Numbers. Day 68, Arad Attacks Israel Without Provocation And The Lord Gives Israel Victory

In Numbers 20 we found the Edomites opposing the Israelites by not allowing them to peacefully pass through their territory on the King's Highway. Considering that the King's Highway was a heavily traveled roadway and therefore likely a major trade route, refusing entry to the Israelites was done out of petty spite due to longstanding resentment and jealousy harbored toward the descendants of Jacob by the descendants of Jacob's twin, Esau. To show the Israelites that he meant business, the unnamed king of Edom amassed troops at the border to deter Israel from attempting to cross over. The Lord did not order Israel's army to attack the Edomite soldiers and go straight through Edom; instead He bid them go around Edom. Later in the Bible we'll find Him commanding Israel to treat the descendants of Esau as kinsmen, "For he is your brother." (Deuteronomy 23:7) The Israelites aren't to sink to the Edomites' level and do unto the Edomites as the Edomites have done unto them. Instead they are to "turn the other cheek" because the Edomites are from the same family tree as the Israelites.

The Israelites didn't retaliate against the Edomites in Chapter 20. In due time and in the right way, the Lord will accomplish justice, for He will say through the prophet Obadiah: "Because of the violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." (Obadiah 1:10) We discussed yesterday that the Lord made good on this prophecy. There is no nation of Edom in the world today but there is a nation of Israel in the world today. The Edomites, who later became known as the Idumeans, have disappeared from history as a people. Their descendants, I am sure, still exist scattered all over the world but as a people or a race, and as a kingdom or a nation, they can't be found. 

As we begin Numbers 21 we find another group trying to block Israel's progression to the promised land. The Lord will not be lenient with this group like He was with the Edomites. The people who oppose Israel in today's study are not kinsmen. They are idolatrous Canaanites who long ago rejected the one true God and who want nothing to do with the Lord or with His people. 

"When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that Israel was coming along the road to Atharim, he attacked the Israelites and captured some of them." (Numbers 21:1) It is believed by a number of scholars that the word "Atharim" is derived from the Arabic "athar" which means "a track or footprint", leading these scholars to conclude that the "road to Atharim" of Numbers 21:1 was a caravan route. It wasn't a large state highway like the King's Highway of Edom probably was, but rather a route shaped by many years of caravan travel, foot travel, and wagon travel by tradesmen. 

Why did the king attack the Israelites and take some of them captive? The Bible doesn't tell us why. Perhaps the king thought the approaching group numbering 2,000,000 or more was an army. Or maybe he harbored prejudice against the Israelites, for to him they were foreigners who worshiped a foreign God. Prejudice is often borne of distrust and distrust is often borne of not knowing or understanding the customs of others, leading to unwarranted fear and suspicion. Some scholars believe the word "Atharim" should be translated as "the way of the spies", perhaps indicating this was the route the twelve Israelite spies took in Numbers 13 when they were sent into Canaan on a reconnaissance mission to see whether Canaan contained large fortified cities and to see whether it was truly a land flowing with milk and honey as they'd been told. If indeed calling this route "Atharim" is derived from its use as a spy route for the Israelites, the king of Arad may be well aware that spies have been in his territory and he may think the entire group is now approaching to attack his kingdom and take it over. 

We aren't provided with an explanation of the king's motives but I feel that the remainder of our text indicates that his motives were wicked in the eyes of God. Otherwise the Lord would not have judged him as He did. If the king wasn't certain why the Israelites were approaching, he could have taken steps to find out instead of automatically assuming they were coming to make war. Or he could simply have amassed troops at his border the way the Edomite king did. But instead he deliberately, and without provocation, sent soldiers to attack the Israelites and to take some of them captive as if they were prisoners of war. The Lord is displeased. This behavior on the part of the king and his people is unnecessary and uncalled for. The Lord will allow the Israelites to fight back and He will give the Israelites victory over their enemy.

In their distress the Israelites call out to God for help and in their prayer they ask His permission to avenge themselves. "Then Israel made this vow to the Lord: 'If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.'" (Numbers 21:2) The word translated as "destroy" would be more correctly translated as "to devote, to make an irrevocable offering". This is the same word that would be used for a burnt offering. A burnt offering was an offering in which no part of the offering could be retained by its bringer; it was an offering wholly given up and devoted to the Lord. The Israelites do intend to destroy (ruin, lay waste) Arad if the Lord gives them the go-ahead but they will be doing it in His name. Like an offering wholly given up to the Lord, they will be making Arad unfit for further use. They will be making it uninhabitable, retaining nothing from it for themselves, in the same way they would retain nothing from a whole burnt offering. A whole burnt offering was rendered to ash, so in that sense they are saying they will burn Arad to the ground or raze it to the ground. Nothing of value will be left of it. They will be destroying it in the name of the Lord and making an offering of it to the Lord. 

