Numbers 31:13

Numbers 31:13 says, And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.  Moses and Eleazar went out to meet those returning from the war.  Today, we as followers of Christ often go to meet those returning from mission trips, where they have been spiritually at war with the forces of evil in the world.  Verse fourteen add, And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.  Moses did not meet them to celebrate, though, but he was angry with them.  Verse fifteen continues, And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive?  Moses asked them if they had saved all the women alive, which was not what God had told them to do.  We as Christians may not always agree with what God tells us to do, but we cannot change it and be successful spiritually.  Verse fifteen declares, Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against the LORD in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD.  Moses said it was the woman of the Medes who had caused the men of Israel to commit the sin of following Baal at Peor, which caused a plague amongst the Israelites.  Now, they had not only been spared, but they had been brought back to Israel.  We must do our best to keep those who would lead us away from God from being placed in a position where the can tempt us to stray away from God.  Verse seventeen adds, Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.  Moses told them to kill all the male children and all the women who had been sexually intimate.  We may think this to be excessively cruel, but it is not what happens in this life that matters.  Verse eighteen continues, But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.  Those women who had not been sexually active could be kept.  Verse nineteen states, And do ye abide without the camp seven days: whosoever hath killed any person, and whosoever hath touched any slain, purify both yourselves and your captives on the third day, and on the seventh day.  All those who had killed someone or had touched a dead body were to remain outside the camp for seven days, and they were to purify themselves and their captives on the third and seventh day.  The fact that they had been sent to war and returned victorious did not releave them of the responsibility of following God's law.  Verse twenty adds, And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.  They were also to purify all their clothes, anything made of skin or goats' hair,  and everything made of wood.  Matthew Henry said these were the spoils of war that had been used by the Midianites and must therefore now be purified before being used by the Israelites.   

Numbers 31:1

Numbers 31:1 says, And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,  Verse two adds, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people.  God told Moses that he was to lead the people of Israel to avenge themselves of the Midianites, and then Moses would die.  We are to do what God has called us to do as long as we live.  Verse three continues, And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the LORD of Midian.  Moses told some the people of Israel that some of them were to arm themselves for war.  Not all were going to go and fight, just as we as Christians do not all fight the enemies of God the same way today. They were to fight the Midianites because they had defied God.  Verse four states, Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war.  Every tribe of Israel was to send a thousand to war, no matter the size of the tribe.  Verse five adds, So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.  Twelve thousand men, one for each tribe, were gathered for war with the Midianites.  No matter how large or how small we may be as congregation of Christ today, we are all equally responsible for carrying out the sharing of the gospel, and we must be willing to go to war with the world in order to do so.  This is a daily battle.  Verse six continues, And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand.  In addition to the thousand from each tribe, the twelve thousand total, Moses sent Phineas, Eleazar's son with them as their priest, along with the holy instruments and the trumpet.  When we engage in battle with the world today, we must go armed with the whole armor of God and under His direction and power.  Verse seven says, And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.  The people of Israel went to war with the Midianites under God's direction, and they slew all the men of the Midianites.   Matthew Henry says this was all the men in the army, but that is not what the verse actually says, though in a later verse it seems to be accurate. Though we are not sent to kill the people of the world, we should be ready to go to war with them if they attempt to force us to not follow God, but even then we should do so under the direction of the Holy Spirit.  Verse eight adds, And they slew the kings of Midian, beside the rest of them that were slain; namely, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, five kings of Midian: Balaam also the son of Beor they slew with the sword.  They also killed the five kings of Midian, as well as Balaam, the son of Beor.  Matthew Henry says it is unclear how Balaam came to be with the Midianites, but it is likely that they had paid him to attempt to cast a spell on Israel, and he paid with his life.  If we profess to be Christians only for material gain, we to will ultimately pay the price for doing so.  Verse nine continues, And the children of Israel took all the women of Midian captives, and their little ones, and took the spoil of all their cattle, and all their flocks, and all their goods.  All the women and children of the Midianites were taken captive, and all their goods were taken as spoils of war.  We should not attempt to follow God so we can gain materially from doing so, and this was not why the people of Israel went to war with the Midianites.  They went to war to glorify God and defeat those who fought against Him.  Verse ten says, And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.  All the cities of the Midianites and their castles were destroyed.  Verse eleven adds, And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.  Since this verse says that they took men as prey, it would seem to support Matthew Henry in saying only the men in the army were slain.  Verse twelve continues, And they brought the captives, and the prey, and the spoil, unto Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and unto the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the camp at the plains of Moab, which are by Jordan near Jericho.  They brought all the captives and the spoils to Moses and Eleazar.   They did not attempt to just profit materially from their victory, and neither should we today when we are victorious over the world. 

