Numbers 33:38

Numbers 33:38 says, And Aaron the priest went up into mount Hor at the commandment of the LORD, and died there, in the fortieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the first day of the fifth month.  We once again have the record of Aaron going up on Mount Hor at God's commandment and dying there, forty years after the people of Israel left Egypt.  Verse thirty-nine adds, And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died in mount Hor.  Aaron was a hundred and twenty-three years old, and had evidently spent the first eighty-three as a slave in Egypt, then forty as God's priest wandering in the wilderness.  We are not guaranteed riches and power in this lifetime as followers of Christ.  Verse forty states, And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel.  The king of the Canaanites heard about the coming of the people of Isreal.  People today should hear about the coming of God's people into their communities.  We should be as hard to overlook as the people of Israel were.  The next several verses continue to track their movements.  Verse forty-one adds, And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah.  Verse forty-two, And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon.  Verse forty-three, And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth.  Verse forty-four, And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ijeabarim, in the border of Moab.  Verse forty-five, And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibongad.  Verse forty-six And they removed from Dibongad, and encamped in Almondiblathaim. Verse forty-seven, And they removed from Almondiblathaim, and pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.  Verse forty-eight, And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.  Verse forty-nine concludes, And they pitched by Jordan, from Bethjesimoth even unto Abelshittim in the plains of Moab.  They were once again on the edge of the Promised Land, though nearly all of those who had been there before had died.  As Christians, we will never get to the Promised Land, Heaven, in this lifetime, but we must faithfully follow God as we wander through this world full of sin, and we are always but a breath away from entering in.  Verse fifty says, And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,  Verse fifty-one adds, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;  God told Moses to speak to the children of Israel and tell them when they had passed over the Jordan into Canaan.  The promise God was about to make was still based on them obeying His command and actually entering the Promised Land, without questioning if they would be successful in conquering it.  When God sends us somewhere, we must simply go by faith without questioning Him.  Verse fifty-two continues, Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:  When they got to the Promised Land mthey were to drive out the inhabitants and destroy all their idols.  This will already be accomplished for us when we get to Heaven.  Verse fifty-three states, And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.  God said they were to dispossess the people there and then dwell there because God had given them the land.  There will be no other gods in heaven, nor people who have not put their faith in Jesus Christ as their Savior and Lord.  Verse fifty-four adds, And ye shall divide the land by lot for an inheritance among your families: and to the more ye shall give the more inheritance, and to the fewer ye shall give the less inheritance: every man’s inheritance shall be in the place where his lot falleth; according to the tribes of your fathers ye shall inherit.  God told Moses that the land was to be distributed fairly and by His plan.  Wherever we might be in Heaven one day, it will be where God put us.  Verse fifty-five continues, But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell.  God said if they did not drive out the people living there that they would be a continual problem for them.  We cannot drive out all the people who would cause us problems from the world today, but as Christians, we need to keep them from setting up camp in our fellowship of believers.  Verse fifty-six concludes, Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.  God then said if the people of Isreal did not do as He commanded them to do to the inhabitants of the land, then He would do to the Israelites as He had intended to do to the people in the land.  Professing to be a follower of Christ without really putting our faith in Him will one day lead to our everlasting separation from God.  If we truly put our faith in Jesus Christ, we must do our best to drive sinful things out of our life.