"The Lord listened to Israel's plea and gave the Canaanites over to them. They completely destroyed them and their towns; so the place was named Hormah." (Numbers 21:3) The word "Hormah" means "destruction". If the Lord had not given Israel permission to avenge herself, she would not have won the battle. In Numbers 14 we found Israel's soldiers going up to attack the Amalekites and Canaanites against the Lord's word and we found them being defeated. There will be other occasions in the Old Testament when Israel's army engages others in battle without obtaining permission from the Lord first and they will be unsuccessful in battle. But here in Numbers 21, when Arad attacks Israel for no reason, the Lord gives Israel permission to fight back. The king of Arad did wrong and the Lord punishes him for his sin by giving Israel victory over him and his army.

There will be times in this life when people do us wrong without any provocation whatsoever. They will make themselves our enemies through no fault of our own. We can rest assured that the Lord sees their behavior and is unhappy with it. We can also rest assured that in the right time and in the right way He will avenge us. He will judge those who, in the words of King David, "have become my enemies without cause" and who "hate me without reason" and who "repay my good with evil". (Psalm 38:19-20) When we are treated unjustly, as the children of God we have the right to go to God our Father and lay out our troubles before Him and ask Him to act on our behalf. We find the Israelites doing this time and time again in the Bible. We find King David praying this type of prayer time and time again in the psalms. We can pray for God to help us and we can pray for Him to judge the wrongdoers who made themselves our enemies through no fault of our own. We can pray the words of David who cried out to God for help: "Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight with me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, 'I am your salvation.'" (Psalm 35:1-3) God is our salvation. God is our helper. We can entrust our troubles to Him. 

Numbers. Day 67, The Death Of Aaron

The people have been denied entry to the Edomite country and are not able to travel through it on their way from Kadesh (where Moses' sister Miriam died) to the promised land. They must go around Edom and in today's study they end up at Mount Hor where Moses' brother Aaron dies.

"The whole Israelite community set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor." (Numbers 20:22) Mount Hor was about a day's journey from Kadesh, along one of the borders of Edom, in the Desert of Zin.

The Lord has some bad news to impart at the base of Mount Hor. "At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Aaron will be gathered to his people. He will not enter the land I give to the Israelites, because both of you rebelled against My command at the waters of Meribah.'" (Numbers 20:23-24) When the Lord says "Aaron will be gathered to his people" He means Aaron is going to die. We studied the incident at Meribah earlier in the week, so if you missed it you might like to go back and read days 64 and 65 of our study of the book of Numbers. We discussed what Moses did and said at the waters of Meribah and talked about how Aaron was in agreement with him and supported him. We looked at several explanations for why the Lord was so displeased with these brothers' attitudes and behaviors. 

Moses and his two siblings will never reach the promised land. Miriam, the oldest of the three, already passed on earlier in our chapter. Aaron, the middle child, will die at the end of our chapter. Moses, the youngest of the three, will come the closest to the promised land. The Lord will graciously allow him to have a glorious view of it, but Moses will die on Mount Nebo without ever setting foot in the promised land.

We aren't told Aaron's age at death until Numbers 33:39 but I'll go ahead and reveal that information to you now: he is 123 years old. Men and women are still living extended lifespans at this point in history, though no one is living anywhere near as long as they did prior to the great flood. Adam, the first man, lived to be 930. Noah, who survived the flood, lived to be 950 years old. By contrast, Abraham lived only 175 years, his son Isaac lived to be 180, and Isaac's son Jacob was 147 when he died. We see lifespans gradually decreasing in the Old Testament until they reach modern levels. For example, King David died at age 70. The Apostle John is believed to have died around age 93. So we see that by the time of Christ a normal lifespan for a male was anywhere from 70 to 100, much as it is today.

Aaron and his family must have known he would die before long since the Israelites are close to making their entrance to the promised land. The bad news from the Lord is unwelcome but not unexpected, in my opinion. Since Aaron's death is imminent, although we have no indication he has taken ill, the Lord tells Moses how to prepare for this event. "Get Aaron and his son Eleazar and take them up Mount Hor. Remove Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar, for Aaron will be gathered to his people; he will die there." (Numbers 20:25-26) It appears as if Aaron is able to ascend the mountain under his own steam. He's still in good physical shape. The Bible doesn't tell us Aaron's cause of death anymore than it tells us Miriam's or Moses' cause of death. Does Aaron experience a sudden cardiac event after his strenuous climb? (It takes modern hikers about two hours to reach the summit.) Or does the Lord merely take His protective hand off Aaron---the hand that "holds our souls in life" (Psalm 66:9)---and cause his soul to slip out of his body? We don't know, but if we needed to know, the Lord would have told us. There is a mystery to every death because the process of the soul leaving the body is an event that takes place with only the person and the Lord in attendance, no matter how many people are gathered around the deathbed. Even when we know the medical cause of a person's death, the actual process of the soul departing the body, and what the person's body experiences in that moment, and what the person experiences as the freed soul, is something no living person knows.

Eleazar will succeed his father as high priest. Moses is to take the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar so that when Eleazar re-enters the camp he will be ready to take up his father's duties. His ascension to the priesthood will be a done deal when he comes down from the mountain and no one will be able to dispute his right to take his father's place. 

