Day: December 31, 2025

Numbers 15

Numbers 15

Numbers 15:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Numbers 15:2 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you,

Numbers 15:3 and you offer to Yahveh from the herd or from the flock a fire offering or an ascending offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a solemn pledge or as a spontaneous voluntary offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pacifying[1] aroma for Yahveh,

Numbers 15:4 then the one who brings his offering will offer to Yahveh a tribute offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil;

Numbers 15:5 and you will offer with the ascending offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb.

Numbers 15:6 Or for a ram, you will offer for a tribute offering two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil.

Numbers 15:7 For the drink offering, you will offer a third of a hin of wine, a pacifying aroma to Yahveh.

Numbers 15:8 And when you offer a bull as an ascending offering or sacrifice, to fulfill a solemn pledge or for offering for healthy relationships to Yahveh,

Numbers 15:9 then one will offer with the bull a tribute offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil.

Numbers 15:10 And you will offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a fire offering, a pacifying aroma to Yahveh.

Numbers 15:11 “Thus it will be done for each bull or ram, or each lamb or young goat.

Numbers 15:12 As many as you offer, so will you do with each one, as many as there are.

Numbers 15:13 Every native Israelite will do these things in this way, in offering a fire offering, with a pacifying aroma to Yahveh.

Numbers 15:14 And if a foreign guest is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a fire offering, with a pacifying aroma to Yahveh, he will do as you do.

Numbers 15:15 For the collected assembly, there will be one prescription for you and for the foreign guest who sojourns with you, a permanent prescription throughout your generations. You and the sojourner will be alike at the face of Yahveh.

Numbers 15:16 One instruction and one rule will be for you and for the foreign guest who sojourns with you.”

Numbers 15:17 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said

Numbers 15:18 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you

Numbers 15:19 and when you eat of the bread of the land, you will present a contribution to Yahveh.

Numbers 15:20 Of the firstfruits[2] of your dough, you will present a loaf as a contribution, like a contribution from the threshing floor, so will you present it.

Numbers 15:21 Some of the firstfruits of your dough you will give to Yahveh as a contribution throughout your generations.

Numbers 15:22 “But if you inadvertently make a failure, and do not observe all these commands that Yahveh has spoken to Moses,

Numbers 15:23 all that Yahveh has commanded you by Moses, from the day that Yahveh gave a command, and onward throughout your generations,

Numbers 15:24 then if it was done inadvertently without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation will offer one bull from the herd for an ascending offering, a pacifying aroma to Yahveh, with its tribute offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a failure offering.

Numbers 15:25 And the priest will provide reconciliation for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they will be forgiven, because it was a failure, and they have brought their offering, a fire offering to Yahveh, and their failure offering to the face of Yahveh for their failure.

Numbers 15:26 And all the congregation of the people of Israel will be forgiven, and the foreign guest who lives temporarily among them, because the whole population was involved in the failure.

Numbers 15:27 “If one throat inadvertently sins, he will offer a female goat a year old for a failure offering.

Numbers 15:28 And the priest will provide reconciliation to the face of Yahveh for the throat who makes a failure, when he sins inadvertently, to provide reconciliation for him, and he will be forgiven.

Numbers 15:29 You will have one instruction for him who does anything inadvertently, for him who is native among the people of Israel, and for the foreign guest who lives temporarily among them.

Numbers 15:30 But the throat who does anything presumptuously, whether he is native or a foreign guest, reviles Yahveh, and that throat will be eliminated from among his people.

Numbers 15:31 Because he has despised the word of Yahveh and has broken his command, that throat will be utterly eliminated; his violation will be on him.”

Numbers 15:32 While the people of Israel were in the open country, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day.

Numbers 15:33 And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation.

Numbers 15:34 They put him in custody because it had not been made clear what should be done to him.

Numbers 15:35 And Yahveh said to Moses, “The man will be put to death; all the congregation will stone him with stones outside the camp.”

Numbers 15:36 And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as Yahveh commanded Moses.

Numbers 15:37 Yahveh said to Moses,

Numbers 15:38 “Speak to the people of Israel and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner.

Numbers 15:39 And it will be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of Yahveh, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to prostitute yourselves for.

Numbers 15:40 So you will remember and do all my commandments and be sacred to your God.