Numbers 33:11

Numbers 33:11 says, And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of Sin.  They were in the wilderness of Sin here.  These next several verses simply list the travels of the children of Israel.  Verse twelve, And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and encamped in Dophkah.  Verse thirteen, And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush.  Verse fourteen, And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no water for the people to drink.  We have the added detail that there was no water here.  Verse fifteen, And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.  Now, they were in the wilderness of Sinai.  Verse sixteen, And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at Kibrothhattaavah.  Verse seventeen, And they departed from Kibrothhattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.  Verse eighteen, And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah.  Verse nineteen, And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmonparez.  Verse twenty, And they departed from Rimmonparez, and pitched in Libnah.  Verse twenty-one, And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah. Verse twenty-two, And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah.  Verse twenty-three, And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher.  Verse twenty-four, And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah.  Verse twenty-five, And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth.  Verse twenty-six, And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath.  Verse twenty-seven, And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah.  Verse twenty-eight, And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah.  Verse twenty-nine, And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah.  Verse thirty, And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. Verse thirty-one, And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Benejaakan.  Verse thirty-two, And they removed from Benejaakan, and encamped at Horhagidgad.  Verse thirty-three, And they went from Horhagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah.  Verse thirty-four, And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah.  Verse thirty-five, And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Eziongaber.  Verse thirty-six, And they removed from Eziongaber, and pitched in the wilderness of Zin, which is Kadesh.  This was the third wilderness named.  Verse thirty-seven, And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge of the land of Edom.  This was a lot of unnecessary setting up and tearing down of the camp, because had they acted in faith when they first reached the Promised Land, they could have already been living there instead.  As we are on our way to Heaven, we may get caught up doing a lot of unnecessary things if we don't remain guided by faith in Jesus Christ. 

Numbers 33:1

Numbers 33:1 says, These are the journeys of the children of Israel, which went forth out of the land of Egypt with their armies under the hand of Moses and Aaron. This chapter is a review of the places that the people of Israel went after they left Egypt.  As we journey through life, we ac followers of Christ need to remember the way that we have traveled in our relationship with God.  Verse two adds, And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the LORD: and these are their journeys according to their goings out.  Moses recorded their journey from the time they left Egypt, and in the Bible, we still have that record today.  Those going into the Promised Lad had not been there during the departure from Egypt and during at least some of the journey.  Verse three continues, And they departed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the morrow after the passover the children of Israel went out with an high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians.   Moses recorded that they went out on the fifteenth day of the first month, on the day after the angel passed over of the first born of the Israelites, in the sight of all the Egyptians, and they passed through the Red Sea on dry land. As Christians, there is a day when we left our former life ruled by sin, and we should be able to recall at least the highpoints since then.  Verse four concludes, For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.  While the Israelites were safely on the other side of the Red Sea, the people of Egypt were buying their first born.  Verse five states, And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in Succoth.  The people of Israel began their journey to the Promised Land.  As followers of Christ, Jesus has redeemed us from spiritual death, and in this life, we are always on the way to the Heaven, our Promised Land.  Verse six adds,  And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the edge of the wilderness.  They then went to the edge of the wilderness.  The next several verses are a recording of their journeys.  Verse seven continues, And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pihahiroth, which is before Baalzephon: and they pitched before Migdol.  Verse eight says, And they departed from before Pihahiroth, and passed through the midst of the sea into the wilderness, and went three days’ journey in the wilderness of Etham, and pitched in Marah.  Once more, they had passed through a sea and they traveled three days in the wilderness of Etham.  Verse nine adds, And they removed from Marah, and came unto Elim: and in Elim were twelve fountains of water, and threescore and ten palm trees; and they pitched there.  Verse ten continues, And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea.  They still weren't very far from the Red Sea.  In our travels through life, we will never be far removed from where we were spiritually before we met Christ until we are at home in heaven.  We will still be living in this sin filled world.