"Moses did as the Lord commanded: They went up Mount Hor in the sight of the whole community. Moses removed Aaron's garments and put them on his son Eleazar. And Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain, and when the whole community learned that Aaron had died, all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days." (Numbers 20:27-29) The people must not have been told beforehand of the purpose of the journey the three men made up the mountain. The congregation doesn't learn of Aaron's death until the return of Moses and Eleazar.

Moses and Eleazar buried Aaron, according to Deuteronomy 10:6. His body wasn't left on top of the ground; he was given a decent burial by his two closest blood relatives. His body is all of him that was left on the mountain, for his soul had gone on to be with the Lord and with his loved ones and ancestors who had passed on before him. Aaron's family and the congregation mourn their loss of his physical presence but they aren't mourning the loss of his soul. His soul is not lost. He didn't perfectly obey the Lord (no one does) but he didn't lose his faith in the Lord. While the community mourns their former high priest, Aaron's soul is rejoicing in heaven. He has been "gathered to his people", a expression the Bible reserves for believers. When I die, I too will be gathered to my people. I will see my parents again. I will see my grandparents again. I will meet ancestors I never knew in this life but who faithfully served the Lord while they lived on the earth. I will meet the faithful of all the ages, including men like Aaron who made his departure from this world at the end of Numbers 20.

Numbers. Day 66, The Descendants Of Esau Sinfully Deny Passage To The Descendants Of Jacob

The Israelites wish to pass through Edom, the territory of the descendants of Jacob's twin brother Esau, on their way to the promised land. The Edomites not only refuse passage to the Israelites but also threaten to attack them if they try to enter their territory.

At this point in time the Israelites are still at Kadesh where the Lord brought water from the rock in yesterday's study. "Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: 'This is what your brother Israel says: You know about all the hardships that have come on us. Our ancestors went down into Egypt, and we lived there many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors, but when we cried out to the Lord, He heard our cry and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt.'" (Numbers 20:14-16a) In requesting to pass through Edomite territory, Moses appeals to the king on the basis of kinship and sympathy. He refers to the Israelites as "your brother Israel" to remind the king that the Israelites and the Edomites are descended from the same family: from the twin sons of the patriarch Isaac. He reminds the king that the Israelites have endured a long period of misery as slaves in a foreign land, hoping the king will grant safe passage to this large number of weary travelers.

Moses assures the king that the Israelites expect no provisions of any kind from him. "Now we are here at Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. Please let us pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard, or drink water from any well. We will travel along the King's Highway and not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your territory." (Numbers 20:16b-17) They are asking for nothing but to pass through. They will not touch a thing. They won't draw water from anyone's private well or pluck fruit from anyone's vine. It will not cost the Edomites a penny to allow the Israelites to peacefully travel through their land. Moses is saying to the king something like this: "We'll be on such good behavior as we pass through your territory that it'll be as if we were never even there. We won't bother a soul and we won't leave a trace of our presence." 

The king of Edom cruelly rejects Moses' request. "But Edom answered: 'You may not pass through here; if you try, we will march out and attack you with the sword.'" (Numbers 20:18) The King's Highway was likely a state highway paid for by the government. It was probably a major trade route through the area, which means many different sized groups would have used it regularly. It's highly doubtful any group the size of Israel ever used the highway before and that's why Moses sent messengers ahead for permission to pass through: so the king of Edom wouldn't think they were an army coming to attack him. Moses has made it clear that they are peaceful and that they intend to move through Edom as quickly and and quietly as possible, asking for and taking nothing. 

But the king is denying the Israelites something he has likely never denied any other group. I believe he is doing it out of prejudice due to the rivalry in the past between Jacob and Esau. I believe he is doing it out of jealousy over the Lord's choosing of Jacob (the younger twin) to be the head of Isaac's family after his passing. The Lord chose Jacob because, even though his methods in obtaining the spiritual and political leadership of the family were misguided, Jacob had a heart for the Lord and Esau did not. As we discussed in great detail when studying the book of Genesis, the "birthright" which Jacob wanted and which Esau scorned was an enormous responsibility and a spiritual honor. Esau disqualified himself for this position. It was his own fault he lost the birthright and the leadership of the family, but hundreds of years later we see the Edomites are still bearing a grudge over it. Not only that, but they are bearing a grudge because Jacob's family line, not Esau's, will inherit the promised land. There's nothing the king of Edom can do to thwart God's plan to give Israel the promised land, but he can delay their arrival in the promised land and cause them inconvenience on the way by refusing to let them use the King's Highway. The king isn't changing the eventual outcome with his petty behavior but he takes satisfaction in troubling the people against whom he is sinfully prejudiced.