Numbers 15:41 I am Yahveh your God

[1] נִיחוֹחַ = pacifying. Numbers 15:3, 7, 10, 13, 14, 24; 18:17; 28:2, 6, 8, 13, 24, 27; 29:2, 6, 8, 13, 36.

[2]רֵאשִׁית = firstfruits. Numbers 15:20-21; 18:12; 24:20.

Numbers 15 quotes:

“Suddenly and without warning, we find ourselves back in the classroom. Having received the word that they now have forty years of wandering still ahead of them, and having been forced to accept the without-parole nature of this sentence by their quick defeat at the hands of the Amalekites and the Canaanites, the Israelites decide to use this time constructively with some “continuing ed” in holy living. Like a battalion on maneuvers when the rain sets in, God’s people park their wagons, pitch their tents, and return to the role of students, which they learned so well back at Mount Sinai.”

Boyce Richard Nelson. Leviticus and Numbers. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 169.

“The central message of this new chapter is that, despite their disobedience and rebellion, a patient and merciful God was speaking again to his people. He kept the lines of communication open as he talked to them about undeserved grace (1-2), sacrificial worship (3-21), promised forgiveness (22-29) and necessary obedience (30-40).”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. P. 131.

“Moses knew that the people of Israel were just human beings, who were prone to forget God. So Moses gave them special instructions to help them keep God in mind.”

Gutzke, Manford George. Plain Talk on Leviticus and Numbers. Zondervan Pub. House., 1981. p. 97.

“The Lord gives guidance on further offerings and a test of obedience.”

Martin, Glen, and Max E. Anders. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Broadman & Holman, 2002. p. 318.

Numbers 15 links:

a community walk
ACST 50- The Sacrifice
Dead souls, dying souls
distinctive loyalty
God of grace and mercy
harmless or horrible?
immutable God
perspective change
TIME TO TASSEL

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

Numbers 14

Numbers 14

Numbers 14:1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept through that night.

Numbers 14:2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or we wish that we had died in this open country!

Numbers 14:3 Why is Yahveh bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?”

Numbers 14:4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

Numbers 14:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the sight of all the collected assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel.

Numbers 14:6 And Joshua, the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes

Numbers 14:7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceptionally good land.

Numbers 14:8 If Yahveh delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.

Numbers 14:9 Only do not rebel against Yahveh. And do not fear the people of the land because they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and Yahveh is with us; do not fear them.”

Numbers 14:10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the impressive appearance[1] of Yahveh appeared at the conference tent to all the people of Israel.

Numbers 14:11 And Yahveh said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, despite all the signs that I have done among them?

Numbers 14:12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation more influential and mightier than they.”

Numbers 14:13 But Moses said to Yahveh, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it because you resurrected this people by your might from among them,

Numbers 14:14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Yahveh, are in the midst of this people. Because you, O Yahveh, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night.

Numbers 14:15 Now if you exterminate this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say,

Numbers 14:16 ‘It is because Yahveh was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has exterminated them in the open country.’

Numbers 14:17 And now, please let the power of Yahveh be great as you have promised, and this is what you said,

Numbers 14:18 ‘Yahveh is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving violation and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the violation of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’

Numbers 14:19 Please pardon the violation of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven these people, from Egypt until now.”

Numbers 14:20 Then Yahveh said, “I have pardoned, according to your word.

Numbers 14:21 But truly, as I live, and as all the land will be filled with the impressive appearance of Yahveh,

Numbers 14:22 none of the men who have seen my impressive appearance and my signs that I did in Egypt and the open country, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice,

Numbers 14:23 will see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me will see it.

Numbers 14:24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different breath and has followed me thoroughly, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants will possess it.

Numbers 14:25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites stay in the valleys, turn tomorrow and advance for the open country by the way to the Red Sea.”

Numbers 14:26 And Yahveh spoke to Moses and Aaron, and this is what he said,

Numbers 14:27 “How long will this wicked congregation complain about me? I have heard the complaints of the people of Israel, which they complain about me.

Numbers 14:28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares Yahveh, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you:

Numbers 14:29 your corpses[2] will fall in this open country, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have complained about me,

Numbers 14:30 no one will come into the land where I swore that I would make your stay, except Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun.

Numbers 14:31 But your little ones, who you said would become prey, I will bring in, and they will experience the land that you have rejected.

