Numbers 35

Numbers 35

Numbers 35:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, and this is what he said,

Numbers 35:2 “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance they possess as cities for them to stay in. And you will give to the Levites pasture-lands around the towns.

Numbers 35:3 The cities will be theirs to stay in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds and their flocks and all their animals.

Numbers 35:4 The pasturelands of the cities, which you will give to the Levites, will reach from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around.

Numbers 35:5 And you will measure, outside the city, on the east side two thousand cubits, and the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits, the city being in the middle. This will belong to them as pasture-land for their towns.

Numbers 35:6 “The cities that you give to the Levites will be the six cities of refuge, where you will permit the person who unintentionally kills someone to run away, and in addition to them you will give forty-two cities.

Numbers 35:7 All the cities that you give to the Levites will be forty-eight, with their pasturelands.

Numbers 35:8 And as for the cities that you will give from the possession of the people of Israel, from the larger tribes you will take many, and from the smaller tribes you will take few; each, in proportion to the inheritance that it inherits, will give of its cities to the Levites.”

Numbers 35:9 And Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Numbers 35:10 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

Numbers 35:11 then you will select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the killer who strikes down any throat inadvertently may escape there.

Numbers 35:12 The cities will be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the killer may not die until he stands at the face of the congregation for judgment.

Numbers 35:13 And the cities that you give will be your six cities of refuge.

Numbers 35:14 You will give three cities beyond the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge.

Numbers 35:15 These six cities will be for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the foreign guest and the temporary resident among them, that anyone who strikes down any throat inadvertently may escape there.

Numbers 35:16 “But if he struck him down with an iron object so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

Numbers 35:17 And if he struck him down with a stone tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

Numbers 35:18 Or if he struck him down with a wooden tool that could cause death, and he died, he is a murderer. The murderer will be put to death.

Numbers 35:19 The avenger of blood will himself put the murderer to death; when he meets him, he will put him to death.

Numbers 35:20 And if he pushed him out of hatred or hurled something at him, lying in wait, so that he died,

Numbers 35:21 or in animosity struck him down with his hand so that he died, then he who struck the blow will be put to death. He is a murderer. The avenger of blood will put the murderer to death when he meets him.

Numbers 35:22 “But if he pushed him suddenly without animosity, or hurled anything on him without lying in wait

Numbers 35:23 or used a stone that could cause death, and without seeing him dropped it on him, so that he died, though he was not his enemy and did not seek his harm,

Numbers 35:24 then the congregation will judge between the killer and the avenger of blood, in accordance with these rules.

Numbers 35:25 And the congregation will rescue the killer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation will restore him to his city of refuge to which he had escaped, and he will live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil.

Numbers 35:26 But if the killer will at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he ran away,

Numbers 35:27 and the Avenger of Blood find him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the Avenger of Blood kills the killer; he will not be guilty of blood.

Numbers 35:28 Because he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest, the killer may return to the land of his possession.

Numbers 35:29 And these things will be for a prescription and rule for you throughout your generations in all your staying places.

Numbers 35:30 “If anyone kills a throat, the murderer will be put to death on the evidence of witnesses. But no throat will be put to death on the testimony of one witness.

Numbers 35:31 Moreover, you will accept no ransom for the throat of a murderer, who is guilty of death, but he will be put to death.

Numbers 35:32 And you will accept no ransom for him who has run away to his city of refuge, that he may return to stay in the land before the death of the high priest.

Numbers 35:33 You will not pollute the land in which you live because blood pollutes the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed in it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

Numbers 35:34 You will not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I stay, because I Yahveh stay in the midst of the people of Israel.”

Numbers 35 quotes:

“… the Levites were not to own the towns, but only to live in them. They were perhaps also not to be the sole residents in these towns, since passages like Lev. 25:32-35 speak only of the Levites’ redemption of houses in these towns, not the towns themselves.”

Ashley Timothy R. The Book of Numbers. Eerdmans 1993. p. 645.

