Numbers 21:21

Numbers 21:21 says, And Israel sent messengers unto Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,  Verse twenty-two adds, Let me pass through thy land: we will not turn into the fields, or into the vineyards; we will not drink of the waters of the well: but we will go along by the king’s high way, until we be past thy borders.  The people of Israel asked Sihon the king of the Amorites for permission to pass through their land by way of the highway, using nothing of the Amorites resources as they passed through.   As followers of Christ, we cannot just assume we have the right to use the things of this world that belongs to others without their permission.  Verse twenty-three continues, And Sihon would not suffer Israel to pass through his border: but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness: and he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel.  Sihon refused their request, and went to war with them instead.  We need to be prepared for the people of the world to refuse reasonable requests from Christians and to have them go to war with us instead.  Verse twenty-four states, And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.  Israel defeated the Amorites all the way to Jabbok, where the people of Ammon lived, who were a strong people.  Even if some of those who oppose us today a Christians are stronger than others, if we are acting under God's guidance, they cannot defeat us from an everlasting perspective.  Verse twenty-five adds, And Israel took all these cities: and Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all the villages thereof.  The people of Israel took all the cities of the Amorites, and lived in them.  Verse twenty-six continues, For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even unto Arnon.  Hesbon was mentioned, because it was the city of Sihon, the king of the Amorites, which had been taken from the king of the Moabites.  Even those who are at war with Christians may also be at war with each other.  Verse twenty-seven says, Wherefore they that speak in proverbs say, Come into Heshbon, let the city of Sihon be built and prepared:  Verse twenty-eight adds, For there is a fire gone out of Heshbon, a flame from the city of Sihon: it hath consumed Ar of Moab, and the lords of the high places of Arnon.  Verse twenty-nine continues, Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.  Verse thirty continues on, We have shot at them; Heshbon is perished even unto Dibon, and we have laid them waste even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba.  People spoke proverbs about Sihon defeating the Moabites and taking Hesbon.  It is not unusual to hear of some country taking, or at least attempting to take, possession of some other country today, but ultimately they will all lose if they are not following God by having put their faith in Jesus Christ.  No matter who is in charge in this world, God has insured us as followers of Christ that the final victory is ours through our faith in Him.  Verse thirty-one concludes, Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.  The people of Israel then lived in the land of the Amorites.  We are really just living in the world today as Christians, even if we happen to possess it physically.  This world will never be our everlasting home.  Verse thirty-two states, And Moses sent to spy out Jaazer, and they took the villages thereof, and drove out the Amorites that were there.  Moses then sent spies to Jaazer, and they took the cities there.  Verse thirty-three adds, And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and Og the king of Bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at Edrei.  The people of Israel then turned and went up by the way of Bashan, and Og, the king of Bashan went to war against them.  Even if we defeat one enemy of God, we should expect another to arise until Christ returns to claim His people.  Verse thirty-four continues, And the LORD said unto Moses, Fear him not: for I have delivered him into thy hand, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do to him as thou didst unto Sihon king of the Amorites, which dwelt at Heshbon.  God told Moses to not fear Og, because God had delivered him into Moses's hand.  The people of Israel did not just go to war with these other kings, but when these kings went to war with them, the people of Israel had God on their side.  As followers of Christ today, if we are at war with the world, it should be because they initiated the war, and we must continue to live by faith in God, and if we do, we know that the ultimate victory is ours.  Verse thirty-five concludes, So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.    Moses and the people of Israel totally destroyed Og and his people and took possession of their land.  As long as we are followers of Christ, one day all our enemies will be defeated and we will take possession of our heavenly home, even if it is not in this lifetime.  

Numbers 21:10

Numbers 21:10 says, And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in Oboth.  Verse eleven adds, And they journeyed from Oboth, and pitched at Ijeabarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.  The people of Israel had been murmuring, but they were moving forward.  If we are going to murmur against God, the least we can do is to also move ahead following Him as we do.  Verse twelve continues, From thence they removed, and pitched in the valley of Zared.  Verse thirteen states, From thence they removed, and pitched on the other side of Arnon, which is in the wilderness that cometh out of the coasts of the Amorites: for Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.  After camping and moving three times, they reached the other side of Arnon, a brook that stood between the Amorites and the Moabites. They had moved out of Egypt by way of the Red Sea and were now going to move on their way into the Promised Land by way of the brook of Arnon.  Verse fourteen adds, Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD, What he did in the Red sea, and in the brooks of Arnon,  The book of wars of the LORD was evidently a book that they kept then, but was evidently of no real importance to us today, or God would have preserved it.  The scriptures that we have tell us about these wars without needing a separate book listing them.  We should always look to the Bible to find out what is really important to God.  Verse fifteen continues, And at the stream of the brooks that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab.  This stream separated them from the Promised Land, just as the Red Sea had separated them from leaving Egypt, but neither were a problem for God.  No matter how big or how small an obstacle between God and our following Him may seem, it will never be a problem with God, as long asxwe move forward by faith.  Verse sixteen says, And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.  After entering the land of the Mobites, God told Moses to gather the people of Israel at Beer, where there was a well that God had spoken to Moses about, and God would give them water.  One of the things they were continually murmuring about was a lack of water and dying of thirst, but God had always provided for them.  We have the Living Water to drink from today, but we still often murmur about being spiritually thirsty, not that we find any indication that they were murmuring at this time. Verse seventeen adds, Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:  The people of Israel actually sang a song of praise at this time.  Sometimes, it is easy to sing praises to God when He is providing us with all that we need.  Verse eighteen continues, The princes digged the well, the nobles of the people digged it, by the direction of the lawgiver, with their staves. And from the wilderness they went to Mattanah:  The princes or elders of Israel dug the well in accordance with God's directions, and He filled it with water.  We must come to God in accordance with His word today in order to receive the Living Water from Him.  God could have just had the well ready for them, but it required obedience on their part in order to receive the water.  God could have made the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross automatically save everyone, but we must accept Him by faith in order to be saved.  Verse nineteen states, And from Mattanah to Nahaliel: and from Nahaliel to Bamoth:  Verse twenty adds, And from Bamoth in the valley, that is in the country of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looketh toward Jeshimon.  They did not stay at this well, but moved on ahead.  We cannot just stay where we meet Jesus, but must move on ahead in obedience to Him.

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.