Numbers 14:32 But as for you, your corpses will fall in this open country.

Numbers 14:33 And your children will be shepherds in the open country forty years and will suffer for your faithlessness until the last of your corpses is finished[3]  in the desert.

Numbers 14:34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you will bear your violation forty years, and you will know my displeasure.’

Numbers 14:35 I, Yahveh, have spoken. Surely this I will do to all this wicked congregation who are collected against me: in this open country, they will finish, and there they will die.”

Numbers 14:36 And the men whom Moses sent to scout out the lad, who returned and made all the congregation complain about him by bringing up a bad report about the land–

Numbers 14:37 the men who brought up an evil report of the land — died by plague in the sight of Yahveh.

Numbers 14:38 Of those men who went to scout out the land, only Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, remained alive.

Numbers 14:39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly.

Numbers 14:40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, and this is what they said, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that Yahveh has promised because we have sinned.”

Numbers 14:41 But Moses said, “Why now will you be transgressing the command of Yahveh when that will not succeed?

Numbers 14:42 Do not go up, because Yahveh is not among you, or else you will be struck down in the sight of your enemies.

Numbers 14:43 Because there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you will fall by the sword. Because you have turned your back from following Yahveh, Yahveh will not be with you.”

Numbers 14:44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of Yahveh nor Moses left from the camp.

Numbers 14:45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and crushed[4] them, even as far as Hormah.

[1] כָּבוֹד = impressive appearance, reward. Numbers 14:10, 21, 22; 16:19, 42; 20:6; 24:11.

[2] פֶּגֶר = corpse. Numbers 14:29, 32, 33.

[3] תָּמַם = finish. Numbers 14:33, 35; 17:13; 32:13.

[4] כָּתַת= crush by beating,

Numbers 14 quotes:

“God’s discipline is never arbitrary. Every parent knows that the key to effective discipline is matching the discipline with the crime. If a child can see no correlation between what she has done and the consequences, the behavior may be stopped but little learning will occur.”

Boyce Richard Nelson. Leviticus and Numbers. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 164.

“Every Christian evangelist stands between a merciful God and an obdurate people. However eloquent and well-informed, the contemporary evangelist is as powerless as Caleb and Joshua on the day they pleaded with that heedless multitude. We can only do what they ie. present a portrait of a unique God who has done so much for rebels, and pray that he will melt their hard and stubborn hearts”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. p. 123.

“Moses reported the mind of God to the people and told them that that generation would never go into the land. They had not wanted to go forward because they were afraid to, but they did not want to go back because they hated to. There is a marvelous truth here that should be noted: if the time comes to go forward with the Lord and the believer does not go forward because he doubts, he must go backward. He cannot stand still.”

Gutzke, Manford George. Plain Talk on Leviticus and Numbers. Zondervan Pub. House., 1981. p. 96.

“Moses’ serious warning is brushed aside, even when the warning is followed by a concrete step: neither the ark nor the priests accompanying the ark will go with Israel, as they normally would when Israel went into battle ( 10: 35f. ; cf. also 1 Sam. 4:3). Israel believes that it can get along without the visible sign of the Lord’s presence and that it can ignore Moses’ warning, “the Lord is not with you.” They go “in their presump¬ tion” (v. 44; lit. “they were swollen, puffed up”?). The result is a crush¬ ing defeat — the enemy meets them before they have even reached the top of the hills. They “attacked them” and “beat them” (a play on words in Hebrew: wayyakum and wayyaketum).”

Noordtzij, A. Numbers. Zondervan Pub. House, 1983. p. 132.

“The people are to be given one last chance to repent, as Caleb and Joshua forthrightly plead with them to trust in the Lord. Yet the prostration of Moses and Aaron intimates that this appeal will not be heeded and that the people will fall in the wilderness (cf. 29ff.).”

Wenham, Gordon J.. Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 4) (p. 136). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Numbers 14 links:

all the right things
an obedient walk
fear can lead to rebellion
introducing the breath of God
no alternative
the price of failed leadership

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, April 30, 2019

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

Numbers 13

Numbers 13

Numbers 13:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Numbers 13:2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers, you will send a man, each one a leader among them.”

Numbers 13:3 So Moses sent them from the open country of Paran, according to the command of Yahveh, all of them men who were leaders of the people of Israel.

