(The previous post covered conflicts from within Israel with leadership. Korah rallied 250 leaders against Moses and Aaron. The earth swallowed Korah and those with him. Separately, 14,700 died by plague when the people of the congregation rallied against Moses and Aaron.)
Numbers 19
(This chapter covered laws of purification, specifically the water of separation.)
1 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
2 This is the statute of the law which Jehovah hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.
(The people were commanded to bring Moses a red heifer (cow) without spot or blemish and that had never come under a yoke.)
3 And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, and he shall bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:
4 and Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle her blood toward the front of the tent of meeting seven times.
(The heifer was slain before Eleazar the priest. He then had to sprinkle the heifer’s blood, toward the tent of meeting, seven times. Notice, it was a female heifer.)
5 And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:
6 and the priest shall take cedar-wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
(The heifer was completely burnt in Eleazar’s sight.)
7 Then the priest shall wash his clothes, and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp, and the priest shall be unclean until the even.
8 And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.
9 And a man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, and lay them up without the camp in a clean place; and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water for impurity: it is a sin-offering.
10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the even: and it shall be unto the children of Israel, and unto the stranger that sojourneth among them, for a statute for ever.
(Those who dealt with the heifer, even her ashes, were unclean until that evening.)
(Verses 11-22: the water of separation applied.)
11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days:
12 the same shall purify himself therewith on the third day, and on the seventh day he shall be clean: but if he purify not himself the third day, then the seventh day he shall not be clean.
13 Whosoever toucheth a dead person, the body of a man that hath died, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of Jehovah; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water for impurity was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.
14 This is the law when a man dieth in a tent: every one that cometh into the tent, and every one that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.
15 And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.
(When someone died, everyone who went in that tent was unclean for seven days. Even the open vessels in the tent were unclean.)
16 And whosoever in the open field toucheth one that is slain with a sword, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.
17 And for the unclean they shall take of the ashes of the burning of the sin-offering; and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:
18 and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched the bone, or the slain, or the dead, or the grave:
19 and the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day, and on the seventh day: and on the seventh day he shall purify him; and he shall wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.
20 But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from the midst of the assembly, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of Jehovah: the water for impurity hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.
21 And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them: and he that sprinkleth the water for impurity shall wash his clothes, and he that toucheth the water for impurity shall be unclean until even.
22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.
Numbers 20
1 And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came into the wilderness of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.
(Miriam, Aaron's and Moses' sister, died and was buried in Kadesh. Kadesh was in the extreme south of Judah.)
2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
(Again, the people came against Moses and Aaron. This time was because they had no water.)
3 And the people strove with Moses, and spake, saying, Would that we had died when our brethren died before Jehovah!
4 And why have ye brought the assembly of Jehovah into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our beasts?
5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6 And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tent of meeting, and fell upon their faces: and the glory of Jehovah appeared unto them.
7 And Jehovah spake unto Moses, saying,
8 Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water; and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock; so thou shalt give the congregation and their cattle drink.
(God told Moses to "speak" to the rock before their eyes. This would have increased their faith.)
9 And Moses took the rod from before Jehovah, as he commanded him.
10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?
11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice: and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.
(Moses "smote" the rock twice. Remember, Moses smote/struck the rock when this similar situation happened before: Exodus 17:6. Did he strike it once like he did before and when it did not work, he struck it again? Was Moses adding to God's instructions?)
12 And Jehovah said unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed not in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.
(Because Moses did not believe God and did not increase the faith of the Israelites, Moses could not bring the Israelites into the Promised Land. It would have been proof of growth if Moses had only spoken to the rock. It would have taken more faith to only speak and not strike the rock like he did before. God was attempting to mature Israel towards the spiritual, however, Moses' focus was on the physical. There was a conflict between God and the leadership.)
13 These are the waters of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with Jehovah, and he was sanctified in them.
(Meribah meant "strife" or "contention.")
14 And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:
15 how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers:
16 and when we cried unto Jehovah, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border.
17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy land: we will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go along the king's highway; we will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy border.
18 And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against thee.
(This was the first conflict from outside the camp since God told them they would wander the desert for forty years: The King of Edom would not let them pass. Edom came from Esau.)
19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of thy water, I and my cattle, then will I give the price thereof: let me only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.