” The lawgiver thus found in Israel the law of retribution in conjunction with the ancient tribal organization, and he had to take that which existed as his starting point. But God’s intention for Israel was its development into a people in which all parts functioned harmoniously; this included centralized authority, i.e. its development into an ordered state.”

Noordtzij, A. Numbers. Zondervan Pub. House, 1983. p. 298.

“Another section of case-law made the refugee cities available for aliens who had killed someone accidentally. It also makes a differentiation between manslaughter, where the death of the victim was not premediated, and murder, where the victim dies as a result of malice aforethought.”

Harrison, R.K. The Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary: Numbers. Moody Press. 1990. p. 419.

“There has been considerable discussion why the high priest’s death plays a part in these legal provisions. In God’s mercy and sovereignty, it may indicate, for the offender, the commencement of a new era.”

Brown Raymond. The Message of Numbers : Journey to the Promised Land. InterVarsity Press 2002. p. 300.

“There is a sense in which God cannot afford a strong concentration of His servants in one place, when a whole land, and a whole people, have to be served in the gospel.”

Philip James and Lloyd John Ogilvie. Numbers. Thomas Nelson 1987. p. 318.

“The Levites are associated with issues of crossing and negotiating boundaries. This case involves boundaries between purity and impurity of the land. But the Levitical cities of refuge also wrestle with the boundary between murder and manslaughter in the borderline cases of unintentional killing.”

Olson, Dennis T. Numbers. John Knox Press. p. 190.

Numbers 35 links:

a protective walk
accept no ransom
Dead souls, dying souls
invaded
learning consideration
the congregation will rescue

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

Numbers 34

Numbers 34

Numbers 34:1 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said

Numbers 34:2 “Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that will fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders),

Numbers 34:3 your south side will be from the open country of Zin alongside Edom, and your southern border will run from the end of the Salt Sea on the east.

Numbers 34:4 And your border will turn south of the ascent of Scorpions, and cross to Zin, and its limit will be south of Kadesh-barnea. Then it will go on to Hazar-addar, and pass along to Azmon.

Numbers 34:5 And the border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, and its limit will be at the sea.

Numbers 34:6 “For the western border, you will have the Great Sea and its coast. This will be your western border.

Numbers 34:7 “This will be your northern border: from the Great Sea you will draw a line to Mount Hor.

Numbers 34:8 From Mount Hor you will draw a line to Lebo-hamath, and the limit of the border will be at Zedad.

Numbers 34:9 Then the border will extend to Ziphron, and its limit will be at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border.

Numbers 34:10 “You will draw a line for your eastern border from Hazar-enan to Shepham.

Numbers 34:11 And the border will go down from Shepham to Riblah on the east side of Ain. And the border will go down and reach to the shoulder of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east.

Numbers 34:12 And the border will go down to the Jordan, and its limit will be at the Salt Sea. This will be your land as defined by its borders all around.”

Numbers 34:13 Moses commanded the people of Israel, and this is what he said, “This is the land that you will inherit by lot, which Yahveh has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe.

Numbers 34:14 Because the tribe of the people of Reuben by fathers’ houses and the tribe of the people of Gad by their fathers’ houses have received their inheritance, and also the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Numbers 34:15 The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan east of Jericho, toward the sunrise.”

Numbers 34:16 Yahveh spoke to Moses, and this is what he said,

Numbers 34:17 “These are the names of the men who will divide the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun.

Numbers 34:18 You will take one leader from every tribe to divide the land for inheritance.

Numbers 34:19 These are the names of the men: Of the tribe of Judah, Caleb, the son of Jephunneh.

Numbers 34:20 Of the tribe of the people of Simeon, Shemuel, the son of Ammihud.

Numbers 34:21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad, the son of Chislon.

Numbers 34:22 Of the tribe of the people of Dan, a leader, Bukki, the son of Jogli.

