Numbers 21:1

Numbers 21:1 says, And when king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south, heard tell that Israel came by the way of the spies; then he fought against Israel, and took some of them prisoners.  When the king of Canaan who lived in the south heard from spies that the people of Israel were coming, he went to war with them and took some as prisoners.  When the people of the world today hear that Christians are coming, they often go to war with them and sometimes and in some places even take them prisoner.  Verse two adds, And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.  The people of Israel vowed to God that if He would deliver the people of Canaan to them, then they would destroy their cities.  We as followers of Christ are not called on to destroy the cities of those who are at war with us, but we still need to look to God for strength and the eventual victory over them.  Verse three continues, And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.  God heard the voice of the people of Israel and delivered the Canaanites to them, and they utterly destroyed their cities. They might have been tempted to keep the cities for themselves, but that was not what they had vowed and I believe was not God's plan.  We cannot just try to destroy our enemies so that we may benefit from it, but must destroy everything that stands against God in our life.  Verse four states, And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.  After they defeated the people of Canaan, they went on toward the Promised Land by the way of the Red Sea, and they were discouraged. They were having to travel further to go around the land of Edom, since they couldn't get the people of Edom to grant them passage through.  We might wonder why God didn't just give them a victory over the people of Edom as He had over the people of Canaan, but the people of Edom did not initiate a war with them.  Sometimes, God may lead us in a way that seems longer and harder than going to war with the world might be, but if God is not with us in a war against them, we will lose.  The people, who had just experienced a great victory, were discouraged because of the way they were having to travel.  Verse five adds, 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, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.  They once again began to murmur against God and Moses, again asking why God had brought them out of Egypt to allow them to die in the wilderness.  They also complained about the bread that God was providing for them and said there was no water.  We too often, even after God gives us a total victory over sin, complain because He hasn't given us more materially.  Verse six declares, And the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.  God once again dealt with their complaining by holding them accountable for it and sending fiery serpents which bit them and killed many of the people of Israel.  God does not take our murmuring against Him lightly, and though as followers of Christ He has saved us forever, He may still allow us to suffer in this lifetime if we continually murmur against Him when things don't go the way we want them to.  We need to be satisfied with what God provides for us and not continually murmur against Him.  Verse seven adds,  Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.  The people of Israel may have been murmuring against Moses and God, but they now acknowledged their sin and asked Moses to pray for them that God would take away the serpents, and he prayed for them.  As much as they murmured against him, Moses could have refused to pray for them, but he didn't.  If we are murmuring against God, we must acknowledge our sin in doing so, and pray for God's forgiveness.  If others are murmuring against us, we must pray for them, even if they don't ask us to.  Verse eight says, And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.  God told Moses to make a fiery serpent and put it on a pole, and that everyone that had been bitten who looked on it would be saved.  God could have just sent the serpents away, but He chose to have the people take action by faith in order to be healed.  God could have saved everyone simply by His word, but we must take a step of faith by looking to the cross of Calvary and acknowledging by faith that Jesus died there to bring forgiveness our sins.  Verse nine adds, And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.  Once more, Moses obeyed God and also those who obeyed God by looking on the serpent of brass that Moses made lived.  We must be obedient to God as Christians, and we need to do so without murmuring against Him because we are not satisfied with what He provides for us. 

