Spurgeon said of this passage:

 

Oh! What comfort there is here! Whenever we are under the scourging hand of God, how we ought to be cheered with the thought that this is a part of the heritage of the children. There are Elis who spoil their children. God is not one of them. He spares not the rod, and the more he loves, often the more he corrects. A tree of common fruit may be let alone so long as there is some little fruit on it, but the very best fruit gets the sharpest pruning; and I have noticed that in those countries where the best wine is made, the vine-dressers cut the shoots right close in, and in the winter you cannot tell that there is a vine there at all unless you watch very carefully. They must cut them back sharp to get sweet clusters. The Lord does thus with his beloved. It is not anger. Afflictions are not always anger. There are often tokens of great love. 

There is one more thing to glean from this passage. The Ethiopian woman Moses married. At the time that Numbers was written, what we now call Ethiopia was called Cush. If you see the word “Cush” in the Bible, it is referring to what is now Ethiopia. Cush was a son of Ham, one of the sons of Noah. It was Ham that found Noah drunk and naked in his tent, and told his brothers. Something must have happened more than Ham simply finding Noah in such a state, as it says in Genesis 9:24—So Noah awoke from his wine, and knew what his younger son had done to him. Something happened we don’t know what—we can speculate, but we do not know. Anyway, Noah places a curse on Ham’s descendants that they will serve the descendants of Shem and Japheth. This may have been what had incensed Miriam and Aaron to anger against Moses taking a wife of the Cushites. At any rate, what I learned was that this was a picture of the Church. Jews at the time of Christ looked very unfavorably upon the Gentiles. As I said before, there was a saying among Jews that the Gentiles were to be used as fuel for the fires of Hell. The Jews believed that Gentiles were not fit for the kingdom of God. Jesus, when He encountered the Syro-Phoenician woman, says rather quizzingly, that the Kingdom is not for Gentiles. Mark 7:26-27—26 The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter. 27 But Jesus said to her, "Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children's bread and throw it to the little dogs." Many would say that Jesus was not being loving here, but hold on. Jesus was the embodiment of love, and would not have simply cast aside this woman, seeing as how He healed the servant of a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:5-13; Luke 7:6-10). No, rather He said this to test her faith, to see if she believed that Gentiles could be saved. She answers Him well, and He performs what she asked of Him. Mark 7:28-30—28 And she answered and said to Him, "Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children's crumbs." 29 Then He said to her, "For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter." 30 And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed. And in so doing, showed that He had broken down the middle wall of separation between Jew and Gentile. Let us not despise our brethren for their spouse, remembering that the same Jesus died for all, both Jew and Gentile, Black and White, Red, Brown and Yellow. 

Numbers 12:15-16—15 So Miriam was shut out of the camp seven days, and the people did not journey till Miriam was brought in again. 16 And afterward the people moved from Hazeroth and camped in the Wilderness of Paran. So, after the Quail Incident, after the Miriam/Aaron Incident, the people finally move from Hazeroth to the Wilderness of Paran. The first we read of the Wilderness of Paran is in Genesis 21. Hagar had birthed Ishmael to Abraham. Ishmael mocked Isaac at Isaac’s weaning, and Sarah told Moses to cast out the bondwoman and her son (Genesis 21:10). Hagar and Ishmael go out, eventually they run out of water and Hagar doesn’t know what to do to feed or water her and her son. Then God speaks to her, and she lifts up her eyes and what does she see? Genesis 21:19—Then God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water. Eventually, Ishmael would settle in the Wilderness of Paran (Genesis 21:21). The same Wilderness of Paran that God was leading the people to. And why was He leading them there? Because there was a well. And they had to have water for over a half million people. So He led them to a place where there was water in this vast and rugged wilderness. If you get a chance, look up “Wilderness of Paran” and you will see that it is indeed a vast wilderness, literally a desert. Nothing but sand and rocks as far as the eye can see. This is where the cloud was leading them. You may think “Why would God lead them to such a place?” 

Glad you asked. It’s because there was water there. After the quails and the Aaron/Miriam episode, God was leading them to where they could find water. And He was showing them, and showing us, that even after we rebel against Him fiercely, even after our puny human minds can’t comprehend His provision and we dare to question Him, even after we show just how unworthy we are to be called His, He is still leading us and guiding us in the way that we should go. He may not take us out of the world when we first come to accept Christ as our Lord and Savior, He will most likely leave us here as a witness to His greatness and glory. He will lead us through trials and temptations, through desert and wilderness, through gale and flood, through wind and fire and rain and all sorts of tests so that when we overcome them through Him, we can say to each other and to the world, “God is good”. Robert Hawker sums up nicely this theme of Jesus’ love for us, and His patience in leading us in the love of God:

 

Reader! do not close this Chapter without having an eye in the intercession of Moses for Aaron and Miriam, to the intercession of JESUS on the cross, for those who crucified him. Oh! what a volume is folded up in that one prayer of JESUS to comfort poor sinners, and to show the all-prevailing efficacy of JESUS’S advocacy. FATHER! forgive them for they know not what they do. Oh! LAMB of GOD! let this first cry of thine upon the cross, be the first and last of my soul-reviving consolations under all the discouragements by reason of my unworthiness and neglect of thee. Surely, dear LORD! when I sin against thee, I know not what do. 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.