20 And he said, Thou shalt not pass through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
(Again the King of Edom said they could not go through and he went against Moses with many people and a strong hand.)
21 Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
22 And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came unto mount Hor.
23 And Jehovah spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,
24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.
(Israel avoided the conflict. Aaron would be gathered to his people because he rebelled against God at the waters of Meribah.)
25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor;
26 and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
27 And Moses did as Jehovah commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28 And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
(Aaron died on the top of mount Hor. Mount Hor, which simply meant "mountain," was the highest of the whole range of sandstone mountains in Edom.)
29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.
(The people mourned Aaron for thirty days.)
Numbers 21
(Paul referenced the events from this chapter in 1 Corinthians 10:9.)
1 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim; and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.
(This was the second conflict from outside Israel. This time, some of Israel was taken captive.)
2 And Israel vowed a vow unto Jehovah, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.
(The Israelites turned to God for victory.)
3 And Jehovah hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and the name of the place was called Hormah.
(God fought the battle. Hormah meant "devotion.")
4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, and there is no water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
(The people spoke against God and Moses because they were tired of the journey. Again, conflict within the camp.)
6 And Jehovah sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
(The Lord sent fiery serpents that bit the people and many of them died. No discussion. God immediately responded.)
7 And the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, because we have spoken against Jehovah, and against thee; pray unto Jehovah, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
(The people immediately confessed. In fact, the people asked Moses for help. Moses prayed for the people.)
8 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a standard: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he seeth it, shall live.
(God told Moses to make a fiery serpent that if someone was bitten, once they looked at the fiery serpent, they would live. Jesus referenced this passage in John 3:14-15 and compared Himself to the standard that helped people live.)
9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and set it upon the standard: and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked unto the serpent of brass, he lived.
10 And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in Oboth.
11 And they journeyed from Oboth, and encamped at Iyeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.
12 From thence they journeyed, and encamped in the valley of Zered.
13 From thence they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, that cometh out of the border of the Amorites: for the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.
14 Wherefore it is said in the book of the Wars of Jehovah, Vaheb in Suphah, And the valleys of the Arnon,
("The Book of the Wars of Jehovah"?)
15 And the slope of the valleys That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar, And leaneth upon the border of Moab.
16 And from thence they journeyed to Beer: that is the well whereof Jehovah said unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.
(Verses 17-18: a song that Israel sang.)
17 Then sang Israel this song: Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:
18 The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves. And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah;
(The lyrics of the song within those verses: "Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it: The well, which the princes digged, Which the nobles of the people delved, With the sceptre, and with their staves.")
19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth;
20 and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh down upon the desert.
21 And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,
22 Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard; we will not drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's highway, until we have passed thy border.
23 And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz; and he fought against Israel.
(Sihon, king of the Amorites, would not let Israel pass.)
24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon unto the Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon; for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.
(Israel smote them with the edge of the sword. From Genesis 19:37-38: Ammon was from Lot's incest with one of his daughters and Moab was Lot's son from his other daughter.)
25 And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the towns thereof.
26 For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto the Arnon.
27 Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come ye to Heshbon; Let the city of Sihon be built and established:
28 For a fire is gone out of Heshbon, A flame from the city of Sihon: It hath devoured Ar of Moab, The lords of the high places of the Arnon.
29 Woe to thee, Moab! Thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: He hath given his sons as fugitives, And his daughters into captivity, Unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
30 We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, And we have laid waste even unto Nophah, Which reacheth unto Medeba.
31 Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.
32 And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took the towns thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.
33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.
(Israel sent out spies and were fighting their own battles. Next, Og, the King of Bashan, went up against the Israelites. Israel was being attacked. How would God respond?)
34 And Jehovah said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.
(God told Moses to not fear him because God delivered Og into his hand.)
35 So they smote him, and his sons and all his people, until there was none left him remaining: and they possessed his land.
(This post covered God's maturing of Israel. Moses struck the rock twice for water instead of speaking to it. God said Moses would not lead Israel into the Promised Land. Israel had their first two conflicts with people from outside of Israel. Also, these chapters covered the deaths of Miriam and Aaron. This concluded the second part of the Book of Numbers: Israel's journey in the desert and preparation for the Promised Land. The rest of the Book of Numbers documented the events that occurred before crossing the Jordan River.)
Day 46
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