Numbers 32:31

Numbers 32:31 says, And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.  The people of Gad and Reuben said that as the LORD said to them, His servants, they would do, and so must we today as followers of Christ.  Verse thirty-two added, We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.  They said they would go across the Jordan and fight, so that they could claim their possession of land on this side of the Jordan.  Verse thirty-three continues, And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the 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, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.  Moses gave the kingdom of Sihon, the king the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og, and the land and cities along the coast, to the people of Gad and Reuben, plus half the tribe of Manasseh, Joseph's son.  This was the first mention of the half tribe of Manasseh, but they were included and for whatever worldly reason, we have to conclude it was with God's blessing.  Wherever God leads us, we should go.  Verse thirty-four states, And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,  Verse thirty-five adds, And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,  Verse thirty-six continues, And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.  We are told of nine fenced cities the people of Gad built.  I am not sure how long this took, but they were to build them, or Matthew Henry says more likely rebuild them, before they crossed over Jordan.  Verse thirty-seven says, And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,  Verse thirty-eight adds, And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.  We are told of six cities the people of Reuben built or renamed, but are also told there were others.  Verse thirty-nine states, And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.  Machir, the son of Manasseh, defeated the people of Gilead and took it. Verse forty adds, And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.  Moses gave the land of Gilead to Machir.  As we fight for God in this world as followers of Christ, He will always provide us with all that we need in order to be successful spiritually.  Verse forty-one continues, And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.  Jair, another son of Manasseh, took the small towns of Gilead, and renamed them Havothjair.  Verse forty-two concludes, And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.  Nibah took Kenath and renamed it for himself.  We need to be careful that we don't allow self pride to come between God and us.

Numbers 32:16

Numbers 32:16 says, And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:  Verse seventeen adds, But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.  The leaders of Gad and Reuben came to Moses and told him that they would build sheepfolds for the cattle and cities for their little ones, but that the men themselves would go armed with the rest of the people of Israel to fight those who currently inhabited the Promised Land.  They would lead the people into battle, and without their families and cattle would have less to be worried about.  We should always be ready to go into battle against God's enemies as long as they exist, even if we could sit back in peace ourselves.  Verse eighteen continues, We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.  They said they would not return to their houses until all the people of Israel had their land secured.  Of course, we will always be on this side of the Promised Land, but if God has blessed us with a life of peace and prosperity, that does not exempt us from helping those who are still actively engaged in the battle against evil in the world.  Verse nineteen concludes, For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.  These leaders of Gad and Reuben said that they would not inherit, or claim, any of the land beyond the Jordan because their inheritance would be the land that they wanted to claim on this side of the Jordan.  Of course, we must never think that anything short of heaven is our Promised Land.  Verse twenty states, And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,  Moses began to give his permission with some ifs included.  Verse twenty-one adds, And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,  Verse twenty-two continues, And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.  Moses said if they all the men of fighting age would go armed into the battle across the Jordan, fight until all the enemies were driven out, then they could return and claim this land for there inheritance.  As Christians, God has already given us our inheritance in heaven, but that does not exempt us from the battle here.  Of course, we will never be fighting for an everlasting home anywhere short of heaven.  Verse twenty-three concludes, But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.  After the ifs, Moses gave them the but.  He said if they did not do what they promised, then they had sinned against God.  We already have our Promised Land of heaven assured if we have put our faith in Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord, but we are still to be engaged in the battle against Satan and the forces of evil in the world today.  Verse twenty-four says, Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.  Moses told them to go ahead and build their cities and sheepfolds.  Verse twenty-five adds, And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.  The people of Gad and Reuben said they would do as the LORD commanded,  and so must we today as followers of Christ.  Verse twenty-six continues, Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:  The leaders of Gad and Reuben said their children, wives and cattle would remain in the cities of Gilead.  Verse twenty-seven concludes, But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.  Though the children, women and cattle would remain behind, the men of fighting age and ability would pass over the Jordan to fight with the rest of Israel.  Verse twenty-eight states, So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:  Moses called on Eleazar, Joshua who would be leading the people in place of Moses, and the heads of the tribes of Israel to him.  These were the ones this decision would affect.  As Christians, we all need to be working together to defeat the enemies of God under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  Verse twenty-nine continues, And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:  Moses told these leaders that if the men Gad and Reuben went with them into battle for the Promised Land, once they were victorious, the rest of the people of Israel were to give the people of Gad and Reuben the land of Gilead as their inheritance.  It was important that these leaders knew of the terms of the agreement, because Moses would not be there to verify it.  It is just as important that we teach the next generation about God's word, because one day we will no longer be here to do so.  Verse thirty concludes, But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.  If the people of Gad and Reuben did not fulfill there promises, they would not be allowed to claim possession of the land they wanted, but would have their inheritance in the land of Canaan.  