Numbers 34:23 Of the people of Joseph: of the tribe of the people of Manasseh a leader, Hanniel the son of Ephod.

Numbers 34:24 And of the tribe of the people of Ephraim a leader, Kemuel, the son of Shiphtan.

Numbers 34:25 Of the tribe of the people of Zebulun, a leader, Elizaphan, the son of Parnach.

Numbers 34:26 Of the tribe of the people of Issachar, a leader, Paltiel, the son of Azzan.

Numbers 34:27 And of the tribe of the people of Asher a leader, Ahihud, the son of Shelomi.

Numbers 34:28 Of the tribe of the people of Naphtali, a leader, Pedahel, the son of Ammihud.

Numbers 34:29 These are the men whom Yahveh commanded to divide the inheritance for the people of Israel in the land of Canaan.”

Numbers 34 quotes:

“The Lord having in the previous chapter given the Israelites a strict charge respecting their treatment of the conquered nations, proceeds in the present to fix and determine the boundaries of the land promised ages before to Abraham and his seed.”

Bush, George. Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Numbers. New York: [publisher not identified], 1858. p. 462.

“It was important for the Israelites to be taught that, whilst divinely commissioned to exterminate the idolatrous inhabitants of the land of Canaan, they had no commission to make aggressive wars upon the surrounding nations which were eyond the confines of the land which was allotted to them.”

Ellicott, C. J. The Fourth Book of Moses, Called Numbers. London: Cassell & Co, 1850. p. 209.

“The lawgiver now passes in the most logical method, to define the limits of the land which Israel should regard as its inheritance, so that it should not seek to go out beyond these limits and found a world empire (2 Sam. xxiv. ), nor rest within these boundaries until it has acquired and occupied all the territory within them. The foundation for this direction is contained in Gen. XV. 18-21 ; Ex. xxiii, 31—and their actual application of them is related in Josh. xiii. sqq. It is assumed that the east Jordan region belongs within these limits.”

Lange, Johann Peter, and Samuel T. Lowrie. Numbers: Or, the Fourth Book of Moses. New York: C. Scribner, 1899. p. 181.

Numbers 34 links:

a God who acts for his people
a specific walk
border words

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

Numbers 33

Numbers 33

Numbers 33:1 These are the phases of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies, being guided by Moses and Aaron.

Numbers 33:2 Moses wrote down their starting places, phase by phase, by command of Yahveh, and these are their phases according to their starting places.

Numbers 33:3 They advanced from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month. On the day after the Passover, the people of Israel went out triumphantly in the sight of all the Egyptians,

Numbers 33:4 while the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn, whom Yahveh had struck down among them. Yahveh also executed judgments against their gods.

Numbers 33:5 So the people of Israel advanced from Rameses and camped at Succoth.

Numbers 33:6 And they advanced from Succoth and camped at Etham, which is on the edge of the open country.

Numbers 33:7 And they advanced from Etham and turned back to Pi-hahiroth, which is east of Baal-zephon, and they camped at the face of Migdol.

Numbers 33:8 And they advanced from where Hahiroth could be seen and passed through the midst of the sea into the open country, and they went a three days’ journey in the open country of Etham and camped at Marah.

Numbers 33:9 And they advanced from Marah and came to Elim; at Elim, there were twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees, and they camped there.

Numbers 33:10 And they advanced from Elim and camped by the Red Sea.

Numbers 33:11 And they advanced from the Red Sea and camped in the open country of Sin.

Numbers 33:12 And they advanced from the open country of Sin and camped at Dophkah.

Numbers 33:13 And they advanced from Dophkah and camped at Alush.

Numbers 33:14 And they advanced from Alush and camped at Rephidim, where there was no water for the people to drink.

Numbers 33:15 And they advanced from Rephidim and camped in the open country of Sinai.

Numbers 33:16 And they advanced from the open country of Sinai and camped at Kibroth-hattaavah.

Numbers 33:17 And they advanced from Kibroth-hattaavah and camped at Hazeroth.