Numbers 13:4 And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur;

Numbers 13:5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori;

Numbers 13:6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh;

Numbers 13:7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph;

Numbers 13:8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;

Numbers 13:9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti, the son of Raphu;

Numbers 13:10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi;

Numbers 13:11 from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi;

Numbers 13:12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli;

Numbers 13:13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur, the son of Michael;

Numbers 13:14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi;

Numbers 13:15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel, the son of Machi.

Numbers 13:16 These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

Numbers 13:17 Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negev and go up into the hill country,

Numbers 13:18 and see what the land is, and whether the people who stay in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,

Numbers 13:19 and whether the land that they stay in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they stay in are camps or strongholds,

Numbers 13:20 and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be strong[1] and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:21 So they went up and spied out the land from the open country of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.

Numbers 13:22 They went up into the Negev and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Numbers 13:23 And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.

Numbers 13:24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

Numbers 13:25 At the end of forty days, they returned from spying out the land.

Numbers 13:26 And they came to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the people of Israel in the open country of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land.

Numbers 13:27 And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.

Numbers 13:28 However, the people who stay in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there.

Numbers 13:29 The Amalekites stay in the land of the Negev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites stay in the hill country. And the Canaanites stay by the sea and along the Jordan.”

Numbers 13:30 But Caleb quieted the people in the sight of Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it because we are well able to overcome it.”

Numbers 13:31 Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people because they are stronger than we are.”

Numbers 13:32 So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, and this is what he said: “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height.

Numbers 13:33 And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

[1] חָזָק  = be strong.

Numbers 13 quotes:

“God knows the greatest threat to this mission is not the people and the walled cities of this land of milk and honey, no matter how well “fortified” (Num. 13:19). No, the greatest threat to the forward motion of this story is the fear ever welling up in the hearts of these travelers. God’s people were and still are far more proficient at sitting and wailing, than at marching and praising. We quickly grow nostalgic for the past, even a past of slavery, whenever “the future” is uncertain, even that future as far out as our next cup of water, or our next bite of bread. As this people gets ready to face their greatest test of the future (their entry into a new land of promise), the Lord only knows that they will need some help, a lot of help, and the more tangible the better. So God offers them a “foretaste of.the future,” in word (the report) and in sacrament (the fruit), so that they might “be bold,” as were these leaders, when the time to “cross over” arrives.”

Boyce Richard Nelson. Leviticus and Numbers. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 156.

“Out of that vast crowd, only four people acknowledged the importance of seeking God’s mind and trusting his word. The rest, tortured by uncertainty, plagued with inadequacy and paralysed by fear, refused to press on with their journey. Christian readers will learn from their mistakes and trace their path into the future with the landmarks clearly portrayed in this graphic narrative. There may be times when, like them, we are genuinely fearful about the way ahead. Some have discovered they are seriously unwell or have heard that someone they love has a terminal illness. Security at work is threatened; redundancy and unemployment become a grim probability. Church relationships may have become soured by the damaging example of an admired leader or the defection of valued friends. Family stability has been jeopardized by a partner’s unfaithfulness, or parents may be deeply troubled about tensions in the lives of their married children. What seemed a reasonably tranquil and secure life is suddenly tossed into agonizing turmoil. How does the believer react to such a dramatic and unwelcome change of circumstances?”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. p. 114.

“The report must have struck paralyzing fear in the tribes that stood and listened. Terror seized their hearts, and Caleb must have immediately sized up the situation. He replied with a swift conclusion without taking the time to build up his case: They should take possession of the land, he said, for we can certainly do it. Caleb’s response was the response of faith. God’s words stirred up his heart in believing faith, and the empirical evidence he had gained by witnessing the land for himself corroborated this conclusion.”

Martin, Glen, and Max E. Anders. Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers. Broadman & Holman, 2002. p. 308.

“Their request for spies reveals a lack of faith on their part. They are not trusting Him. God had already been in and spied out the land. He knew all about it. He would not have sent them into the land unless He knew they could take it. When they finally did enter the land, the giants were still there; all the difficulties and problems were still there, yet they took the land.”

McGee J. Vernon. Numbers. T. Nelson 1991. p. 86.

“From Deuteronomy 1:22 it seems that the purpose of the mission was to strengthen the Israelites’ faith, not to bring back tactical information.”