Numbers 32:6

Numbers 32:6 says, And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?  Since the people of Gad and Reuben had asked for land already captured, Moses asked them if the rest of the people of Israel should go to war while they sat there in peace.  We as followers of Christ today are at war with the sin in the world, and we should not expect to sit back at peace and prosperous while our fellow believers struggle to survive and fight the war.  Verse seven adds, And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?  Moses asked them why they would want to discourage others from going into the land that God had given them.  If we have seemingly gained great riches of this earth as Christians, seemingly without any problem, we may discourage other Christians who are struggling if we just sit back in ease.  Verse eight continues, Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land.  Moses said this was what their fathers had done when he sent them to spy on the land originally.  They returned with a negative report, except for Joshua and Caleb, and the people were afraid to go into the land.  We should never let our success as followers of Christ serve as a discouragement to others.  Verse nine states, For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.  As just stated, Moses said the negative report of the spies discouraged the people of Isreal from going into the Promised Land a generation earlier, and if the tribes of Gad and Reuben stayed in the already conquered land, it could likewise discourage the rest of the people from wanting to cross over the Jordan where they would then have to fight for the Promised Land.  Though as Christians we are already assured of entering into our Promised Land, Heaven, we are not exempt from fighting the war against Satan in the world today.  Verse ten adds, And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, Verse eleven continues, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:  Moses reminded them of what had happened when the people of Israel chose to believe the report of the ten spies instead of putting their faith in God.  None of the men who came out of Egypt who were twenty years old or older would be allowed to go into the Promised Land.  Though if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we will never be kept out of heaven, we still must actively follow God's will today.  We are not exempt from fighting the war against God by the forces of evil today, and if we just sit back and enjoy life if God has blessed us with prosperity and refuse to take an active role in fighting the war against evil, we may very well discourage other believers who are less fortunate.  Verse twelve says, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.  Moses pointed out that Caleb and Joshua were the exception to the other spies, because they wholly followed God.  We need to be like them, and not like the rest of the spies and the people of Israel.  Verse thirteen continues, And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.  Moses then reminded them of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness that God had them endure until all those men twenty years and older died.  God still expects His people to live by faith in Him and not by fear of what may happen to them in this world if they follow His will.  Verse fourteen states, And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.  Moses said that the people of Gad and Ruben were in danger of being like their fathers by not wanting to cross over into the Promised Land,  because of the land where they were looking so good.  No matter how good things are for us in this world, we must make sure this does not come between us and God's will for us.  Verses fifteen adds, For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.  Moses told the people of Gad and Reuben if that if they stayed on this side of the Jordan and settled in peace that they might cause the rest of the nation to continue in the wilderness because they would question the need to cross over into the Promised Land and fight for it by faith in God.  We must likewise engage in the battle against the forces of evil as followers of Christ, no matter how prosperous and at ease our life may be.  Above all else, we must never allow our life to discourage others from putting their faith in Jesus Christ. 

Numbers 32:1

Numbers 32:1 says, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;  The tribes of Rueben and God had a lot of cattle and saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead were good land for cattle.  Verse two adds, The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,  They came to Moses and Eleazar and spoke to them.  Moses and Eleazar were the spiritual leaders of all the people of Israel, so they came people of God and the leaders of the tribe of Ruben came to them when they wanted something.  We, as followers of Christ, should always come to Jesus when we want something today, but we must come to Him seeking His will.  Verse three continues, Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,  There were also some of the other leaders of Isreal there, and whatever we are wanting from God as Christians should not be sought secretly if it affects our fellow believers.  Verse four states, Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:  Verse five adds, Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.  The Gadites and the Reubenites said that this was a good land, and asked Moses if they had found grace in his sight to allow them to settle there and to not cross over the Jordan.  This was still not really in the Promised Land, unless God made it a part.  We need to never want to stop short of God's everlasting Promised Land, Heaven, as followers of Christ.