Numbers 33:18 And they advanced from Hazeroth and camped at Rithmah.

Numbers 33:19 And they advanced from Rithmah and camped at Rimmon-perez.

Numbers 33:20 And they advanced from Rimmon-perez and camped at Libnah.

Numbers 33:21 And they advanced from Libnah and camped at Rissah.

Numbers 33:22 And they advanced from Rissah and camped at Kehelathah.

Numbers 33:23 And they advanced from Kehelathah and camped at Mount Shepher.

Numbers 33:24 And they advanced from Mount Shepher and camped at Haradah.

Numbers 33:25 And they advanced from Haradah and camped at Makheloth.

Numbers 33:26 And they advanced from Makheloth and camped at Tahath.

Numbers 33:27 And they advanced from Tahath and camped at Terah.

Numbers 33:28 And they advanced from Terah and camped at Mithkah.

Numbers 33:29 And they advanced from Mithkah and camped at Hashmonah.

Numbers 33:30 And they advanced from Hashmonah and camped at Moseroth.

Numbers 33:31 And they advanced from Moseroth and camped at Bene-jaakan.

Numbers 33:32 And they advanced from Bene-jaakan and camped at Hor-haggidgad.

Numbers 33:33 And they advanced from Hor-haggidgad and camped at Jotbathah.

Numbers 33:34 And they advanced from Jotbathah and camped at Abronah.

Numbers 33:35 And they advanced from Abronah and camped at Ezion-geber.

Numbers 33:36 And they advanced from Ezion-geber and camped in the open country of Zin (that is, Kadesh).

Numbers 33:37 And they advanced from Kadesh and camped at Mount Hor, on the edge of the land of Edom.

Numbers 33:38 And Aaron the priest went up Mount Hor at the command of Yahveh and died there, in the fortieth year after the people of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, on the first day of the fifth month.

Numbers 33:39 And Aaron was 123 years old when he died on Mount Hor.

Numbers 33:40 And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negev in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the people of Israel.

Numbers 33:41 And they advanced from Mount Hor and camped at Zalmonah.

Numbers 33:42 And they advanced from Zalmonah and camped at Punon.

Numbers 33:43 And they advanced from Punon and camped at Oboth.

Numbers 33:44 And they advanced from Oboth and camped at Iye-abarim, in the territory of Moab.

Numbers 33:45 And they advanced from Iyim and camped at Dibon-gad.

Numbers 33:46 And they advanced rom Dibon-gad and camped at Almon-diblathaim.

Numbers 33:47 And they advanced from Almon-diblathaim and camped in the mountains of Abarim, at the face of Nebo.

Numbers 33:48 And they advanced from the mountains of Abarim and camped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho;

Numbers 33:49 they camped by the Jordan from Beth-jeshimoth as far as Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.

Numbers 33:50 And Yahveh spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, and this is what he said,

Numbers 33:51 “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

Numbers 33:52 then you will drive out all the inhabitants of the land from in the sight of you and destroy all their sculptured images and destroy all their metal images and exterminate[1] all their high places.

Numbers 33:53 And you will take possession of the land and settle in it because I have given the land to you to possess it.

Numbers 33:54 You will inherit the land by lot according to your clans. To a large tribe, you will give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe, you will give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that will be his. According to the tribes of your fathers, you will inherit.

Numbers 33:55 But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from in the sight of you, then those of them whom you let remain will be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they will trouble you in the land where you stay.

Numbers 33:56 And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”

[1] שָׁמַד = exterminate.

Numbers 33 quotes:

The present chapter is mainly devoted to an account of the various stages and stations, the encampments and removals, of the children of Israel on their march through the wilderness, embracing the time from their depart ure from Egypt to their entrance into Canaan . Thus was intrinsically a very memorable part of their history, and divine wisdom saw fit thatMoses should write and transmit to posterity a journal of their extraordinary travels. In executing this order he recapitulates the principal stopping-places on their long journey , amounting to forty-two in number, occasionally reciting the important events that occurred here and there at different points in their progress.”