Numbers 20;18

Numbers 20:18 says, And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword. When Moses asked the people of Edom to let them pass through their land, they said only by the sword could they pass through.  We should not be surprised if people stand in defiance of us as Christians, even if we are nice to them and mean them no harm.  Verse nineteen adds, And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.  The people of Isreal told the Edomites that they would pass through on the highway without doing them any harm, even paying for the water if their cattle drank any.  Verse twenty states, And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.  The king of Edom told Moses that the people of Israel would not pass through, and then he came out to them with his army.  God could have just led the people of Israel on through Edom, but He had Moses ask permission instead.  I don't believe God is going to lead us to simply take what belongs to others simply because we are His people as followers of Christ and they aren't.  Verse twenty-one adds, Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.  When he did this, the people of Israel turned away.  Verse twenty-two continues, And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.  All the people of Israel went from Kadesh to mount Hor. God could have led them to victory, but He chose another way, even if it was longer.  We should be willing to go out of our way to reach people with God's word today.  Verse twenty-three says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,  Verse twenty-four adds, 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 water of Meribah.  God spoke to Aaron and Moses at mount Hor and said because of their rebellion at the bringing forth of the water from the rock at Meribah that Aaron would not be allowed to go into the Promised Land.  Though we didn't really see Aaron being involved in that, he was God's spokesman for Moses, so they were both identified as representatives of God.  It is possible that we may lose some material blessings, maybe even life itself, if we are too closely allied with someone who claims to be doing God's work, but really aren't.  Aaron was not allowed to go into the earthly Promised Land, but he still went to his heavenly home, and if we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we may miss out on some earthly blessings if we act in a way that is contrary to God's will, but we will still go to our heavenly home once die.  Verse twenty-three states, Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:  God instructed Moses to take Aaron and his son Eleazar up the mount of Hor.  Verse twenty-six adds, 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.  The garments of the priesthood were to be removed from Aaron and passed on to Eleazar.  God does not let the priesthood die with a particular individual, but continues to call others to fill the position.   Aaron was to die on mount Hor.  Verse twenty-seven declares, And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.  Verse twenty-eight adds, And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.  Moses did what God had instructed him to do in the sight of the people.   I believe that God still expects us to do what we do for Him openly and not have some secret meeting where we claim God has called us to do something that other Christians cannot understand.  Aaron died on the mount of Hor, but not before Eleazar was installed as priest.  God will not leave His work undone as long as people are obedient to His call.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.  When the people of Israel realized Aaron was dead, they mourned for him thirty days.  He had been God's spokesman through all their time in the wilderness, but God had now appointed his successor.  We may mourn when a Christian leader passes away, but we also need to realize that God's work will continue to be done by someone else that God has called. 

Numbers 20:10

Numbers 20:10 says, And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?  Moses and Aaron gathered those who were rebelling against God before the rock, then asked them if Aaron and he had to bring them water out of the rock.  I believe he should have put the emphasis on what God was going to do instead of on Aaron and himself.  When God provides for our needs as followers of Christ, I believe that we need to give Him the credit.  Verse eleven adds, And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.  Moses took his rod and hit the rock twice, which wasn't what God told  him to do, and it took the emphasis from God and put it on Moses.  Had he simply spoke to the rock as God told him to do, and done so in God's name, then the emphasis would have remained on God's power.  Our actions should never take people's sight away from God if we are acting in His name.  Verse twelve states, And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.  God then told both Moses and Aaron that since their actions showed a lack of belief and did not sanctify God that they would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land. No matter how long we may do things in God's name, if we really don't put our faith in Jesus Christ, we will not get into heaven.  Of course, simply an act of disobedience will not keep us out if we have truly accepted Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse thirteen adds, This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.  The place was to be called Merihah, the water of strife, as a reminder to the people of what had happened there.  We need to remember and learn from the times that we have disobeyed God.  Verse fourteen says, 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:  Moses then sent word to the king of Edom, their brothers through being decended from Abraham.  The messengers were to ask for safe passage through Edom, which was the shortest way to the Promised Land.  They were to also assure the king of Edom that they meant the people of Edom no harm.  We, as followers of Christ, were never intended to try and bring people into the kingdom of God by force.  Verse fifteen adds, How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:  Verse sixteen continues, And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:  The messengers were to tell the king of Edom about Israel’s bondage in Egypt and God's deliverance of them from Egypt.  As Christians, we today been to rell people about our bondage to sin and our deliverance from its power by putting our faith in Jesus Christ.  We are not here to take what belongs to the people of the world, because we are simply passing through on our way to the Promised Land, Heaven.  Verse seventeen concludes, Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king’s high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.  Moses sent assurance that the people of Isreal would take nothing belonging to the Edomiites, but simply wanted safe passage through their land.  This is what we should want today as followers of Christ as well.  We simply need safe passage through this sinful world.  We are not here to claim what belongs to others as our own just because we are God's people, but are to rely on God to provide for our needs.  

