365 Reflections

You could really say that Moses was the first person to truly value and liberate women from the constraints laid upon them by males since the dawn of humankind. It is fitting that the last chapter dealing with Moses' acts (Numbers 36) have him resolving land ownership disputes for the daughters of Zelophehad. Numbers 36:6–7 (ESV) This is what the Lord commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad: ‘Let them marry whom they think best, only they shall marry within the clan of the tribe of their father. 7 The inheritance of the people of Israel shall not be transferred from one tribe to another, for every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. This issue first arose back in Numbers 27. Yet after that first episode with these women Moses commissions Joshua to succeed him and we read 8 chapters of law which may cause us to forget. The daughters of Zelophehad will not let Moses get sidetracked from their issue. Tenacious wome...

Sometimes we miss the forest for the trees in Biblical texts because we are always looking for that personal application or really secret insight no one else has seen. But if we step back, see the communal message and take an interest in how God is working through collective humanity we can see really valuable lessons from the Word of God we may miss otherwise. Numbers 35 is preparing God's people for living in the land. What will be their values as a culture? A culture is cultivated by certain practices and standards. Americans are often ignorant of just how beneficial the culture of our country is to human life and flourishing. Yet so much of what we take for granted as Americans is rooted in God's culture forming rules here in Numbers 35. Take for instance the two sections dealing with land for the Levites and Cities of Refuge. Numbers 35:2–4 (ESV) “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell...

Numbers 34:1–2 (ESV)   The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders), The Lord promised this land and the Lord outlined the borders for them. It was to be a sizable piece of land as well as a good land. It even came with ocean front property. What do we learn from a text that seems so void of spiritual insight? A lot. First we learn that God knows exactly where we are to go and what we are to do. Will we listen to Him? He has outlined for His people the places He wants them. He determines our steps. You are not aimless if you are walking with Christ. You have a specific destination in Him. Second we learn that God believes in us. There were many different typographical areas for Israel to conquer in that land. Some seacoast, some desert region, some lush and fertile, others marshy. The land wa...

When a Christian enters into a new relationship with God, they enter into a fight for their lives. For some reason, we don't focus on this enough. We tend to want Godly living to involve as little confrontation and effort as possible. God spells out for us here in Numbers 33 that no such experience awaits the person who follows Him. With Israel on border of the land, God reaffirms His instructions to Moses concerning what awaits the people on the other side of the Jordan. It is not peace and tranquility at first, it is war and fighting and effort first. The peace comes later. Numbers 33:51–52 (ESV) “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, 52 then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. Look at this command. These are ornate altars and high places the people are going to have to...

Numbers can be a redundant book. There's a lot of counting and recounting the 40-year long wilderness trek of the Israelites in the chapters. There are two census and a long chapter here in Numbers 33 that basically lists all the towns and cities they pass through along the way. Why is this here? First, I think the Holy Spirit is intentionally leading Moses to write all these things down so that we the reader can FEEL the emotional element of being stalled in no man's land for so long. It was monotonous and dry with occasional high points but a lot of ordinary boring days awaiting the time of God's fulfillment. Numbers is a clear warning to anyone hesitant to take the next step with God. We are made to believe Him for greater things and to trust Him for mighty acts. When we don't step out, we get stuck in a place we'd rather not be... counting and recounting. But there's powerful things to learn about God in the wilderness and that is why it's here. In N...

Numbers 32:1–5 (ESV) Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great number of livestock. And they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for livestock. 2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and to Eleazar the priest and to the chiefs of the congregation, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” The slaves of Egypt have come a long way. They are no longer poverty stricken. They have experienced a few sizable victories over powerful peoples. They have seen God's blessings for obedience. Now they face a different temptation altogether. The temptation to stand pat where they a...