Numbers 30:9

Numbers 30:9 says, But every vow of a widow, and of her that is divorced, wherewith they have bound their souls, shall stand against her.  God next gave instructions for widows and women who were divorced concerning vows that they had made to Him.  Verse ten adds, And if she vowed in her husband’s house, or bound her soul by a bond with an oath;  This law concerned vows made while the widow or divorced woman was still married.  She would have still fallen under God's order of family dynamics.  Verse eleven continues, And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her, and disallowed her not: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.  Moses stated that God said if the man did not say anything to stop from her vow,  then she would be bound by it.  Verse twelve states, But if her husband hath utterly made them void on the day he heard them; then whatsoever proceeded out of her lips concerning her vows, or concerning the bond of her soul, shall not stand: her husband hath made them void; and the LORD shall forgive her.  Moses then said that God said that if the husband made the vows of the wife void the day that he heard them, everything she vowed would be made void. Matthew Henry says that God's plan for the structure of the family came before even individual vows.  Moses said that under God's plan, that vows that would affect a woman's soul, or her relationship to God, could be made valid or void by the husband.  As already stated, God sees the family dynamic as more important than individual vows that might be made outside of that dynamic.  If the husband forbade the wife from fulfilling her vow to God, then God would forgive her for not fulfilling the vow.  Verse thirteen adds, Every vow, and every binding oath to afflict the soul, her husband may establish it, or her husband may make it void.  God said that the husband had to power to make every binding vow, vows that affected the soul, of the woman either valid or void.  We may not like this, but it wasn't what Moses himself said, but what God said.   As long as the husband and wife were acting under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, there should have been no problem, but if they weren't acting together under God's leadership, there would be.  Verse fourteen says, But if her husband altogether hold his peace at her from day to day; then he establisheth all her vows, or all her bonds, which are upon her: he confirmeth them, because he held his peace at her in the day that he heard them.  God then said through Moses that if the man did not object to the wife making the vow on the day he heard it, that it would be valid.  This is why it is important for a husband and wife to discuss vows that are made to God.  They need to be on the same page concerning these vows.  Verse fifteen adds, But if he shall any ways make them void after that he hath heard them; then he shall bear her iniquity.  God also said that if the husband made void vows made to God by the woman, if they were were good vows to God, though the woman would be freed from guilt for not keeping the vow, the husband would take on the guilt for her not fulfilling it.  We might think that the husband was given too much power, but we need to realize that he was also giving a great accountability before God.  He was not to simply exert his power over the wife, but he was to follow God's leadership in this situation.  Verse sixteen continues, These are the statutes, which the LORD commanded Moses, between a man and his wife, between the father and his daughter, being yet in her youth in her father’s house.  Moses said these were God's law concerning a husband and wife and even a father and daughter as long as the daughter lived in his house.  As long as everyone living in the house was following God's direction, there should have been no problems, and there still shouldn't today. 

