Golan, Ramoth, and Bosor were east of the Jordan, and Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron on the west. When the Land of Promise’s borders were described in Numbers 34, they included territory to be given only to “the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. For the tribe of the children of Reuben…and the tribe of the […]
Have you heard the maxim, “Good fences make good neighbors”? God likes that idea, too. In his famous anti-God song, John Lennon wrote, “Imagine there’s no countries, It isn’t hard to do, Nothing to kill or die for, And no religion, too.” Apart from the bad grammar, it’s also a very bad idea. Throughout history, […]
Read More… from October 31, 2022 — The Benefits Of Boundaries
Numbers 33 reads like a travelog. Don’t you wish there was a movie? Or at least a few selfies? Imagine two or three million people—newborn babies, excited children, old folks, their cows and sheep, and all the baggage—traipsing through a desert. No hotels, restaurants, roads, or signs. God made the sea and river dry, and […]
Would we reach out to help animals, but not our brother or sister? See Mt 12:10-14 and Lk 13:11-17. Numbers 32 introduces a motif we do well to notice. “The children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the […]
Read More… from October 27, 2022 — The Two And A Half Tribes
The conflict (Num 31:1-12); the corrective (vv 13-18); the cleansing (vv 19-20); the cache (vv 21-54). The latter part of Numbers 31 describes how Israel was to use the plunder of war. Booty is used for livestock and spoil for treasure (v 12). There is no description of the battle, but it clearly was a […]
Life oscillates between discussing and doing. There is a time for words and a time for action. After three chapters of talk, the conversation takes a sharp turn: “The Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take vengeance on the Midianites’” (Num 31:1-2). This is Moses’ last action before heading up Nebo to die. Anyone reading this […]
God wanted people to be able to count on His word, and on what His people said, as well. Numbers 30 is about vows. God always keeps His word and He expects you to do the same. Nobody likes it when others can’t be counted on. So it’s usually better to just do what needs […]
Read More… from October 24, 2022 — On Making And Keeping Vows
Happy people enjoy what they do have; unhappy people obsess with what they don’t have. Numbers 29 is a continuation from chapter 28 on the subject of Israel’s sacrifices to the Lord. This is a reprise of Leviticus 23 regarding the Festivals of Jehovah. One of the Lord’s titles is “The Happy God.” We read […]
Read More… from October 21, 2022 — Festivals Of The Happy God