You are going to be disturbed by the contents of Numbers 31 if you don't understand ancient cultures and how to read the Bible. In this chapter, Moses is commanded by God to take vengeance on the Midianites for how they turned Israel from the Lord at Peor in Numbers 25. We remember that episode ended with Phinehas' zeal taking out the rebellious man and his Midianite concubine in one stab of spear. During the conquest upon the Midianites God instructs Israel to carry out their first "holy war" as defined by theologians. This kind of war involved total elimination of a culture. Men, women, everyone and everything... except for one group of people. The people carry out only a portion of those commands and they let the women live. Moses' response? Read for yourself: Numbers 31:15–20 (ESV) Moses said to them, “Have you let all the women live? 16 Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of ...

Numbers 30:2–5 (ESV) If a man vows a vow to the Lord , or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. 3 “If a woman vows a vow to the Lord and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father’s house in her youth, 4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. 5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the Lord will forgive her, because her father opposed her. I admit, when I read Numbers 30 there's a squeamish part of me that flares up. After all, are not all people equal in the eyes of God? How is it then, that a man can make a vow or take an oath for himself, but a woman (either living single in her father's house or married to her h...

The offering list we find in Numbers 28-29 is detailed and extensive. It covers the daily offerings, the weekly sabbath offerings, the monthly offerings of the new moon as well as the offerings for the 3 feasts that took place every year for the people of Israel. The one thought that occurred to me was this: Their times were in God's hands. God wanted them marking every new day with blood, every new week, every new month and season with blood and offerings. God wanted His people to remember the blood of sacrifice that makes them able to come into His presence. The Nation of Israel didn't just mark those times wth blood, they rested and celebrated together. God wanted them to take time to enjoy each other's presence and His presence among them. In all 5 special occurrences (Passover, Weeks, Trumpets, Day of Atonement and Booths) they were to do no ordinary work. It is clear that God was communicating that work should never be seen as that which makes them who they are. T...

In Numbers 28, God reemphasizes the sacrifices required of His people to dwell with Him. One this is abundantly clear, there will be a major amount of sacrifice required. Numbers 28:1–5 (ESV) The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time.’ 3 And you shall say to them, This is the food offering that you shall offer to the LORD: two male lambs a year old without blemish, day by day, as a regular offering. 4 The one lamb you shall offer in the morning, and the other lamb you shall offer at twilight; 5 also a tenth of an ephah of fine flour for a grain offering, mixed with a quarter of a hin of beaten oil. Think of this. Every day two lambs would be sacrificed. It was God once again making clear, there will be blood required for man to dwell with Him. Through the sacrifices Israel was to learn how much sin cost and how important...

Numbers 27:15–17 (ESV)  Moses spoke to the LORD, saying, 16 “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the LORD may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” When Moses is reminded that he will not enter the land according to the Lord's word concerning his disobedience to God at the waters of Meribah, his first inclination is not to beg for God to reconsider but for God to find the right man to shepherd the people. At the end of his ministry to God's people and in God's purpose, Moses was a shepherd at heart. He became a shepherd when he chose to identify with his people rather than enjoy the momentary pleasures of Egypt. He lived in Midian for 40 years as a shepherd understanding the tremendous amount of work required to lead flocks properly. Moses may have been raised in the luxury of a palace, but...

What if the daughters of Zelophehad had never asked their question? Numbers 27:1–4 (ESV) Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.” Surely approaching Moses in the sight of 600,000 other Jewish men was intimidating. They also could have assumed that their father was cursed with no son and they were bear...

Numbers 25 ends auspiciously. The passage makes certain we know who was the man that committed the gross sin in the sight of the Lord with the Midianite woman and was struck down with her at the hand of Phinehas. Numbers 25:14 (ESV) The name of the slain man of Israel, who was killed with the Midianite woman, was Zimri the son of Salu, chief of a father’s house belonging to the Simeonites . What we know is that he is from the Simeon tribe. This is why his name and tribe are mentioned. The very next chapter is the census of the new generation. Interestingly, the tribe that has LOST the most men is also the tribe of Simeon.  Numbers 26:12–14 (ESV)   The sons of Simeon according to their clans: of Nemuel, the clan of the Nemuelites; of Jamin, the clan of the Jaminites; of Jachin, the clan of the Jachinites; 13 of Zerah, the clan of the Zerahites; of Shaul, the clan of the Shaulites. 14 These are the clans of the Simeonites, 22,200 . In the first census, the Simeonites...

