The Book Of NUMBERS
Numbers 21:8 "And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole:
and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live."
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CHAPTER 30:
As noted in the previous chapter, verse 39 was a reminder from the LORD of the importance of the various voluntary offerings and sacrifices, including those that are done in connection with vows. Now, in chapter 30, God gives more detailed instructions through Moses to the Israelites regarding vows. Leviticus 27 introduced legislation for redeeming those who had made a vow of lifetime service to God or had donated an animal to the priest for his use in the tabernacle. Now God is giving more detailed case law to Moses regarding vows, specifically when it’s a daughter, wife, widow, or a divorced woman that is making a vow to the LORD. Vows made to God are a serious matter and not to be treated lightly or done impulsively. Verse 2 makes it clear that whatever oath or vow a man swears unto the LORD shall not be broken. He is to keep that vow, no matter the cost. (Leviticus 5:4, 27:2, Deuteronomy 23:21, Judges 11:30-31, 35, Ecclesiastes 5:4, Matthew 14:9, Acts 23:14) That cross reference from Deuteronomy makes it clear that to break a vow to God is sin. If a woman who is unmarried and still living in her father’s house makes a vow unto the LORD, and her father hears her vow and says nothing, then that vow will stand and the woman is bound to obey it. (v.3-4) But if her father immediately objects to the vow and declares it void, then the woman is not obligated by God to keep it. (v.5) The same law applies to a woman who is married. (v.6-8, 10-13) If her husband overhears a vow made by his wife and keeps his peace, then she must keep the vow. But if her husband immediately objects and disallows her from making the vow, then it is void. By their silence, the father or husband is giving approval of the vow made by his wife or daughter, and all that she says to the LORD is binding. (v.14) She is required to fulfill all that she vowed to God. However, if the father or husband does not immediately object to the daughter’s or wife’s vow, and then sometime later changes his mind and tries to annul the vow, he is too late. God will hold him accountable for the sin of forcing his daughter or wife to break her vow. (v.15) If a woman is divorced or is a widow, she is free to make a vow unto the LORD, and the LORD expects her to honor it. (v.9) The whole purpose of this particular law is to ensure that the patriarchal system of authority is not subverted by the daughter or wife that might make a rash, impulsive vow. Whether we like it or not, God ordained the men to rule over the women as His natural, proper design, and the daughters and wives are to submit accordingly. That is the principle behind this law, and God is making it clear to the children of Israel that the fathers and husbands are responsible for leading their homes in all things. That means guiding and watching over all that their daughters and wives do or say. CHAPTER 31: The narrative thread now resumes, picking up where chapter 25 left off. God had commanded Moses at the end of that chapter to attack the Midianites as part of His judgment against them and Balaam for drawing Israel into the sin of idolatry and immorality. (Numbers 25:16-18) Moses commands each tribe to select from among them a thousand men (v.4), and the army of twelve thousand marches against Midian, led by Phineas, the son of Eleazar the high priest. (v.6) (Numbers 25:7-8) The fact that Phineas is at the head of the army, carrying the holy instruments and sounding the trumpets, indicates that this war is a holy one, reinforcing the statement by God to Moses in verse 2: “Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites…”. (Numbers 10:9) Verses 7-11: The Israelites are more than victorious. They utterly destroy the Midianites, slaying all the men – including Balaam (v.7-8) – and taking captive all the women and children, as well as all their livestock and wealth. (v.9) (Deuteronomy 20:13-14, Judges 21:11, 1 Samuel 27:9, 1 Kings 11:15-16) The cities and fortresses of the Midianites are burned to the ground. (v.10) The names of the slain listed in verse 8 alongside Balaam’s are also significant. (Numbers 25:15, Joshua 13:21) It’s important to note here that only the Midianites living in the plains of Moab are conquered and destroyed. The Midianites that are named in Judges 6 are a different clan that currently occupies the promised land. Verses 12-20: Moses is angry with the soldiers because they saved all the women of Midian, including those that had seduced the men of Israel to sin. (v.14-16) (Numbers 25:1-2) Moses then orders the army to slay all the male children and any woman that is not a virgin. (v.17) The virgins, presumably, are allowed to marry any eligible Israelite man. (v.18) Moses also reminds the soldiers of the law regarding those who have been defiled by either touching or being in the presence of a dead body. They