The Israelites didn't expect this hostile attitude. They think perhaps they haven't made it completely clear that they expect nothing from the Edomites. They have already promised not to drink from any Edomite wells and now they offer to pay for any fresh running water that they or their livestock may drink from a spring or creek. They have no intention of trespassing on anyone's private land to seek water but normally any running water on public land or alongside a highway would be free to travelers and their animals. Even though they should not have to pay for such water, the Israelites offer to pay for it anyway. "The Israelites replied: 'We will go along the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we will pay for it. We only want to pass through on foot---nothing else.'" (Numbers 30:19) The king could have profited by granting passage to Israel. He could have charged a fee for allowing them to drink from public waters. Or he could have charged a toll for their use of the highway. But no amount of money will change his mind because he hates them. They could plead with him til the cows come home on the basis of kinship and it would do them no good. They could appeal repeatedly to his mercy on the basis of their long sojourn in Egypt and the inhumane conditions imposed upon them there but his heart will remain hard. The king hates them and he has no sympathy for their plight. He and his government officials again deny their request. "Again they answered: 'You may not pass through.'" (Numbers 20:20a)

As an unnecessary show of strength, the king amasses troops at the border as if the Israelites are an enemy army. "Then Edom came out against them with a large and powerful army. Since Edom refused to let them go through their territory, Israel turned away from them." (Numbers 20:20b-21) Edom and her king treat the Israelites shamefully but it's not the Lord's will for the Israelites to attack them and pass through the land anyway. Instead they turn peacefully away. They don't lower themselves to the level of the Edomites and respond in anger. Later in the Bible we'll find the Lord specifically commanding the Israelites not to treat the Edomites the way the Edomites have treated the Israelites: "Do not despise an Edomite, for the Edomites are related to you." (Deuteronomy 23:7a) The Edomites may have cared nothing about their familial relationship to the Israelites but that doesn't mean it's okay for the Israelites to harbor the same hateful attitude. In the book of Deuteronomy the Lord warns the Israelites about not discriminating against any Edomite who wants to joint their congregation and worship the Lord with them. Two wrongs won't make a right; Israel is to treat Edom as a brother even though Edom didn't treat Israel as a brother.

When someone does wrong to a child of God, this is what the Lord says about it: "It is Mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near, and their doom rushes upon them." (Deuteronomy 32:35) The Apostle Paul reminds the Christian church about this command from the Lord, saying, "Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone. Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: 'It is Mine to avenge; I will repay,' says the Lord." (Romans 12:17-19) 

The Israelites aren't to avenge themselves upon the Edomites but are to leave room for God's wrath. The first chapter of the book of Obadiah is a prophecy against Edom and it states the Lord's intention to bring down the kingdom of Edom. The Lord makes it clear this judgment is a result of the way Edom treated Israel. "Because of your violence against your brother Jacob, you will be covered with shame; you will be destroyed forever." (Obadiah 1:10) Saul, the first king of Israel, will hand them a major defeat in battle and King David will make them subjects of Israel about forty years later. The Edomites later became known as the Idumeans and have since disappeared from history as a people, just as the Lord said when He vowed they would be "destroyed forever" in Obadiah 1:10. 

The Lord looks out for His children. He keeps His word. He does not tell Israel to avenge herself in Numbers 20 but instead asks her to "turn the other cheek", to use the words of God the Son. God the Father will avenge Israel against Edom in due time. He will avenge you and me as well, in due time, against anyone who has made themselves our enemy. 

Numbers. Day 65, A Sad Time For The Family Of Moses, Part Two

Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died in yesterday's portion of the book of Numbers. She was buried at Kadesh in the Wilderness of Zin and during their sojourn there the people ran out of stored water and it became apparent that there was no source of fresh water. The Israelites could not move on until the Lord told them to move on (Exodus 40:36, Numbers 9:17) by lifting the cloud of His presence up from the tabernacle. So the people "gathered in opposition against Moses and Aaron" in yesterday's passage and accused Moses of bringing them into the wilderness to die. The two brothers fell to their knees before the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord appeared to them there. This is where we pick up today, with the Lord advising them what to do.

"The Lord said to Moses, 'Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so that they and their livestock can drink.'" (Numbers 20:7-8) This is the rod that was used to call down plagues in Egypt. This is the rod that sprouted, budded, and produced ripe almonds overnight in Numbers 17, signifying the Lord's choice of Aaron as high priest and the tribe of Levi for service at the tabernacle. It has been placed, upon command of the Lord, in front of the ark inside the tabernacle as a perpetual "sign to the rebellious" of the Lord's sovereign power. (Numbers 17:10) The Lord said it would be used to "put an end to their grumbling", so here in Numbers 20 the Lord tells Moses to retrieve the rod while the people are grumbling and to display it while performing an act intended to end their current bout of grumbling.

"So Moses took the staff from the Lord's presence, just as He commanded him. He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?' Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank." (Numbers 20:9-11) I love the way the late Christian minister and scholar and author, Matthew Henry, sums up the grumbling of the people in today's passage by saying that the Lord instructs Moses to speak to the rock, "which would do as it was bidden, to shame the people who had been so often spoken to, and would not hear or obey. Their hearts were harder than this rock, not so tender, not so obedient." The solid rock will do what the people are unwilling to do at this time: obey the Lord. By opposing Moses and Aaron, whom God clearly proved to be His chosen political and spiritual leaders earlier in the book of Numbers, they are opposing God.