Wenham, Gordon J.. Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 4) (p. 131). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

Numbers 13 links:

an obedient walk
scout’s dishonor
the grasshopper report
what you see hiking

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

Numbers 12

Numbers 12

Numbers 12:1 Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married.

Numbers 12:2 And they said, “Has Yahveh really spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And Yahveh heard it.

Numbers 12:3 Now, the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the land.

Numbers 12:4 And suddenly Yahveh said to Moses and Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the conference tent.” And the three of them came out.

Numbers 12:5 And Yahveh came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward.

Numbers 12:6 And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I Yahveh make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream.

Numbers 12:7 That is not the case with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house.

Numbers 12:8 With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he notices the form of Yahveh. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”

Numbers 12:9 And the anger of Yahveh was kindled against them, and he departed.

Numbers 12:10 When the cloud lifted from over the tent, Aaron noticed that Miriam had diseased skin, like snow. He turned toward Miriam and noticed that she was diseased.

Numbers 12:11 And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned.

Numbers 12:12 Let her not be as a dead one, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s uterus.”

Numbers 12:13 And Moses cried to Yahveh, “O God, please heal her — please.”

Numbers 12:14 But Yahveh said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp for seven days, and after that, she may be brought in again.”

Numbers 12:15 So Miriam was shut outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not advance on the march till Miriam was brought in again.

Numbers 12:16 After that, the people advanced from Hazeroth and camped in the open country of Paran.

Numbers 12 quotes:

“What had first been a complaint by the people, then a complaint by the people and Moses, now becomes a personal complaint against Moses lodged by the members of his inner cabinet: Miriam and Aaron, Moses’ sister and brother, his fellow leaders.

Their complaint begins with an attack on Moses on account of his wife (probably Zipporah, a Midianite with links to Cush; cf. Hab. 3:7), then moves to a more substantive charge regarding authority (“Has the LorD spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” v. 2). (Ironically, the narrative has just dealt with God’s inclusion of another Midianite, Hobab [Num. 10:29-32] and with Moses’ defense of shared leadership [11:29].) Moses opens not his mouth against his accusers (cf. Isa. 53:7), but the Lord does, through a personal arbitration at the tent of meeting. Undoubtedly, the Lord’s words are only salt in the wound, pointing out the superiority of words to visions (Moses is always viewed as far more than a “seer”), the comprehensive nature of Moses’ authority (“He is entrusted with all my house”; Num. 12:7), and the face-to-face (or“mouth-to-mouth” in the Hebrew) nature of their relationship (v. 8). The Lord then “departs” (v. 9).

However, the Lord is not yet through. The “insider” now becomes the “outsider”—Miriam is made leprous, as white as snow (cf. Lev. 13). Aaron cries out, Moses intercedes, and the Lord pronounces a judgment with a limited term (“Let her be shut out of the camp for seven days”; Num. 12:14).”

Boyce Richard Nelson. Leviticus and Numbers. 1st ed. Westminster John Knox Press 2008. p. 152.

“The offence of Aaron and Miriam had held them up in their desert travels, but it would be a week well spent if it taught them to honour God and to shun sin.”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. p, 112.

“It was not just a case of petty family jealousy, for Aaron, Moses’ brother, was also the high priest and therefore supreme religious leader and most holy man in Israel; while Miriam, his sister, was a prophetess and thus head of the spirit-filled women (Exod. 15:20f.). Here, then, is an alliance of priest and prophet, the two archetypes of Israelite religion, challenging Moses’ position as sole mediator between God and Israel. His vindication is at once decisive and dramatic: indeed the description of his position and office clearly prefigures that of our Lord in the New Testament.”

Wenham, Gordon J.. Numbers: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries Book 4) (p. 124). InterVarsity Press. Kindle Edition.

a respectful walk
snow white

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, May 2, 2023

ALEF

ALEF

Psalms 119:1-8 NET.

1 How blessed are those whose actions are blameless, who obey the law of the LORD. 2 How blessed are those who observe his rules, and seek him with all their heart, 3 who, moreover, do no wrong, but follow in his footsteps. 4 You demand that your precepts be carefully kept. 5 If only I were predisposed to keep your statutes, 6 Then I would not be ashamed, if I were focused on all your commands. 7 I will give you sincere thanks when I learn your just regulations. 8 I will keep your statutes. Do not completely abandon me!

Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible, with 176 verses. I doubt any of us chose to memorize this psalm. But there is something else special about it: it is an acrostic. It has 22 sections, each with eight verses. The first letter of every verse in a section begins with the same Hebrew letter. That’s why I titled today’s sermon “Alef.” Alef is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. It doesn’t always match the English letter “A.” Alef serves as a placeholder letter representing a vowel sound. Words starting with Alef can begin with the sounds of a, e, i, o, or u.

Here is a chart showing the first words of Psalm 119:1-8 (the Alef section) and what they mean in English:

אֶשֶׁרesherblessed (1,2)
אַףafalso (3)
אַתָּהatayou (4)
אַחֲלַיahalayif only (5)
אָזazthen (6)
אוֹדְךָodechaI will thank you (7)
אֶת־חֻקֶּיךָet chukechayour statutes (8)

The main message of Psalm 119 highlights the greatness and glory of God’s word and stresses the importance of obeying it. It also introduces a list of synonyms for God’s word. God’s word includes his law, rules, precepts, statutes, commands, and regulations. Each term carries a particular emphasis, but they all refer to his word.

The entire psalm praises scripture as a source of guidance, wisdom, and comfort, and shows the psalmist’s deep love for God and desire to live righteously according to His teachings. 

There is no way to cover the entire psalm systematically in just one sermon. My friend Kimon Nicolaides preached on this psalm on the radio in Hawaii. He focused on one section at a time each week, so it took him months.

For today’s sermon, I will focus only on the first section. I’ll review this section verse by verse.

The word esher (אֶשֶׁר), meaning blessed, appears as the first word in verses 1 and 2.

A blessed person is someone who is fortunate and makes wise decisions that lead to good fortune. The wise people described in these verses owe their fortune to blameless actions. Their behavior was upright, and no one could accuse them of wrongdoing. How did they achieve this? It was not by chance. They intentionally chose to obey the law of the LORD. Note that it was not just a choice to obey human law. Sometimes human laws are unjust. Many evil people justify their wicked acts by claiming they were obeying the law. But the law of the LORD is perfect. It is a just and moral law. You can’t go wrong by seeking to follow God’s law. It cuts through hidden motives and reveals the hypocrisy and selfishness behind human laws.

The people who are blessed are those who observe God’s rules. These rules are specific; they serve as God’s warning signs. We see human warning signs all around us, yet we often ignore them, which can lead to harm—like a stop sign. If we ignore the stop sign and keep driving, we risk crashing into something or someone.

The rules demonstrate the existence of those responsible for them. They are somewhat like the signs we see scattered around Columbus County right now, which list the names of candidates running for public office. These signs serve as reminders to vote for your preferred candidate in the elections on November 4th. Similarly, God’s rules remind us to remember Him when we make our choices. Observing His rules means living in a way that honors Him. Today’s text tells us that those who follow God’s rules and seek Him with all their heart will be blessed. Conversely, ignoring His rules and trying to fulfill our own desires with all our heart is the opposite.

The word af (אַף), meaning also, or moreover, appears in verse three.

This word shows an example of the same thing. People who seek God with all their hearts avoid doing wrong because they have chosen to follow in God’s footsteps. Now, God is a Spirit, and since he has no physical feet, it’s clear what it means to follow in his footsteps. It means to go where he goes and not stray from his path.

God has always made the correct path clear in His word. But since the Lord Jesus appeared, His path has become even more evident. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. People cannot come to the Father except through Him, and they cannot follow God unless they are following Him. Jesus said, “No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son decides to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27). So, if you really want to know what it is like to follow in God’s footsteps, you should study the Gospels and learn all you can about Jesus Christ.

For a good three years, most of my sermons focused on Christ’s commands as revealed in the Gospels. I don’t regret that choice. Christ’s commands are so important that Jesus told the apostles before he ascended to teach all nations to obey everything that he commanded. That is how we follow in God’s footsteps. Jesus did not replace the law; he explained it and fulfilled it.

The word ata (אַתָּה), meaning you, is the first word of verse four.