must remain outside the camp for seven days and then wash themselves, their clothing, and anything else that came into contact with the slain Midianites. (v.18-20) (Numbers 5:2) One of the many problems that non-Christians have when confronted by scenes such as this in the Bible, particularly in the OT, is that they cannot understand how a loving and just God would condone that kind of murder of the innocent, especially babies and young children. Even some believers struggle with reconciling God’s attributes of love, mercy, longsuffering, and graciousness with passages such as this one. Moses is relaying the word of the LORD (v.2), not his own decision or judgment, so therefore it is God who is commanding His chosen people to execute all the male children – yes, even the babies – and the women who had enticed the men of Israel into idolatry and adultery – both physical and spiritual. The killing of the male children and the adult women that committed adultery ensures that there will be no future rebellion against Israel by the Midianites. There’s a couple of important points to remember when reading these passages: 1) God had promised Abraham in Genesis 12:3, “…I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee…”. The destruction of the nation of Midian in this chapter is God fulfilling that promise. The princes of Midian, along with King Balak, had cursed the nation of Israel. Therefore, because God is perfect He cannot lie, nor can He go back on His word. It’s impossible for Him to do so. This passage demonstrates God keeping His promise to Abraham’s descendants. 2) The idolatry of the Midianites, which involved not only their worship of Baal but also their sexual immorality, has so angered the LORD, that He brings swift and immediate vengeance upon the entire nation. That includes not only the men, but the some of the women and the male children as well. God so despises adultery that He made it a capital crime. (Leviticus 20:10) Again, God cannot go back on His word, and that means that sin must be punished accordingly. The sins of idolatry, immorality, and adultery are not trifle matters, and that, too, is shown here in Moses’ command to the Israelite soldiers. We must keep in mind that while God is a loving and merciful God, He is also a just and jealous God who, because of His perfect and holy nature, cannot abide by even the slightest sin. Any sin, no matter how slight or microscopic, is an abomination to Him, and He must punish it accordingly, precisely because of His perfect and holy nature. Therefore, scenes like the one here in Numbers 31, as well as that of Genesis 19, are examples of God displaying His holiness, perfection, justice, and sovereignty over all His creation. Verses 21-24: The instructions in these verses by Eleazar to the soldiers are in keeping with the ordinances of the law that require purification by those who have been in contact with the dead as well as other causes of general uncleanness that are a side effect of both war and sin. (Leviticus 11:25) Verses 25-47: This section lists not only the numbers of the women and children taken captive by the Israelites, but all the different animals as well: sheep, oxen, donkeys, goats, etc. Both the people and the livestock are divided equally among the soldiers as well as the congregation, minus portions that are given to Eleazar as a tithe to the LORD and provision for the priests (v.41), and to the tribe of Levi for tribute and provision since they do not share in any inheritance like the other tribes according to the law (v.47). After carrying out Moses’ command earlier regarding the captive women who were non-virgins and the male children, those that remained of the virgins are a total of thirty-two thousand. (v.35, 40) A tenth of them, three hundred and twenty, are given as tribute, or tithe, to the LORD. They will serve in the tabernacle. (Exodus 38:8) As noted earlier, the rest of the virgins are, presumably, given to the men of Israel as wives. Verses 48-54: In accordance with the law, the soldiers come to Moses and Eleazar and present an offering of gold from the spoils of war “…to make an atonement for our souls before the LORD.” (v.50) (Exodus 30:12) Since there is no record in this chapter of any Israelite soldier dying in the battle with the Midianites, it’s possible that this offering is also a gift to God as gratitude for their victory. Eleazar receives it as a memorial, also in accordance with that same law. (Exodus 30:16)
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Chapter 22 begins a new section of the book of Numbers, bringing into the spotlight two heathen men: King Balak of the Moabites and a false prophet named Balaam. In the wake of their victory over the Amorites, the Israelites settle in the plains of Moab from where they are able to stage the next phase of their conquest of the promised land. The nation of Moab, now freed from the rule of the Amorites, looks at Israel with understandable fear, and this sets the stage for King Balak’s actions in chapters 22-25.