"But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, 'Because you did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.'" (Numbers 20:12) The Lord is displeased with how Moses and Aaron (who apparently has the same attitude as his brother) handle the bringing forth of the water. There is no completely simple and clear explanation for exactly what kind of critical error these men make or why it was so grievous in the eyes of God. We will do our best to break down the various components of their behavior in verses 9-11 above.

First, the Lord told Moses to take the rod, not strike the rock with the rod. Back in Exodus 17, however, the Lord directed Moses to strike a rock with the rod to bring forth water in the area of Mount Sinai. Some scholars think his sin is in striking the rock (not once but twice) instead of merely speaking to it as the Lord said. Moses didn't follow the Lord's instructions to the letter. 

I think this may be a partial explanation of what went wrong in our text today but I don't think it's the whole explanation. While we are on the subject of striking the rock, though, we'll ponder why Moses did it when he wasn't told to do it. Did he simply misunderstand and assume he was to strike this rock in the same manner as he struck a previous rock? I personally feel that he didn't misunderstand but that he was angry and frustrated with the people and that he may have believed that dramatically raising his arm high and bringing the rod down on the rock twice would make a more impressive spectacle than merely speaking the command of the Lord to the rock. The entire assembly might not be able to clearly hear what he said to the rock but they could witness him striking the rock and the rock bringing forth water, thus underlining his God-given authority over the assembly by having them see the water come forth as a result of his action. If this is the case then, in this moment, he may have sought his own glory more than the Lord's glory. The people continually grumble against him and accuse him of wanting them to die, but would a man who wants them to die bring water from the rock for them to drink? Moses only wants the best for them and the rock at Kadesh may have appeared to him as an opportunity to prove it. I think part of Moses' sin may be that he wants to enhance his own reputation and garner support for his leadership. 

Another explanation for striking the rock not only once but twice is that he might have doubted whether speaking the Lord's word to the rock was enough. If that's the case then he's trying to "add to" the Lord's work---something which no man or woman can do. Whatever God does is complete and whole and perfect; there's no way we can improve upon it. If Moses felt he had to add anything to what the Lord is doing then he's operating on works and not on faith. He thinks the Lord needs his help. He thinks the Lord can't bring forth water from the rock without him. I think we've all probably made the mistake at least once of thinking the Lord needs us to accomplish something. Does He invite us to join Him in doing good things? Certainly He does at times. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus in this world, reaching out to others to help them in their hour of need. We are to be the voice of Jesus in this world, sharing the gospel message so souls can be saved. But we also have to keep in mind that God has existed eternally. He was here long before He ever created the first human being. He didn't require human help to call light out of darkness or create the galaxies or our own planet earth and everything on it. God could have spoken straight from heaven, and bypassed Moses altogether, to call forth water from the rock. But He invited Moses to play a supporting role in this scene because the people are verbally attacking Moses. His intention is that the people would see Him working through Moses and that this would help them to have more respect for the office Moses holds. Instead Moses seems to call the attention to himself by ad-libbing his lines in this scene and adding some action that wasn't in the script. This makes it appear as if the Lord needs his help or---worse yet---as if Moses performs the miracle on his own.

We've looked at what Moses did at the rock. Now we'll take a look at what he said because Psalm 106 indicates his words are the main issue here. Psalm 106:32-33 says that at the waters of Meribah (this is what the area will be named after the incident of Numbers 20) the children of Israel "angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses' lips". What did Moses say at the rock? He said, "Must we (Aaron and I) bring you water out of this rock?" He didn't give credit to the Lord for the miracle that was about to take place. His words make it sound as if he and Aaron, through their own power, are going to cause water to gush forth. Moses and Aaron are just the instruments through which the Lord has chosen to work at this particular time; they have no power of their own to produce water from the rock. Yet Moses makes it sound as if he and his brother are performing the miracle on their own. I think this may be what the Lord meant when He said, "You did not trust in Me enough to honor Me as holy in the sight of the Israelites."

Did Moses not believe the Lord could bring water from the rock? Oh, I think he did. He'd seen the Lord do it before. I think Moses' trust issue is that he doesn't fully believe the Lord will protect him from the people. Because he doesn't feel confident the Lord will protect him from the people, he seeks to lift himself up in the eyes of the people so they will regard him as too powerful to oppose. 

Why is Aaron lumped in with his brother when the Lord says to both of them that they will not be allowed to bring the Israelite into the promised land? I think Aaron was suffering from the same lack of faith. The same people who'd like to stone Moses to death would do the same to him. If they wouldn't hesitate to do bodily harm to Moses, they definitely wouldn't hesitate to kill Aaron as well. I believe both men harbor the same doubt. I think both of them feel compelled by their doubt to make themselves look like a big deal to the people. Aaron may not be the man striking the rock or addressing the crowd, but his thoughts and feelings are in alignment with those of Moses. He would have done the same thing if he were in Moses' shoes. He approves of how Moses is handling this situation. 