Bush, George. Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Numbers. New York: [publisher not identified], 1858. p. 457.

“These journeys were not so long; but what principally characterized them was their crookedness, their zigzag course. They might have reached Canaan in a brief time had they fully believed and obeyed the Lord ; but unbelief and disobedience made their journeys through the wilderness long and tedious.
In three short months they could easily have reached Canaan from Egypt, with all their flocks and herds and all that they possessed ; but they were forty long years in their journeys thitherward. Nor did they dwell very long in one place. The pillar of cloud and of fire was ever directing them to a change in the place of their encampment. Perhaps they made only an average stay of about a year in one place ; and this was all the rest they were permitted to have. How truly do these facts illustrate the Christian’s character and course! How many after their conversion never seem to push on or to march right forward into Canaan!”

DUNN, Lewis R. The Gospel in the Book of Numbers. Hunt & Eaton: New York, 1889. p. 246.

“The word which is rendered journey appears to denote primarily the breaking up of the encampments, which lasted for very different periods, and which, during the protracted wanderings in the wilderness, may have been of the average duration of a twelvemonth. The list of the encampments is expressly said to have been written by Moses, and it served as a permanent memorial, on the one hand, of the sin and rebellion of the nation, and, on the other hand, of the faithfulness and longsuffering of God in leading and sustaining His people throughout their sojourn in the wilderness.”

Ellicott, C. J. The Fourth Book of Moses, Called Numbers. London: Cassell & Co, 1850. p. 203.

Numbers 33 links:

a specific walk
against their gods
discovered
exterminate!
history recommenced
leaving room for the enemy
looking back as we walk
Perish the thought

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Friday, May 7, 2021
Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, May 9, 2023

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library

HEAVY LIFTING

HEAVY LIFTING

Proverbs 12:25   Anxiety in a person’s heart weighs him down, but an encouraging word brings him joy.

Tuesday, we began reading through the book of Proverbs, two chapters a day. Some time ago, we spent several months studying the Proverbs in our Sunday evening Bible Studies. For that reason, I don’t think we must cover everything the book has to say in the two Sundays we have for sermons on Proverbs. Instead, I will summarize some of the main ideas in Proverbs while considering the teachings of just two verses that I believe are especially relevant for life today.

Proverbs is a collection of wise sayings compiled by Solomon, the son of David. This compilation occurred approximately a thousand years before the birth of Christ.  There is only one hero of the Proverbs. This is the wise person. Wise people learn wisdom from their parents and live the right sort of lives so that they avoid the pitfalls of being unwise.

There is only one kind of wise person, but there are very many different kinds of unwise person. The unwise people are the villains of the book of Proverbs. They appear throughout the book and take different names. Each name identifies the way in which this particular kind of unwise person deviates from the wisdom the book teaches.

So, here is a roster of the villains in Proverbs:

The Stupid Villains

The book of Proverbs refers to these people as fools. They are fools because they choose to ignore God’s wisdom. They disregard the instructions of wise people, whether from their parents or other leaders. They “despise wisdom and instruction” (1:7). They hate knowledge (1:22). They live carelessly, even when making decisions that can potentially destroy them.

I saw a cartoon once that illustrates the power of stupidity. It was a Hägar the Horrible cartoon. There is a character in this cartoon called Lucky Eddie. Lucky Eddy has a bow and arrow. He has pulled back the bow, getting ready to send the arrow to its target. But there is something wrong. Eddie has the arrow pointed not away from him, but directly at his own face. A passerby sees this and tries to intervene. He wants to tell Eddie that the arrow is aimed in the wrong direction and it could kill him. But Hägar stops the man from intervening. He explains, “No, that’s the only way he’ll learn.”

The point of the Proverbs is that these fools are making choices that will inevitably lead to their own destruction. Wise people must intervene because the fools are making unwise choices, which will lead to disaster.  The fools are convinced that they are right, but they are not only wrong; they are often mistaken with a loud voice.