Numbers 20:1

Numbers 20:1 says, Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.  After years of wandering in the wilderness instead of being in the Promised Land, Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, died.  Matthew Henry points out that she was a prophetess and had done much good for Israel, but that didn't get her into the Promised Land.  Our actions will likewise never get us into heaven.  Verse two states, And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.  The people of Isreal found themselves without water, and instead of praying to God by faith, they complained against Moses and Aaron.   If we find ourselves in need today as followers of Christ, we need to pray to God about it instead of complaining about anyone we may feel is responsible.  Verse three adds, And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!  Once again, the people told Moses that they would be better off dead than relying on God to provide for them.  We need to learn to rejoice in the Lord no matter what instead of murmuring and complaining when life seems to be too hard if we truly are living by faith.  Verse four continues,  And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?  The people of Israel put the responsibility for their being in the wilderness on Moses and not on their own lack of faith.  Yet, they still did not put their faith in God.  We may try to blame others for our not being willing to live by faith, but the responsibility is all ours even if we do so.  Verse five concludes, 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.  They then once again blamed Moses for their being in such a desolate place after Moses brought them out of Egypt.  It wasn't Moses who brought them out, but God Who had, and they weren't in the land God had promised them because of their own disobedience.  Ultimately, even if we try to blame others, we are responsible for our own sins. Verse six declares, And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.  Moses and Aaron moved away from those assembled there and went to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation and fell on their faces before God.  Sometimes, we may need to just get away from those who are complaing about God and fall on our face before Him.  When they did, the glory of the LORD appeared to them. Verse seven adds, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Verse eight continues, Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.  God told Moses take his rod and to gather the people together before a rock, then speak to the rock and it would bring forth enough water for the people and their flocks.  The God Who can produce that much water from a rock can certainly meet all our needs today, if we put our faith in Him.  Verse nine concludes, And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.  Moses took his rod and did as God commanded Him to do, just as we must do whatever God commands us to do today as Christians if we are to successfully reach the lost people of the world with the gospel.  If we are always complaining and murmuring against God, they may see no reason to follow Him.

Numbers 19:17

Numbers 19:17 says, And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:  The ashes of the red heifer were to be used in the purification of someone who had touched a dead body, by running waterthrough the ashes.   Matthew Henry says the ashes represents the merit of Christ and the water represents the power and grace of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eighteen adds, 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 a bone, or one slain, or one dead, or a grave:  A clean person was to take hyssop, dip it into the water and sprinkle it over everything that had come in contact with a dead person, bone, or grave.  We are made clean today by the blood of Christ, the only One Who is spiritually clean and can wash us clean with His shed blood.  Verse nineteen continues, 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 himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean at even.  The clean person was to sprinkle the unclean on the third day, and then again on the seventh day, and on the seventh day he was to purify himself and his clothes as well.  The cleansing would not start until three days after the last contact with the dead, just as our cleansing by Christ will not start until we turn away from our sins and to Him.  Matthew Henry says the cleansing on the seventh day is a reminder that we need to renew our commitment to Christ as we move through our everyday life.  We are forever saved when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, but we can still be guilty of sinning after we are, so we cannot just ignore sin because we are already forgiven.  Verse twenty states, But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself, that soul shall be cut off from among the congregation, because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the LORD: the water of separation hath not been sprinkled upon him; he is unclean.  The person who would not be cleansed by the water of the ashes would remain unclean and separated from the rest of the people of Israel, God's chosen people.  If we refuse to be cleansed by the blood of Jesus, which is ample to cleanse all who put their faith in Him, we will be forever cut off from the kingdom of God and His people.  Verse twenty-one adds, And it shall be a perpetual statute unto them, that he that sprinkleth the water of separation shall wash his clothes; and he that toucheth the water of separation shall be unclean until even.  The person performing the cleansing would be unclean until the evening, just as we will not be completely cleansed of sin until the return of Christ, even though we are still to witness to others about Him.  Verse twenty-two continues, And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.  Anyone the unclean person touched would be unclean until the evening.  Sin corrupts everyone it touches, even those who are followers of Christ, and we must be purified from it by the blood of Christ.  If we come in contact with sin, we must acknowledge our need for cleansing from its effects, even though all our sins are already forgiven. 