Balaam might at first appear to be a typical servant of God that is often found throughout the Old Testament, and thus it would be easy to treat him as Biblical hero or saint. But a close reading of not only this section in Numbers, but also 2 Peter 2:1, 15, Jude 4, and Revelation 2:14, reveals the truth of him and his character. Balaam is a false prophet, a heathen man whom God uses to fulfill His promise to Abraham, but is, ultimately, no hero or saint. My study Bible has this to say of Balaam: “After the formal encounter with Israel, he then counseled the women of Baal-peor to invite the men of Israel to their religious orgies and ‘to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication.’ (Revelation 2:14) He did this for no pay and was killed by the Israelites. (Numbers 31:8)” Balaam is not to be admired, but rather seen as a sobering example of God’s sovereignty over the wicked and the just alike. All mankind is under the hand of God, and He can turn the hearts of men – both Jew and gentile – to His will as He so chooses. Deuteronomy 23:5 makes it clear that God actually changes Balaam’s words as they come out of his mouth. In light of the New Testament verses that specifically mention Balaam, it's also clear that God used him and the Moabites to also bring judgment, when necessary, upon Israel for her sins of idolatry and immorality. Verse 1: The Israelites settle in the plains of Moab, on the east side of the Jordan river, which also affords them a view of the city of Jericho on the other side of the river. (Numbers 33:48-49) This verse not only sets the stage for the events of these three chapters, but also foreshadows the conquest of the promised land that will come under the leadership of Joshua. One of Israel’s first and greatest victories is the defeat of the city of Jericho and all its inhabitants, save for Rahab. (Joshua 6:24-25) Verse 2-4: The Moabites and the Ammonites are descendants of Lot. (Genesis 19:36-38) Both nations are among the most wicked and heathen people of the promised land, and they are a never ending source of trouble and conflict for Israel. King Balak, son of Zippor is introduced here. (v.2) (Joshua 24:9, Judges 11:25, Micah 6:5, Revelation 2:14) He witnesses the conquest and destruction of the Amorites by the children of Israel, which causes him great fear. (v.3) (Exodus 15:15) Verse 4 states that Balak sends a message to “…the elders of Midian…” to seek an alliance with them against Israel, lest those people “…lick up all that are round about us…”. (Numbers 25:15, Joshua 13:21) As you’ll recall from Exodus, Moses took refuge in the land of Midian when fleeing from Pharaoh, and his first wife was the daughter of Jethro, a high priest in Midian. Midian is south of Edom which is south of Moab. (Refer back to the map from Chapter 20.) Since we know from chapter 20 that Israel was forced to travel around Edom, and since they have not yet fought with nor conquered that nation, it does raise a logical question of why Balak doesn’t also send a message to the king of Edom. Since the text doesn’t specify, the best answer, of course, is that God doesn’t permit it. The Midianites are descendants of Abraham through his marriage to Keturah after the death of Sarah. (Genesis 25:1-2) Although Moses had good relations with the Midianites in the past, this incident with Balaam and King Balak is the beginning of many decades of conflict between Israel and Midian, as we will see later on (Numbers 25, 31, and Judges 6-8). Verses 5-8: Balak’s entreaty to Balaam is simple: curse the nation of people that has come out of Egypt so that the Moabites and Midianites will win in battle against them. (v.5-6) (Numbers 31:16, Deuteronomy 23:4, Joshua 13:22, Nehemiah 13:1-2, Jude 11) Biblical scholars are divided as to where exactly Balaam is from, mainly because there are a couple different geographical and ethnic designations associated with him. The region known as Pethor (v.5) is described here as being “…by the river of the land of the children of his people…”, and which Deuteronomy 23:4 states clearly is of Mesopotamia, which today is the country of Iraq. Most scholars agree that the river mentioned here is the Euphrates, but given the time frame of the narrative of this story, it seems improbable that Balaam makes several four hundred mile one-way trips all the way from Mesopotamia to Moab. In Numbers 