Numbers 30:1

Numbers 30:1 says, And Moses spake unto the heads of the tribes concerning the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded.  Moses this time spoke to the heads of the tribes of Israel.  The leaders of the people of Isreal were called on to carry out God's law, and they still are today.  Verse two adds, If a man vow a vow unto the LORD, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his word, he shall do according to all that proceedeth out of his mouth.  Moses told them that if a man made a vow or took an oath to God that he should carry it out.  We are never required to take any additional oath to God than to accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord and to live by the leadership of the Holy Spirit, but if we do promise Him more, we should do what we promise Him we will do.  Verse three states, If a woman also vow a vow unto the LORD, and bind herself by a bond, being in her father’s house in her youth;  If a young woman made a vow, she was to be brought to her father’s house.  Verse four adds, And her father hear her vow, and her bond wherewith she hath bound her soul, and her father shall hold his peace at her: then all her vows shall stand, and every bond wherewith she hath bound her soul shall stand.  If her father heard her vow and said nothing, her vow would stand.  His silence would imply consent, even if he didn't voice it out loud.  Our silence can also imply our consent today, whether for something good or something bad, as Christians, especially for the leaders of the church.  Verse five continues,  But if her father disallow her in the day that he heareth; not any of her vows, or of her bonds wherewith she hath bound her soul, shall stand: and the LORD shall forgive her, because her father disallowed her.  God then said through Moses that if her father didn't agree with her vow on the day that she told him about it, that she would be released from the vow and God would not hold her accountable.  We can debate the fact that a daughter was treated differently than a son, but in that time period, daughters were dependent on their father and then their husband to meet their everyday needs, whereas a son was expected to grow up and meet his own needs and those of his family after he married.  Verse six says, And if she had at all an husband, when she vowed, or uttered ought out of her lips, wherewith she bound her soul;  If the young woman was married, then she was to tell her vow to her husband instead of her father.  Verse seven adds, And her husband heard it, and held his peace at her in the day that he heard it: then her vows shall stand, and her bonds wherewith she bound her soul shall stand.  If her husband did not say she could not fulfill the vow on the day that he heard about it, her vow would stand.  In both cases, neither the father nor the husband could at first agree and then later change their mind.  Verse eight continues, But if her husband disallowed her on the day that he heard it; then he shall make her vow which she vowed, and that which she uttered with her lips, wherewith she bound her soul, of none effect: and the LORD shall forgive her.  If her husband disallowed her oath, then she would be freed from it and God would not hold her accountable.  If we today make a vow to God, whether we are male or female, we alone are responsible for fulfilling that vow, and no one else can relieve us of the responsibility of fulfilling it.

Numbers 29:23

Numbers 29:23 says, And on the fourth day ten bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:  Verse twenty-four adds, Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  The number of bullocks for the burnt offering continued to decrease, but but rams remained the same.  The meat and drink offerings were to be the same for each animal.  Verse twenty-five continues, And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.  Again, the sin offering was one kid goat, and this was in addition to the normal burnt, meat, and drink offerings.   If we give to a special offering, I don't believe that we should consider our regular tithes and offerings to be a part of the special offering.  Verse twenty-six states, And on the fifth day nine bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without spot,  Verse twenty-seven adds, And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:   Verse twenty-eight continues,  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.  The number of bullocks continued to decease, and the amount of the meat offering decreased by the amount required for the bullocks.  Verse twenty-nine says, And on the sixth day eight bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:  Verse thirty adds, And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  Verse thirty-one continues, And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.  Though the number of bullocks decreased, all the animals were still to be without blemish.  We are to bring the best that we have to God.  Verse thirty-two states, And on the seventh day seven bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish:  Verse thirty-three adds, And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  Verse thirty-four continues,  And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.  These once more were in addition to the normal offerings, and there was still only one young goat for the sin offering, just as Jesus Christ is our only acceptable sin offering today.  Verse thirty-five says, On the eighth day ye shall have a solemn assembly: ye shall do no servile work therein:  On the eighth day, the people of Isreal were to have a solemn assembly, and again were to do no unnecessary work.  We too often declare nearly everything to be necessary work on the Lord’s ’s Dsy, instead of setting it aside strictly to worship Him.  We may also make it necessary for others to work instead of being able to rest and worship God.  Verse thirty-six adds, But ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD: one bullock, one ram, seven lambs of the first year without blemish: The number of bullocks and rams decreased to one, and the number of lambs decreased to seven.  Verse thirty-seven continues, Their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullock, for the ram, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  This meant that the amount of the meat and drink offerings would also decrease, since they were determined by the number of animals in the burnt offerings.  Verse thirty-eight concludes, And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.  The sin offering remained the same, and as always was separate from all other offerings.  Any offering we bring to God todsy must be to accomplish His work and bring honor and glory in Him, but it can never atone for our sins.  Accepting Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord is the only way to have our sins atoned for, since He alone is the only acceptable sin sacrifice.  Verse thirty-nine states, These things ye shall do unto the LORD in your set feasts, beside your vows, and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings, and for your meat offerings, and for your drink offerings, and for your peace offerings.. God said that these things were to be done in addition to the normal offerings.  God may at times call on us to give extra to His work, but as long as we acknowledge that everything belongs to Him to start with, we should never have a problem with this.  Verse forty adds, And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses. Moses told the people of Israel what God had said,  as so must we as Christians tell the people of the world what God has said.