A Survey of the Old Testament Law--Numbers 12 (Part 1)

Numbers 12:1-3—1 Then Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. 2 So they said, "Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us also?" And the LORD heard it. 3 (Now the man Moses was very humble, more than all men who were on the face of the earth.) 

This may very well be another case of “be careful what you wish for”. The people are still in Hazeroth (חֲצֵרוֹת, “settlement”), no indication of how long after the quails this was, when, not the people of the camp, but Moses’ own brother and sister question Moses’ qualifications as a prophet. Why? Because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married; for he had married an Ethiopian woman. So basically, God told Miriam, “You don’t like that Moses married a woman whose skin is darker than his? Then I will make you whiter than white!”. And He did, and we will get to that. But first, I want to touch on what Aaron and Miriam were guilty of. And that is something that pervades even some parts of the church today. And that is racism. It was much worse until the 1960’s, but really has never gone away. And it is not a concept unique to America, you find it all across the globe. In the 1990’s you had a Civil War in Rwanda between the Hutus and Tutsis. In the early 2000’s there was a Civil War in Bosnia. Tensions were high between Japan and China, probably still are. Then you have the hatred with which Roman Catholics view us Protestants. So for all the slogans many are putting forth, to “end racism” and so on and so forth, while their efforts are commendable, it’s not gonna happen. Why? Because we are human, and we have built-in prejudices. If you remember the group DC Talk, they had a song years ago (“What Have We Become?”) that started: 

Preacher shuns his brother

‘Cause his bride’s a different color

And this is not acceptable

His Papa told him so

Was love that he’d been preaching

But this was overreaching

The boundaries stretching further

Than his heart would choose to go

There are those who say that having black skin is the “Curse of Ham” (one of Noah’s sons), or the “Mark of Cain”. The latter is how the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints excused their racism against blacks in denying them the higher “Melchizedek Priesthood”. But in reality, racism goes against everything the Jesus taught, everything we find in Scripture, and everything about the gospel. Even in Jesus’ and Paul’s day, the Jews hated the Gentiles. There was a saying among Jews that the Gentiles were to be used as fuel for the fires of Hell. (For all the people who say “Jews didn’t have a concept of a fiery Hell”, ask them about this). When Jesus came, He demolished this thinking. And even Paul wrote against it. Galatians 3:28—There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Ephesians 2:11-14—11 Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands—12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation. Revelation 14:6-7—6 Then I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach to those who dwell on the earth—to every nation, tribe, tongue, and people—7 saying with a loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment has come; and worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water." In the Dallas Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel, it states the following:

 

All races are equals before God. Any teaching that encourages racial groups to view themselves as privileged oppressors or entitled victims of oppression is wrong. A person’s feelings of offense or oppression does not necessarily prove that someone else is guilty of sinful behaviors, oppression, or prejudice…Racism is a sin rooted in pride and malice which must be condemned and renounced by all who would honor the image of God in all people. All cultures, including our own, at times contain laws and systems that foster racist attitudes and policies. Individuals of any particular ethnic group are capable of racism.

Notice that last sentence. “Individuals of any particular ethnic group are capable of racism.” This is true. It doesn’t matter if you’re white, black, yellow, red, or brown. You can be just as guilty of racism as anyone else. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. And it has indeed gotten better over the years, but there are some pockets where it still exists. The racism displayed by Aaron and Miriam was not about skin color, but about national origin. He had married an Ethiopian woman (a Cushite), and they didn’t like that. But apparently they were okay with him being married to a Midianite woman (his first wife, Zipporah). And this bigotry led them to question why they had to submit to Moses’ being a prophet, seeing as how Aaron was High Priest and Miriam was a prophet. “Why would God speak through a man who has married an unclean woman?” If you haven’t guessed by now, God does not take too well to being criticized. Questioned, perhaps; who doesn’t sometimes wonder why God is doing something a certain way? But to criticize God is to say that He doesn’t know what He is doing, and if He doesn’t know what He’s doing, then He is not God. Just like stealing is a sin because you are saying that God hasn’t given you enough; just like adultery is a sin because God hasn’t given you the right woman; just like murder is a sin because God made the person you don’t like and you had to take him out of this world. 