23:7 Balaam states that he is from Aram, which is another name for the region we know today as Syria. That places him in the Transjordan area which is much closer to Moab. However, Numbers 31:8 clearly states that Balaam is among those Midianites that are slain by Israel, so either Balaam is residing temporarily somewhere in the land of Midian at the time of Balak’s request, or that is his current home, and he is originally from Aram. Whatever the mystery of his exact origin and location, Balaam is widely known by all the peoples of this region as a diviner and soothsayer. (v.6-7) This is another reason that we know he is not a true believer in Jehovah, as it might seem from verse 8, for God had already clearly condemned in the Mosaic Law those who practice any form of witchcraft, divination, or sorcery. (Leviticus 20:6, 27, Deuteronomy 18:10-12) Balak references Balaam’s success and fame in verse 6: “…he whom thou blesses is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.” Balaam greets the elders of Moab and Midian and invites them to stay for the night. (v.8) He promises them an answer to their request in the morning. Verses 9-20: During the night, God comes to Balaam and asks him a rhetorical question. (v.9) This is not the first time that God has directly interfered to alter the course of men’s actions against those whom He has called for a specific purpose. (Genesis 20:3) Like King Abimelech, Balaam seems to not be surprised to hear from God, and he tells Him what Balak’s messengers have requested. (v.10-11) God commands Balaam to not do as they have asked and to remain where he is. “…thou shalt not curse the people: for they are blessed.” (v.12) Balaam obeys (v.13) and sends “…the princes of Moab…” packing. (v.14) But Balak doesn’t take “no” for an answer. He sends back princes of even higher stature and rank than the previous envoy. (v.15) This time, the king promises Balaam “…very great honour…” (v.17), as well as whatever payment Balaam demands, if he will only curse the Israelites on behalf of the Moabites. (Numbers 24:11) But Balaam stands firm in his refusal, insisting that no amount of the king’s wealth will change his mind, for he “…cannot go beyond the word of the LORD my God…”. (v.18) (Numbers 24:13) It does seem strange, given Balaam’s status here as a soothsayer and a heathen gentile, that he would use such an honorable title for God, as if he was a true believer. But, knowing what we know about Balaam’s future actions regarding Israel, his words here indicate a certain level of practiced hypocrisy, the same hypocrisy that was common to the Pharisees and other religious rulers of Jesus’ time, whom He accused of being of the devil. (John 8:44) They appeared to others as righteous and spiritual, but their hearts were not at all right with God. Nevertheless, Balaam tells the messengers to spend the night, and he will consult with God once more. (v.19) This is another indication that Balaam is, indeed, motivated by material wealth and power, as revealed by 2 Peter 2:15-16. God had already made clear His will, yet Balaam says he will ask God once more, perhaps hoping that the LORD has changed His mind. And verse 20 does indeed seem to support this. God tells Balaam that if Balak’s ambassadors entreat Balaam once more in the morning, then he is to go with them. But God also makes it clear to Balaam that he is to say only what God instructs him to say. Verses 22-35: The way that verses 20-22 are written, it’s easy for the reader to be confused as to why God is angry with Balaam when He seems to have given permission for Balaam to go to Moab to meet with King Balak. It’s important to keep in mind that just because God allows something or seems to change His will about a certain matter does not necessarily mean that God approves or is pleased with that person’s choices. God had already made clear to Balaam His will in this matter, and the fact that Balaam came back again with the same request to which he had already received an answer is partly what angers the LORD. Balaam, in other words, is being disobedient. This is clear in verse 22: “And God’s anger was kindled because he went…”. God is also angry with Balaam because “…thy way is perverse before Me…” (v.32). The appearance of the angel of the LORD in verse 22 is most likely another example of a Christophany, as discussed earlier in my commentary