Numbers 29:12

Numbers 29:12 says, And on the fifteenth day of the seventh month ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work, and ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days:  On the fifteen day of the seventh month the people of Israel were to have a holy gathering that would last a week, during which they were to do no work.  We as Christians used to have week long revivals when we gathered together to worship God.  Of course, we still worked during that week, but now it seems that it is too much bother.  Verse thirteen adds, And ye shall offer a burnt offering, a sacrifice made by fire, of a sweet savour unto the LORD; thirteen young bullocks, two rams, and fourteen lambs of the first year; they shall be without blemish:  The burnt offering was to be more than normal.  Verse fourteen states, And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals unto every bullock of the thirteen bullocks, two tenth deals to each ram of the two rams,  Verse fifteen adds, And a several tenth deal to each lamb of the fourteen lambs:  There was also an increase in the meat offering to go along with the burnt offering.  Verse sixteen continues, And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, his meat offering, and his drink offering.  These were in addition to the normal offerings.  The sin offering did not increase.  There is but one offering for sin, and that is Jesus Christ, even though the kid goat without blemish represented Him then then.  Verse seventeen says, And on the second day ye shall offer twelve young bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without spot:  Verse eighteen adds, And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  On the second day of this holy week, they were to bring another offering for the burnt sacrifice and the necessary items for the meat offering and drink offering.  God still expects us to give all that is necessary to insure that His work is done and His name is glorified in the world today. Verse nineteen continues And one kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering thereof, and their drink offerings.  Again, the sacrifice for the sin offering did not increase.  Verse twenty states, And on the third day eleven bullocks, two rams, fourteen lambs of the first year without blemish;   Verse twenty-one continues, And their meat offering and their drink offerings for the bullocks, for the rams, and for the lambs, shall be according to their number, after the manner:  They were to again bring a sacrifice on the third day, though the amount was decreased again for the burnt and meat offering.  Verse twenty-two concludes, And one goat for a sin offering; beside the continual burnt offering, and his meat offering, and his drink offering.  The sin offering remained the same, and all these offerings were in addition to the normal offerings.

Numbers 29:1

Numbers 29:1 says, And in the seventh month, on the first day of the month, ye shall have an holy convocation; ye shall do no servile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto you.  Ths first day of the seventh month the people of Israel were to have a holy gathering.  They were to do no work and it was to be a day of blowing trumpets.  Matthew Henry says this was the time between harvest and planting when the people had more free time, and that God wanted it devoted to Him.  We likewise need our free time to be devoted to God.  Verse two adds, And ye shall offer a burnt offering for a sweet savour unto the LORD; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish:  On this day, they were also to offer a burnt offering to God, consisting of one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year without blemish.  Verse three continues, And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals for a bullock, and two tenth deals for a ram,  Verse four concludes, And one tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:  The amount of the meat offering, which consisted of flour mingled with oil, was also specifed for each of the animals of the burnt offering.  As always with their sacrifices, God directed them in what to give and how much to give, and we need to allow Him to do so in our lives today.  Verse five states, And one kid of the goats for a sin offering, to make an atonement for you:  Verse six adds, Beside the burnt offering of the month, and his meat offering, and the daily burnt offering, and his meat offering, and their drink offerings, according unto their manner, for a sweet savour, a sacrifice made by fire unto the LORD.  They were also to offer a young goat as a sin offering for atonement for their sins, in addition to all the other offerings which were still to be offered as well.  Though Jesus is our sin offering for all our sins for all time, we are still to bring our tithes and offerings to God, and I believe to use all that we have left for accomplishing His work for His glory.  Verse seven says,  And ye shall have on the tenth day of this seventh month an holy convocation; and ye shall afflict your souls: ye shall not do any work therein:   Also in the seventh month on the tenth day they were to have a holy meeting and set the day aside for God and do no unnecessary work.  It seems that today we want to set less and less time aside for God.  Verse eight adds, But ye shall offer a burnt offering unto the LORD for a sweet savour; one young bullock, one ram, and seven lambs of the first year; they shall be unto you without blemish:   Verse nine continues,  And their meat offering shall be of flour mingled with oil, three tenth deals to a bullock, and two tenth deals to one ram,  Verse nine concludes, A several tenth deal for one lamb, throughout the seven lambs:  The things to be used in the burnt offering and the meat offering were once again specified by God.  I believe we need to allow God to direct our giving today as well.  Verse eleven states, One kid of the goats for a sin offering; beside the sin offering of atonement, and the continual burnt offering, and the meat offering of it, and their drink offerings.  Once more, they were to offer a young goat for a sin offering for atonement from their sins.  We can offer nothing todsy for atonement from our sins, but must accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, since He is the only acceptable sacrifice for sin.