The “you” in this case refers to God Himself. He requires that His precepts be followed carefully. A precept is a rule or principle that guides behavior or conduct. I might also call it a guideline. In the army, we had to be very diligent in following the SOP for every task. SOP stands for Standard Operating Procedures. What the psalmist is telling us here is that God Himself has established the SOP for how we live our lives. He doesn’t want us to do it our way; He wants us to do it His way. To ensure we live according to His way, God has provided some guidelines in the Bible. If we choose to ignore these guidelines, our lives may not immediately fall apart, but they will always be flawed. There will always be some dysfunction. God doesn’t want that.

The word ahalay (אַחֲלַי) means if only, and appears in verse five.

This word expresses a desire for something to be true. The psalmist reveals his inner longing here. After everything he has said before, you might think he’s an expert at obeying God. But that’s not the case. The psalmist admits that he also struggles to get it right. He says, “If only I were predisposed to keep your statutes!” This means the psalmist isn’t naturally inclined to follow God’s statutes. I appreciate how the psalms’ writers are open about their own weaknesses and failures.

Last Monday night, Brother Martin spoke about taking up our cross daily and following Jesus. I’m also glad he quoted Romans 7, which shows that even the Apostle Paul struggled with this. He admitted that he had trouble doing the good things he knew he should do. That is what the psalmist is expressing here. He knows the rules but struggles to follow them. The Bible’s message is not “Be perfect and God will save you.” The Bible’s message is one of grace. The good news is that God saves imperfect people through His grace.

The word az (אָז), meaning then, appears first in verse six.

It continues the idea from verse 5. Both verses say: “If only I were predisposed to keep your statutes, then I would not be ashamed if I were focused on all your commands.” The psalmist admits that he doesn’t always do it right. He struggles to focus on God’s commands, so his life often becomes something he’s ashamed of.

These verses introduce two additional synonyms for God’s word: his statutes and his commands. We understand what a command is, but what exactly is a statute? Our English word ‘statute’ refers to a written law passed by a legislative body. However, that is not precisely what is meant by the term here. The Hebrew word suggests something that is prescribed. In my translation, I use the word ‘prescription.’ We all know what a prescription is — the doctor prescribes medication for you to take, and if he is right, you will take it and get better. That is what a biblical statute is. That’s why the psalmist wishes he were predisposed to follow God’s prescriptions. He knows that if he simply straightened up and took his medicine, he would improve. It’s an if-then condition. The psalmist says that if he would only keep God’s statutes, then he would not be ashamed.

I’m picturing the walk of shame in my mind. You know, that walk into the courthouse for trial. The suspect often covers his head, partly out of shame and partly to keep anyone from taking his picture to broadcast on the six o’clock news. I can imagine what might be going through those people’s minds as they walk that walk of shame. They are thinking, “if only I had stayed away from that fight, if only I had not tried to rob that bank, if only I had not tried to get rich by cheating people.”

The word odecha (אוֹדְךָ) means I will thank you. It’s the first word in verse seven.

The psalmist thanks God for His regulations, while most of us do not thank the government for its regulations. We see those regulations as unnecessary barriers to our success and happiness. But God’s regulations are a means to our success and happiness. He sets limits on what we can do and when we can do it. If we are wise, we will seek out God’s instructions to guide our lives, families, and work. Wise people understand that living life God’s way will eventually cause them to thank Him for those rules.

The words et chukecha (אֶת־חֻקֶּיךָ) mean “your statutes.” They are the first words in verse eight.

We’ve already discussed statutes because the word first appeared in verse 5. We also see that the psalmist is honest enough to admit he did not always follow God’s prescriptions exactly. In this final verse of the Alef section, the psalmist pleads with God not to abandon him and promises to keep God’s statutes. These are the words of someone who has failed before and understands the shame and guilt that come with that failure. He is determined to do better next time. We have a word for that kind of person: we call that person repentant. A repentant person comes to God not based on their track record but because of their need. A proud person might approach God asking for help so they can be a winner. But a genuinely repentant person always comes to God, desperately seeking His help because without God, they know they are a loser.

The message of the Alef section is that the word of God serves as a way to connect with God’s righteousness and power. It speaks theologically about a God who has gone before us and prepared our path by giving us guidelines to live by. It demonstrates that humans often fail to do what God desires, even when we know it is right. It offers us a second chance. It tells us that God will not abandon us if we admit our failures and seek Him through repentance. Even if we have failed Him in the past, He remains faithful to His word. So, we can always return.