of Genesis. Since there is no mention of Balak’s messengers in any of these verses that describe Balaam’s encounter with the angel, we can presume that they had either gone ahead, leaving Balaam to travel by himself with his servants, or they were some distance behind Balaam and had not yet caught up with him. Balaam’s donkey sees the angel of the LORD, but neither Balaam nor his servants see Him. (v.23) (Joshua 5:13, 2 Kings 6:17, Daniel 10:7, Acts 22:9) Three times the donkey tries to avoid the angel, injuring his master in the process, and Balaam strikes the poor animal in anger. (v.23, 25, 27) When the donkey speaks with a human voice after the third incident (v.28), Balaam seems not at all astonished by this, further evidence of his longtime practice of divination and sorcery. He is used to interacting with the supernatural and has very likely conjured up the spirits of the dead for other clients before now. (1 Samuel 28:7-8) After a short, humorous exchange with the animal, God opens Balaam’s eyes to see the angel of the LORD. Although the text says Balaam falls prostrate before Him, Balaam is not doing so out of reverential fear of the one, true God. He is not acknowledging or worshiping God as others are described as doing in similar circumstances in the OT. Verse 32 makes this clear when the angel states that Balaam’s practice of divination is an abomination before God. He also says, “I went out to withstand thee…”, meaning that God is Balaam’s adversary, not His friend. Balaam’s confession in verse 34 is not true repentance. Like Pharaoh when confronted by Moses, Balaam is only reacting out of selfish fear for his own life. Although he promises to return home, he is only obeying in order to save himself, not because he truly fears God. Verse 35 reveals that God had intended all along for Balaam to go to King Balak. In His foreknowledge, God knew Balaam’s true motives and actions, and now the LORD is going to use this heathen sorcerer to carry out His divine will in blessing His chosen people. Now that Balaam understand who’s truly in charge here, he is allowed to resume his journey to Moab. The angel of the LORD warns Balaam that “…only the word that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak.” (v.35) Balaam’s future obedience in the scenes of the next two chapters demonstrates that he recognizes and understands God’s sovereignty even though he is not all truly repentant. His heart remains stubborn and wicked for the rest of his life. Verses 36-41: Balaam warns King Balak that he can only speak the word that God speaks to him and nothing more. (v.38) Balak takes Balaam to Kirjath-huzoth, which is one of several sites of altars (high places) to the false god Baal. (v.39, 41) (Numbers 21:28, Deuteronomy 12:2) Verse 1: It’s unclear from the text if the Ethiopian woman mentioned in this verse is Zipporah. The Ethiopians are descendants of Cush, the son of Ham, and they had settled south of Egypt in what is today known as Ethiopia. (Refer to the 1st map below.) Habakkuk 3:7 suggests that the peoples of Midian and Cush are one and the same, and the region that is Ethiopia today is not that great a distance from the west side of the Sinai peninsula where the Midianites lived at the time that Moses fled Egypt to escape his death sentence from Pharaoh. (Refer to the 2nd map below.) However, the wording of this verse suggests that Miriam’s and Aaron’s complaint, though it isn’t the true source of their discontent, is against a recent action by Moses. The logical conclusion here is that Moses either took a second wife in addition to Zipporah, or he remarried after Zipporah’s death. Verse 2: This is the real reason for Miriam’s discontent and rebellion against God and Moses. As noted earlier in Exodus 15:20-21, Miriam is a prophetess, meaning that she assisted Moses in ministering to the people’s spiritual needs. Yet she is not one upon whom God poured out His spirit as described in the previous chapter. Therefore, it’s probable that Miriam is jealous of the seventy elders, and this is the true reason she publicly criticizes Moses and his leadership of the nation. It’s also very possible that the reason Aaron joins in her rebellion is because he, too, was not one of the elders who received the spirit of the Lord. This issue of jealousy has always plagued the people of God. Satan uses this in churches today