The Psalms tell us that fools convince themselves that there is no God (Psalm 14:1; 53:1). They begin with a practical atheism that renders them incapable of approaching wisdom. The Proverbs teach us to stay away from such fools and not to listen to their babbling.

The Scoffing Villains

The second type of villain introduced in Proverbs is the mockers. They are arrogant and disrespectful, and distrustful. If we try to correct the scoffing villains, they will insult us (9:7). When I was growing up, we used to say about such people that they were too big for their britches. The Proverbs warns such people that “The eye that mocks at a father and despises obeying a mother — the ravens of the valley will peck it out and the young vultures will eat it” (30:17).

The Slothful Villains

The third type of villain in Proverbs is not foolish because they are ignorant or arrogant. They are just too lazy to learn the correct way to live. These are the sluggards.  They are not motivated to do anything, so they will not amount to anything. They should learn the lesson from the ant and be industrious. But the way they are going is going to lead them to poverty and destitution.

The Scheming Villains

The final type in my little roster today is the scheming villain. They may seem to be our friends, inviting us to share in their table. But there is always an angle to their kindness. They are trying to get rich by taking advantage of others. If they give a party, we should politely decline their invitation.

But the book of Proverbs is not always trying to get us to avoid the villains. Often, the goal is to teach us how to be the heroes of our own lives. The goal is not simply to avoid foolishness, but to act wisely. Wisdom is about learning to do the right thing and making wise decisions. Today’s verse is an example of that.

It talks about anxiety, but the Hebrew word used is not the same word that is usually translated as fear.

Fear is a gift, but anxiety is a curse.

There are, of course, some abnormal fears. We call them phobias. But normal fear is actually a gift. It is a heightened sense of danger that can trigger in us the adrenaline we need to either fight off the threat or flee from it. Normal fear is a gift from God, and it is not something we should try to eradicate from our lives.

But the anxiety that today’s verse talks about is something else entirely. It is a sense of dread that lodges itself inside the human heart. This anxiety sits in the heart and weighs it down. It removes the everyday happiness that makes living a joy and working a blessing.  It creates its own gravity, sending every thought downward into depression and disillusionment.

The heart in the Bible is a symbol of the central thoughts and desires of the human being. When the heart becomes weighed down, its owner feels as though there is no longer any reason to live. Many commit suicide because they stop having any hope of things getting better. They see only despair and disappointment in their future.

This feeling can happen at any stage in a person’s life. This horrible gravity can weigh down both young people and older individuals. It can inflict its damage on a person anywhere along the spectrum of intelligence. It can attack a man or a woman, a boy or a girl. The rich are not immune to its power. People experiencing poverty cannot avoid its influence.

Many live with the pressure of anxiety.

In 2021, they did a survey that discovered that anxiety was the most common mental disorder and affected an estimated 359 million people in the world. Between 1990 and 2019, the number of people being affected by anxiety increased by over 55%. They discovered that people at a higher socio-economic level are more likely to suffer from anxiety. Poverty can cause depression, but wealth is no defense against it. They also discovered that anxiety disorders are becoming more and more prevalent among adolescents and young adults. Age can lead to depression, but youth is not a defense against it.

But the heaviness that today’s verse talks about is not just the result of a mental disorder. The Proverbs seems to be discussing a problem that any one of us can experience. Anxiety can lodge itself inside our hearts, putting pressure on us and keeping us from seeing any way out or any hope for recovery.

That is the problem. However, the Holy Spirit never introduces us to a problem without revealing an answer to it. In fact, every situation presents an opportunity for us to make a wise decision that alleviates the problem. The solution to the problem of a heavy heart I an encouraging word.

Our encouragement can help.

This is where the heavy lifting (from today’s title) comes into play. Our friends, our family members, and our fellow church members are in danger of falling prey to the heavy heart syndrome. They can become victims. That means that we have the opportunity to become the heroes of their stories.