Why does the Lord perform the miracle at all, seeing how much Moses and Aaron disrespect Him in this moment? Because the people and animals need water. The Lord isn't going to let them become dehydrated or die just because Moses and Aaron aren't in the right spirit. 

Because of the sad incident that takes place at the rock in Kadesh, the area is given a new name by the people. "These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where He was proved holy among them." (Numbers 20:13) The word "Meribah" means "quarreling". 

We are always in the wrong when we quarrel with the Lord because He is always right. The Apostle Paul once said, "Let God be true, and every human being a liar," because God will "be proved right" when He speaks and He will "prevail" when He judges. (Romans 3:4) We may not always understand why God says what He says or why He does what He does, but we can be certain He is always right.

Numbers. Day 64, A Sad Time For The Family Of Moses, Part One

The first portion of Chapter 20 deals with two very sad incidents in the life of Moses. The first is the death of his sister Miriam. The second is the death of his and Aaron's hopes to see the promised land.

"In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried." (Numbers 20:1) The Bible says the events of this chapter happened "in the first month". But of what year? It's believed to be the fortieth year since the Israelites left Egypt. If so, a great deal of time passed between Chapter 19 and Chapter 20. But the Lord had said that, due to the people's refusal to march in faith into the promised land in Chapter 14, no one over the age of twenty who had seen Him perform wonders in Egypt and in the wilderness would enter the promised land, with the exception of Joshua and Caleb. This means the Israelites moved from place to place in the wilderness until everyone of the faithless generation died out.

Moses' own family is no exception to the Lord's decree that "not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors". (Numbers 14:23a) Miriam dies in Chapter 20 without ever laying eyes on the promised land. We don't know her age but she was evidently the oldest sibling in the family of Moses. She is believed to have been the sister who watched over him when he was placed in the basket in the river as an infant. If Moses had any other sisters, they are never named, and it is assumed by most scholars that Miriam is the sister of Exodus 2 who was sent by her mother to see what would happen to baby Moses. 

Though Miriam rebelled against the leadership of Moses in Numbers 12, Moses loved her and forgave her. He prayed for her when the Lord struck her with leprosy as discipline and the Lord heard Moses' prayer and healed her. We are given no details about Miriam's illness, death, or funeral. But we can safely assume that Moses and Aaron and possibly the entire congregation mourned her deeply because she was considered a prophetess according to Exodus 15:20.  

This is a time of grief and it's also a time of deprivation because we'll learn there's no source of running water at Kadesh. I believe the community has stopped off at Kadesh due to the need to bury Miriam and observe the days of mourning for her. Anyone who had contact with her body would have to observe the seven days of ceremonial uncleanness and the cleansing rituals as outlined in our previous chapter. But while the community is at Kadesh they run out of water and there is no fresh water to be found. As they've done many times in the past, the people turn on Moses and blame him (along with his brother Aaron) for their hardship.

"Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. They quarreled with Moses and said, 'If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! Why did you bring the Lord's community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!'" (Numbers 20:2-5) The people say, "We wish we were dead! If only we'd already died here in this wilderness like so many of our community before us then we wouldn't be enduring this thirst. If only the Lord would strike us dead rather than allowing us to suffer without water. We were so much better off in Egypt! Slavery in that land of plenty was better than freedom in a land where we are finding no water. Why have you done this to us? Under whose authority have you led us here? You want us to die!" 

As usual, Moses' first instinct when faced with trouble is to go to the Lord for help. We could learn a lot from this attitude because sometimes we go to the Lord last, after having already unsuccessfully attempted to solve our problems ourselves. "Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them." (Numbers 20:6) If we'd fall facedown before the Lord more often we'd stand back up in victory far more often. The Lord should be our first resort when troubles come, not our last resort. 

Moses and Aaron respond in a godly manner to the anger and accusations of the crowd in our portion of Scripture today. In tomorrow's portion we'll find Moses being overcome with anger himself and we'll find him giving in to the frustration of leading people who don't want to be led by him. We'll find him behaving in a manner that makes it clear---in case it wasn't already---that he and Aaron are not exempt from the Lord's decree that the generation of people aged twenty and older who saw the Lord's wonders in Egypt and in the wilderness will not enter the promised land. Miriam has already fallen in the wilderness, never to reach the land the Lord vowed to give to the descendants of Abraham. Later in this same chapter we'll find Aaron dying several months after Miriam, at a location known as Mount Hor. Moses will die on Mount Nebo in Deuteronomy 34. 