to sow discord and discontent among the congregation regarding spiritual gifts and talents. Too often, we focus on what others have or are doing in the church that we are envious of, and we fall into the trap of jealousy and gossip that, if not properly dealt with, leads to strife and division within the body of Christ. This was the very issue plaguing the church in Corinth. (1 Corinthians 12) Here in Numbers, God Himself descends to speak directly with Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to address this sin. Verse 3: This verse is often used by critics as proof that Moses could not have written the Pentateuch. They claim that the author would not have been so egotistical as to insert such a comment in this passage about himself. However, it’s perfectly logical to conclude that God could have divinely inspired Moses to make this comment, or Moses could very well have inserted it himself as a defense of himself for the official record against the accusations of his siblings. Not only that, his claim here is borne out in all the writings of the exodus up to this point. His humility and meekness before God and the people is clearly seen in the previous chapters of the Pentateuch ever since his calling by God in Exodus 3. Not only that, God Himself clearly backs up this statement in the next few verses. Verses 4-9: God summons Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to the door of the tabernacle. (v.4) Once again, He appears in the form of the cloud descending upon the tent of meeting. (v.5) (Exodus 19:9, 34:5, Numbers 11:25, 16:19) Though He does not owe anyone an explanation for any of His actions or His ways, God states that He reveals Himself through visions and dreams to certain men of His choosing. (v.6) (Genesis 31:10, 46:2, 1 Samuel 3:15, 1 Kings 3:5, 15, Job 33:15, Ezekiel 1:1, Daniel 8:2, Matthew 1:20, Luke 1:11, Acts 10:11, 17, 22:17-18) God uses the title of “My servant” (v.7) when referring to Moses (Joshua 1:1, Psalm 105:26), and calls him “faithful”. (Hebrews 3:2, 5) With Moses He chooses to speak face to face, with an audible voice, and in the physical manifestation of the cloud. (v.7-8) (Exodus 33:11, Deuteronomy 34:10, Hosea 12:13) He doesn’t speak in riddles or “dark speeches”, which is a term in the KJV that means “sayings” or something similar to proverbs that use a lot of similes and metaphors. (1 Corinthians 13:12) In other words, the Lord speaks plainly to Moses. The essence of God’s question to Miriam and Aaron in verse 8 is this: “You didn’t question Moses’ leadership when I spoke to him in the form of the cloud before; yet now you rebel when I choose to pour out My spirit upon the elders, and I do not include you?” (2 Peter 2:10, Jude 8) He cuts straight to the heart of the matter: their sin of jealousy and envy which, as always, is caused by pride. Verses 10-16: God punishes Miriam’s disobedience with leprosy (v.10), a disease that He uses often in the OT as both a demonstration of His power and a specific form of judgment against the sins of pride and covetousness. (Exodus 4:6, Deuteronomy 24:9, 2 Kings 5:27, 15:5, 2 Chronicles 26:19-20) Aaron immediately begs forgiveness and pleads with Moses to intercede on their behalf. (v.11) The metaphor he uses in verse 12 is that of a stillborn child. (Psalm 88:4) Leprosy was often a death sentence in this time period and, in fact, it still is in some parts of the world today. There are still such places as leper colonies and/or houses in some third world countries. (2 Chronicles 26:21) Moses, in another display of his meekness and humility as a leader and mediator (v.3), doesn’t hesitate to cry out to the Lord on their behalf. (v.13) (Psalm 103:3) God’s answer to Moses in verse 14 is a reference to a common occurrence in the cultures of the ANE whereby a father will publicly rebuke his daughter for a transgression that she has committed publicly. (Deuteronomy 25:9, Job 30:10, Isaiah 50:6) The child suffers shame and humiliation for seven days. Miriam’s rebellion against Moses was a public spectacle and, thus, her punishment is also a public spectacle and humiliation. She must leave the camp to live in isolation for seven days, as prescribed by the law. (v.15) (Leviticus 13:46) The people wait for her to be healed before moving on to the wilderness of Paran. (v.15-16)   |
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