The book of Job is a lesson in how not to deal with personal anxiety. Job suffered loss, disaster, and despair. His wife was no help. She just told him to curse God and die. His friends were no help. They just lectured him about his hidden sins that supposedly led to his troubles. Job’s story is a lesson for all of us in how not to lift the heavy burden of anxiety from a hurting heart.

But today’s verse tells us how it can be done. It says that an encouraging word brings joy to the anxious person. That is what we have the opportunity to do. We can replace the heavy heart with a joyful heart.

There are probably as many ways to encourage someone as there are ways to become discouraged. Here are some ways to encourage a person with a heavy heart.

We can encourage them with our testimony. If we have ever experienced the kind of anxiety that the victim is experiencing, we can tell our story, showing them that rescue from that predicament is possible. One reason that anxiety can be so damaging is that it convinces its victims that they are the only ones who have ever felt this badly. But by sharing our testimonies, we let the victims know that we were once there too, and by God’s grace, we were able to overcome it.

We can also encourage them with our prayers. Even if we have never experienced the kind of pressure that our anxious friends are facing, we can show them that we care by interceding for them in prayer. I, myself, have been there. I have been going through a rough time, and when my friends prayed for me, I saw no immediate result of the prayer. But as soon as they prayed, I felt the result in my heart. The heaviness I had felt began to lift slightly. Prayer does change things, even when the prayer does not seem to be answered. The act of praying itself can be a source of encouragement.

We can encourage them with the promises from the Bible. The devil wants to destroy people with anxiety. He wants them to feel like they are all alone in their problems, and God is somewhere distant. But the promises of God can lift that burden. Psalm 23 shows how the psalmist encouraged himself by meditating on God’s promise to guide him as a shepherd.

We can encourage them by reminding them who God is. They need to know that there is a power greater than the problem they are currently facing. They need to be reminded that God is Almighty. There is nothing too complicated for him. They also need to be reminded that God is loving and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and faithfulness.

But what if we still cannot find the words to say? My advice is – wait it out. Stay with our hurting friends and give them the gift of our time. At some point, the God of all comfort will provide us with words to say to lift the heavy loads of anxiety from the hearts of our friends. While we wait for the words to say, we can be silently praying for those encouraging words. Jesus commands us to ask, and he promises to give what we ask for. Surely, he wants us to minister to those of a heavy heart.

Encouraging those who are feeling anxiety is just one of the many ministries that every believer can be involved in. You do not need a seminary degree. You do not need an impressive church title. You don’t have to be on the church board. You don’t have to possess a special spiritual gift. Today’s text tells us that all we need is an encouraging word. It seems like a tiny thing. But most of us can share our own experience when we were weighed down with anxiety, and somebody came along and just said the right thing to lighten our load. Let’s be that somebody for somebody else.

Numbers 32

Numbers 32

Numbers 32:1 At that time, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very significant number of livestock. When they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead and noticed the place was a place for livestock.

Numbers 32:2 So the people of Gad and the people of Reuben came and said to Moses and Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the congregation,

Numbers 32:3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon,

Numbers 32:4 the land that Yahveh struck down at the face of the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”

Numbers 32:5 And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.”

Numbers 32:6 But Moses said to the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, “Will your brothers go to the war while you sit here?

Numbers 32:7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that Yahveh has given them?

Numbers 32:8 Your fathers did this when I sent them from Kadesh-Barnea to see the land.

Numbers 32:9 Because when they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the people of Israel from going into the land that Yahveh had given them.

Numbers 32:10 And Yahveh’s nose was ignited on that day, and he swore, and this is what he said,

Numbers 32:11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, to Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed me,

Numbers 32:12 none except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, because they have wholly followed Yahveh.’

Numbers 32:13 And Yahveh’s nose was ignited against Israel, and he made them wander in the open country forty years until all the generation that had done evil at the face of Yahveh was finished.