Numbers 19:11

Numbers 19:11 says, He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.  Moses then received instructions about anyone who touched a dead body, and someone would have to if the body was not to be left where it fell.  This law concerned the dead body of a person, and brought a heavier burden than touching the dead body of any animal or an unclean person.  When touching the dead body of a person, anyone who touched it would be unclean for seven days.  Matthew Henry says this may have had to do with the wages of sin being death, and any death being associated with sin.  Verse twelve adds, He shall purify himself with it 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.  In order to be clean after the seventh day, the person had to cleanse themselves on the third day.  Christ rose on the third day to wash away our sins, and if we accept Him as our Savior and Lord, we are immediately made spiritually clean, and do not have to wait for any amount of time to pass after we accept Him to be so.  Verse thirteen states, Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.  Though the cleansing was a ceremonial one, anyone who failed to be cleansed by the water of separation was still unclean and cutoff from the rest of the nation of Isreal.  Being washed by the blood of Christ is not a physical thing, but a spiritual one, and until we are washed by His blood, we are cutoff from His kingdom.  Verse fourteen adds, This is the law, when a man dieth in a tent: all that come into the tent, and all that is in the tent, shall be unclean seven days.  If a person died in a tent, everyone and everything in that tent would be considered unclean.  When we come in contact with sin today, it pollutes everything that we come in contact with, if we do not ask God for forgiveness through our faith in Jesus Christ.  Verse fifteen continues, And every open vessel, which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean.  Every uncovered vessel would be considered unclean, just as every person is unclean until they are covered by the blood of Christ.  Verse sixteen concludes, And whosoever toucheth one that is slain with a sword in the open fields, or a dead body, or a bone of a man, or a grave, shall be unclean seven days.  Even touching a bone or a grave knowingly made a person unclean for seven days.  Anytime we knowingly come in contact with sin, we need to be purified once again. 

Numbers 19:1

Numbers 19:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,  Verse two adds, This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD 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:  God spoke to Moses and Aaron, with a message for the people of Israel concerning a sacrifice they were to bring.  They were to bring a red heifer with no spot or blemish that had never had a yoke on it.  Jesus Christ is our everlasting sacrifice, and He was without any spiritual spot or blemish and never had the yoke of sin on Him.  Verse three continues, And ye shall give her unto Eleazar the priest, that he may bring her forth without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face:  Moses and Aaron were to then give the red heifer to Eleazar the priest.  He was to take her out of the camp, not to the altar, and slay her.  Matthew Henry says this speaks of the inefficiency of the Law of God to take away sin.  We know that Jesus was sacriced away from the temple, the center of carrying out God's law, when He died on the cross at calvary.  Verse four states, And Eleazar the priest shall take of her blood with his finger, and sprinkle of her blood directly before the tabernacle of the congregation seven times:   Eleazar was then to take the blood of the heifer on his finger and sprinkle it before the tabernacle seven times.  This was done to sanctify the tabernacle, as Jesus shedding His blood on the cross would later sanctify all who put their faith in Him.  Verse five adds, And one shall burn the heifer in his sight; her skin, and her flesh, and her blood, with her dung, shall he burn:  The heifer was then to be completely burned, just as Jesus offered Him completely on the cross to pay for our sins.  Verse six continues, And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop, and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.  Eleazar was then to throw cedar, hyssop and scarlet to the fire.  These were used in the cleaning of lepers, who were ceremonial unclean and barred from worshipping with the other people.  Jesus cleanses us from our spiritual uncleanliness by His sacrifice on the cross.  Verse seven says, 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.  The priest was to then wash his clothes and bathe himself in the water made from the ashes of the sacrifice of the heifer, come into the camp, where he would be unclean until the evening.  He was made unclean by participating in the offering of this sacrifice, just as we are made unclean by participating spiritually in the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  Verse eight adds,  And he that burneth her shall wash his clothes in water, and bathe his flesh in water, and shall be unclean until the even.  The one who burned the heifer was also to be unclean until the evening.  All who made the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross necessary are spiritually unclean until they accept Him as their Savior and Lord.  Verse nine states,  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 of separation: it is a purification for sin.  The ashes were then to be laid outside the camp in a clean place by a priest that was clean.  The sacrifice of this one heifer was enough to purify all the people of Israel, just as Jesus sacrifice is enough to purify all people for all time.  Verse ten adds, 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.  After gathering the ashes, the one who gathered them would be considered unclean until the evening, to both the people of Israel and the strangers there with them.  Jesus death on the cross purifies all who put their faith in Him.  We must be washed in the blood of Jesus Christ to be saved.