In today's passage we find Moses and Aaron handling their situation in the right way. Join us tomorrow as we find them not handling their situation in the right way and as we find the Lord judging them guilty of failing to honor Him in the presence of the congregation. Prior to this there may have been some doubt as to whether the family of Moses would be kept from the promised land. After all, Moses and Aaron had the faith to believe Israel could take over the promised land with the Lord's help. Moses and Aaron didn't rebel against the Lord in Chapter 14 when the people's faith failed them and they refused to enter but instead wanted to turn back to Egypt. Yet in Chapter 14 the Lord stated that no one aged twenty or older, other than Joshua and Caleb, who saw His wonders in Egypt and the wilderness would enter the promised land. This means that even though the Lord knew Moses and Aaron didn't doubt His ability to give them victory over the tribes of the promised land, He also knew Moses and Aaron would mess up at Kadesh in Numbers 20. There is nothing the Lord does not know. This is why He can speak of the future as if it has already happened. This is why He can make decrees based on events that haven't even taken place yet. This is why, way back in Genesis, the Lord could say He disliked Esau before Esau and his twin Jacob were even born. The Lord knew the type of profane, carnally-minded man Esau would be. The Lord knew what type of cruel and uncharitable people the descendants of Esau would be, as we'll see later this week as we move on through Chapter 20. The Lord is able to make decisions based on future events because He knows exactly how future events are going to play out. 

Tomorrow we will see Moses making what is probably the biggest mistake of his life---a mistake that denies him entry to the promised land when the time comes for Israel to move forward and begin taking possession of it. But the Lord doesn't turn His back on Moses. Moses doesn't become "unsaved" by his mistake. The Lord still loves him. If a man like Moses can mess up and still be loved by the Lord, you and I can take comfort in knowing the Lord still loves us when we mess up too.

Numbers. Day 63, When And How To Use The Cleansing Water, Part Two

Today we are concluding Chapter 19 which contains the instructions for making the water for ceremonial cleansing and the instructions for when and how this type of cleansing is to be used. 

In Sunday's study we learned that anyone who came into physical contact with a deceased person was ceremonially unclean for seven days. On the third day and the seventh day the person was to undergo a ritual with the cleansing water. Only after the seventh day, and after the cleansing water had been applied properly, could the person go about all their normal public activities. Earlier in the Old Testament we studied a variety of things that would render a person ceremonially unclean for a time; having contact with a dead body was one of those things. I would imagine this was a frequent occurrence because medical care and funeral preparations were handled in the home in ancient times and in the not-so-ancient times. A terminally ill person would be cared for by the members of his household and his body would be prepared for burial by his family and he would be interred by his family. In those days the cause of a person's illness and death was not always obvious, since no tests could be run and no autopsies could be done, so a seven-day period of ceremonial uncleanness was important to observe in case the deceased person died of something contagious. This helped to prevent the spread of communicable diseases. 

Now we pick up with verses 14 and 15. "This is the law that applies when a person dies in a tent: Anyone who enters the tent and anyone who is in it will be unclean for seven days, and every open container without a lid fastened on it will be unclean." (Numbers 19:14-15) A person might die an unattended and unexpected death. Suppose a friend or family member stops by to visit with him or to check on him because they haven't seen him out and about and they find him deceased in his tent. Whoever finds him has become ceremonially unclean through no fault of their own but they still must observe the law regarding ceremonial uncleanness and the use of the purifying water. If any food containers without lids are present inside the tent with the dead body, the food inside the containers is rendered unfit for consumption. These regulations are to help prevent the spread of infectious disease since the cause of the person's unexpected death is not known.

"Anyone out in the open who touches someone who has been killed with a sword or someone who has died a natural death, or anyone who touches a human bone or a grave, will be unclean for seven days." (Numbers 19:16) Even if someone dies outdoors in the fresh air, anyone who has contact with the body is rendered ceremonially unclean for seven days. A person who dies by the sword didn't have infectious disease as a cause of death but the body still might be harboring harmful pathogens. If someone comes across a body that has mostly decomposed down to skeletal remains, there's still a chance of those remains being able to transfer harmful bacteria to the living, so we find verse 16 stating that contact with bones or a grave renders the person ceremonially unclean.

Now we move on to how the cleansing water is to be used. "For the unclean person, put some ashes from the burned purification offering into a jar and pour fresh water over them." (Numbers 19:17) These ashes are made up of the entire red heifer along with cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool. A pinch of ashes is placed in a jar and water is poured over them. "Then a man who is ceremonially clean is to take some hyssop, dip it in the water and sprinkle the tent and all the furnishings and the people who were there. He must also sprinkle anyone who has touched a human bone or a grave or anyone who has been killed or anyone who has died a natural death. The man who is clean is to sprinkle those who are unclean on the third and seventh days, and on the seventh day he is to purify them. Those who are being cleansed must wash their clothes and bathe with water, and that evening they will be clean. But if those who are unclean do not purify themselves, they must be cut off from the community, because they have defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, and they are unclean. This is a lasting ordinance for them." (Numbers 19:18-21a) 

As we learned in yesterday's passage, the person who refuses to observe the cleansing ritual is to be excommunicated by the congregation. The community is to shun the person because the person is showing contempt for the Lord. The Lord has said what must be done to be clean. He sets the rules for cleansing; man doesn't set the rules. A person can only be clean in the eyes of the Lord by using the methods prescribed by the Lord. We come to the Lord on His terms, not ours. This is symbolic of our salvation through Christ. The Lord has told us how to be saved and there is no other way to obtain redemption than to come to Him through Christ because our salvation is by faith, not by works. We can never keep ourselves completely free of sin and we can never perform enough good works to earn salvation. The only thing we can do is come humbly to the Lord through the method He's prescribed for salvation. Just as a ceremonially unclean person in Numbers 19 could not be made ceremonially clean without following the Lord's prescription for cleanliness, we cannot be saved without following the Lord's prescription for salvation.