Numbers 32:14 And notice, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of Yahveh against Israel!

Numbers 32:15 Because if you turn away from following him, he will again abandon them in the open country, and you will destroy all these people.”

Numbers 32:16 Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,

Numbers 32:17 but we will take up arms, ready to go at the face of the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones will live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.

Numbers 32:18 We will return to our homes once each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance.

Numbers 32:19 Because we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.”

Numbers 32:20 So Moses said to them, “If you will do this if you will take up arms to go at the face of Yahveh for the war,

Numbers 32:21 and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan at the face of Yahveh until he has driven out his enemies from at the face of him

Numbers 32:22 and the land is subdued at the face of Yahveh; then after that, you will return and be free of obligation to Yahveh and Israel, and this land will be your possession at the face of Yahveh.

Numbers 32:23 But if you will not do so, notice, you have failed Yahveh, and be sure your failure will find you out.

Numbers 32:24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.”

Numbers 32:25 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses, “Your servants will do as my lord commands.

Numbers 32:26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our animals will remain there in the cities of Gilead,

Numbers 32:27 but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, at the face of Yahveh to battle, as my lord orders.”

Numbers 32:28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel.

Numbers 32:29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle at the face of Yahveh, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land will be subdued your face, then you will give them the land of Gilead for a possession.

Numbers 32:30 However, if they do not pass over with you armed, they will have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

Numbers 32:31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What Yahveh has said to your servants, we will do.

Numbers 32:32 We will pass over armed at the face of Yahveh into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance will remain with us beyond the Jordan.”

Numbers 32:33 And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and the people of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country.

Numbers 32:34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer,

Numbers 32:35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah,

Numbers 32:36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.

Numbers 32:37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim,

Numbers 32:38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built.

Numbers 32:39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.

Numbers 32:40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it.

Numbers 32:41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair.

Numbers 32:42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his name.

Numbers 32 quotes:

“The heads of these tribes, therefore, came to Moses and Eleazar, preferring a petition that this region , so well adapted to their favorite pursuit, might be conferred upon them instead of their being required to pass over the river and receive their allotment with their brethren within the bounds of Canaan . Their motives in making this proposition, though they appeared at first somewhat questionable to Moses, yet were subsequently so explained as to remove, in great measure, his anxiety, and to redound to the credit of their fealty and fidelity”

Bush, George. Notes Critical and Practical on the Book of Numbers. New York: [publisher not identified], 1858. p. 452.

“The land on the east side of the Jordan, which was now conquered, was a fertile and beautiful country. Jazer was remarkable for its rich and abundant pastures, and so was the land of Gilead. Even now amid its desolations it shows clearly how rich and fertile it was. It lay north and south of the brook Jabbok, and is often spoken of in the word of God. It was this beautiful region which was shown to Moses before he closed his eyes upon earthly scenes and awoke among the blessed. It was this land which was promised to Jephthah if he would become the leader of its people. And here Abner set up Ishbosheth as king after the death of Saul. It was here that, when rebellion raged against the house of David, Absalom and Israel fought the battle which resulted in his complete discomfiture and in the triumph of Israel. It was the birthplace of Elijah the Tishbite. The bride of the Lamb is represented as having her locks as a flock of goats from Gilead. It was also famous for its balm. Hence the question of the prophet Jeremiah : ” Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?”

DUNN, Lewis R. The Gospel in the Book of Numbers. Hunt & Eaton: New York, 1889. p. 241.

“It is possible that the speakers, judging from the ease and rapidity with which the eastern side of the Jordan which the eastern side of the Jordan thought that their brethren were well able to subdue the western side without their aid.”

Ellicott, C. J. The Fourth Book of Moses, Called Numbers. London: Cassell & Co, 1850. p. 198.

Numbers 32 links:

a considerate walk
changing the names
our brothers’ brothers

Maranatha Daily Devotional – Tuesday, May 7, 2019

The NUMBERS shelf in Jeff’s library