Now, after Aaron and Miriam criticize God in verse 2, God speaks to them in verse 4. And notice the first word in that verse. Suddenly. God didn’t wait around, He didn’t just kinda meander in their general direction. He spoke to them Suddenly. He calls all three to the Tabernacle, and He’s gonna talk to them. All of them. And it is not a long discourse, just enough to get their attention. Numbers 12:4-9—4 Suddenly the LORD said to Moses, Aaron, and Miriam, "Come out, you three, to the tabernacle of meeting!" So the three came out. 5 Then the LORD came down in the pillar of cloud and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam. And they both went forward. 6 Then He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, make Myself known to him in a vision; I speak to him in a dream. 7 Not so with My servant Moses; he is faithful in all My house. 8 I speak with him face to face, even plainly, and not in dark sayings; and he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against My servant Moses?" 9 So the anger of the LORD was aroused against them, and He departed. God basically said “Alright, all of you, get out here. We need to talk. And by ‘we’, I mean ‘Me’”. 

There are many today who reckon themselves a prophet (or prophetess), who obviously have not been called to that office by God. And why do they call themselves a prophet (or prophetess)? Obviously it is not only to gain prestige, but also not a small income. And when you question these people, does God get upset? No. Who gets upset? Those who have joined themselves to this so-called prophet (or prophetess), those who hang on every word they say, and who buy the excuses when their prophecies don’t come true. Benny Hinn made some prophecies in 1989, that didn’t even come close to coming true. Did his ministry crumble? Was he brought to tears and repentance for falsely speaking in the name of God? No. In fact, his global outreach continues to grow. Why? Because he preaches what people want to hear. He preaches that if you send him every dime in your bank account, then you will become rich. How often has that happened? I dare say any guess that is higher than ZERO is wrong. Because he is not speaking for God. He will have his reward. You see, if a man is truly a prophet and is truly speaking from God, then what he says will come true 100% of the time. We will see that in Deuteronomy 18:21-22—21 And if you say in your heart, 'How shall we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?'—22 when a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him. And God says pretty much the same thing here. That any “prophecy” that does not come from God is not a true prophecy. God does not beat around the bush when He gives a prophecy. He speaks plainly to the prophet, He makes it clear what He is saying, so there is no confusion on the part of the prophet or the person(s) that prophet is speaking to. 

For if a man claims to speak what God has told him, and it does not come true, what does this mean? It means that that man makes God a liar. And God is not a liar. We see twice in the New Testament that God cannot lie—not just that He does not lie, or even could lie. It is clear—God CANNOT  lie. Hebrews 6:17-18—17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. How could we have any kind of faith in Him if He could lie? How could we ever believe Him, not knowing if He is telling the truth or if He is not? But we see here that it is IMPOSSIBLE for God to lie. Also, Titus 1:1-2—1 Paul, a bondservant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, 2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began. Many atheists and skeptics like to pose questions to us about what God cannot do. Like “Can God make a rock so big He cannot lift it?” or “Can God make a round square?” These are silly and fallacious questions. But one question is applicable: “Can God lie?” Well, of course not. For lying is a sin, and God cannot sin. We must never make the mistake of thinking that God is capable of the shortcomings that we humans are so very capable of. We will see that also when we get to Numbers 23:19—“God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?” Neither could Jesus lie, and He didn’t. He didn’t even want to. 1st Peter 2:21-22—21 For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps: 22 "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth". 

Now, we do have an example of a true prophet who had an instance of believing he was speaking for God in 2^nd Samuel 7. David has the idea that he will build the Temple to YHVH. And Nathan, speaking on his own with no forethought, says, “Go, do all that is in your heart, for the LORD is with you” (2nd Samuel 7:3). He had not received a word from the Lord; he had not received a message or a dream or any such thing to indicate that the Lord was in what he was saying. And God corrected him that night. 2nd Samuel 7:5-6—5 “Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the LORD: “Would you build a house for Me to dwell in? 6 For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought the children of Israel up from Egypt, even to this day, but have moved about in a tent and in a tabernacle.”’” Nathan was not speaking prophetic words from God, but rather was being, so to speak, a supportive friend, and God corrected him that night. Most likely so it would not seem to the people that His prophets would speak a false prophecy, and so that office would continue in honor. So when Aaron and Miriam spoke against the prophet of God, it was not out of character for God to become angry with a righteous indignation. He is a jealous God (Exodus 20:5), and He is jealous over His people and those people He calls His servants. This should not make us afraid, but should rather make us happy, that He watches over us and will not allow us to be taken away from Him. CH Mackintosh—

 

Let us see to it that we be not found doing that which is so offensive to Him, even speaking against those who are dear to His heart. There is not a single one of God's people in whom we cannot find some good thing, provided only we look for it in the right way. Let us be occupied only with the good; let us dwell upon that, and seek to strengthen and develop it, in every possible way. And, on the other hand, if we have not been able to discover the good thing in our brother and fellow-servant; if our eye has only detected the crooked thing; if we have not succeeded in finding the vital spark amid the ashes — the precious gem among the surrounding rubbish; if we have only seen what was of mere nature, why then let us, with a loving and delicate hand, draw the curtain of silence around our brother, or speak of him only at the throne of grace.

 

Part 2 next week

 

Jesus Christ is Lord.

Amen.