"The man who sprinkles the water of cleansing must also wash his clothes, and anyone who touches the water of cleansing will be unclean til evening. Anything that an unclean person touches becomes unclean, and anyone who touches it becomes unclean til evening." (Numbers 19:21b-22) There is another reason why contact with a dead body renders the living person unclean, but this is more of a spiritual uncleanness than a physical uncleanness. Death is a result of sin. When Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, the countdown to his death began. The Lord created the human body with the ability to live forever but when sin entered the world it was like a pollution that affected everything, including the human body. Adam lived for many years after he committed his first sin (he died at age 930) but no matter what physical ailment actually took his life, that physical ailment was the result of sin. If he'd had a death certificate, the medical examiner would not have been incorrect to list the direct cause of death as "sin" and to list the contributing cause of death as whatever illness actually shut Adam's body down. So we see that to have contact with a dead body is to have contact---symbolically speaking---with sin. Sin is the direct cause of death of every human being, no matter whether they died due to an accident or due to cancer or a heart attack or anything else. 

As the Apostle Paul said in his letter to the church at Rome, death entered the world through one man: Adam. Adam brought sin into the world and sin brought death into the world. But just as one man brought sin and death into the world, one man---the Lord Jesus Christ---brought righteousness and life into the world. (See Romans 5:12-21) I want to close by pointing out that I think the "man who is ceremonially clean" who sprinkles the ceremonially unclean people with water in Numbers 19 symbolizes Christ. It took a ceremonially clean person to perform the cleansing ritual in order for the ritual to be recognized by God. The ceremonially unclean persons in the household couldn't sprinkle each other with the cleansing water and be purified. A ceremonially unclean person couldn't sprinkle himself with the cleansing water and be purified. An unclean person can't make himself or another person clean. And as we've just seen, we are all unclean because we have all sinned. Christ, who is perfect and sinless, is able to sprinkle us to purity. He sprinkles us not with the water and ash of a sacrificial heifer but with His own sacrificial blood. This is the means by which we are made clean in the eyes of a holy God. We can't be considered clean by God through any other method. He sets the terms for obtaining righteousness and He does not recognize man's terms for righteousness or man's puny attempts to obtain righteousness. This is why the Lord Jesus said, in no uncertain terms, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." (John 14:6) 

Numbers. Day 62, When And How To Use The Cleansing Water, Part One

In our study on Friday and Saturday we learned that the water for ceremonial cleansing was to be made using the ashes of a red heifer mixed with the ashes of cedar wood, hyssop and scarlet wool. Today we'll begin our look at when and how this cleansing water is to be used.

"Whoever touches a human corpse will be unclean for seven days. They must purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day; then they will be clean. But if they do not purify themselves on the third and seventh days, they will not be clean." (Numbers 19:11-12) Charles Spurgeon said of these two verses, "I wonder whether that is a revelation of our being justified through the resurrection of Christ, which took place on the third day after His death, and then our being brought into perfect rest, which represents the seventh day, through the wondrous purifying of our great Sacrifice, the Lamb of God." We can be certain there is significance to the person being commanded to purify themselves on both the third day and the seventh day, or else the Lord would not have commanded it, but we aren't provided with an explanation and can only speculate on the meaning of this. 

Being ceremonially unclean meant a person could not join the body of believers in worship services. The person could not go up to the tabernacle with offerings or sacrifices during that time. It is important that their time of uncleanness not linger on, so if a person handles the matter as commanded by the Lord, they will not miss more than a week's worth of fellowship with other believers. They will also not miss more than one Sabbath. The person who does not obey the Lord's commands in this matter is displaying a lack of interest in or reverence for worshiping the Lord with their fellow believers. The person is not concerned that they are unable to go up to the tabernacle with offerings and sacrifices. If they don't take the proper steps to restore themselves to ceremonial cleanness in order to partake in normal religious life, they are showing contempt for the Lord. If they participate in religious customs without having purified themselves, they are defiling the Lord's house. Persons who do such a thing are to be excommunicated from the congregation of Israel. "If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the Lord's tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them." (Numbers 19:13)

We can apply the last portion of verse 13 to ourselves. If we have not been sprinkled by the cleansing blood of Christ, we are unclean; our uncleanness remains on us. But thanks be to our precious Lord and Savior for making a way for us to be ceremonially clean---inside and out---by the sacrifice He made which is powerful enough once and for all to make us clean in the sight of a holy God!