The episode of Balaam has proven one thing to Israel - they cannot be cursed. Balaam tried hard to resist God but was stopped and instead followed God and blessed Israel several times. God's people cannot be cursed by the forces of this world. What a privilege. However, there is something that Balaam's people do to Israel. More specifically, it is something Israel allows to be done to them. They conform to the sexual promiscuity of Moab. Numbers 25:1–3 (ESV) While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. 2 These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. 3 So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. This is a sad episode. As Israel is protected by God on the mountain as blessed by Balaam, they follow the foreign gods of the Moabites. Numbers 31 gives us more information: Numbers 31:16 (NLT) “These are the very ones who fo...

Balaam can do nothing but bless Israel. Despite the repeated attempts of Balak to coerce through financial gain this prophet to denounce them, Balaam has done nothing other than promote them. He has fulfilled the Word of the Lord and can do nothing less. Numbers 24:13 (ESV) ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the LORD, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the LORD speaks, that will I speak’? Yet in his final oracle, Balaam's words move to the prophetic. He tells Balak that he is going to tell him what Israel will do in "latter days." Numbers 24:14 (ESV)  And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.” The prophetic words are replete with Messianic hopes: Numbers 24:17 (ESV)   I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shal...

Numbers 23:8–10 (ESV) How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? 9 For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! 10 Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!” These are the words of Balaam's first oracle to the Israelites after going with Balak's men and being paid and prepared to curse the people of God. In a stunning turn of events, Balaam can only bless those God has already blessed. This is good news and still rings true today. God ha blessed and man cannot reverse it.  Understand and remember, Balaam has been cajoled into this moment. He has been pressured financially and ceremoniously. He has been coerced by fame and notoriety. His ego has been played and he has been pandered to. For all intents and purposes, this is a slam...

Balaam has been told by God not to curse Israel. He has been told not to even travel with the men who have come to pay him to curse Israel. Yet, Balaam decides to take the better offer they present in prayer before the Lord. Make no mistake Christian, this world and the prince of the power of the air will do the same thing to you. He doesn't take your first "no" for an answer. He always comes with something more enticing. Yet God's answer and God's direction remain the same! When Balaam goes to God in prayer, God allows him to go but only to say what He gives to him for prophecy. When Balaam leaves, something seemingly strange happens in the text. Numbers 22:22 (ESV) But God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the LORD took his stand in the way as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. This looks strange on the surface. Why would got get angry at Balaam going when God told Balaam it was okay...

The story of Balaam in Numbers 22-24 is one of incredible hilarity. The prophet offered a reward to curse the blessed people of God, he is eventually is rebuked by a donkey and ultimately loses all his potential gain by blessing the Nation God has blessed in the first place. It's an important story for the movement of God's purposes in the life of Israel. It is also important for all outside of Israel to heed the God's divine prerogative to bless. The story starts out with Balak, king of Moab frightened by the potential war his land will face with what looks like an unstoppable force in the Nation of Israel. Mind you, his perspective is undaunted by the inner failures of this great nation in just the last chapter. Balak calls upon Balaam, a seer of sorts, to curse them. When Balaam seeks the Lord, the answer comes clearly: Numbers 22:12 (NLT) But God told Balaam, “Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!” God is pulling ...

In Numbers 22 Israel suffered a minor setback in spiritual life and vitality when they grumbled about the manna that God had been giving them for forty years. They quickly saw the deliverance of God from their curse in the serpent Moses mounted to the pole and held up for them to see. The repented, realizing their guilt and looking to God's solution. Numbers 21:7 (ESV) And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. You could say, they had a born-again moment here. Because this new generation had not seen much in the way of God's judgment upon their own evil. What they saw in that bronze serpent, and the healing that eventually followed changed how they approached the wilderness. They moved from grumbling to singing. Numbers 21:16–18 (ESV) And from there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to ...

Numbers 21:4–9 (ESV)   From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. 5 And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” 6 Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. 7 And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord , that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live. The younger generation is like it's fathers in this way: ...