Numbers 27:19 – 31:54 Bible Teaching

So, after hitting verse 18 of chapter 27 hard and all of the implications of the fact that the Spirit could indwell people before Pentecost, lets read on and hear the rest of the words YAHAVAH said to Moses about Joshua the son of Nun,

19 And set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in their sight.
20 And thou shalt put some of thine honor upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient.
21 And he (Joshua) shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before YAHAVAH: at his word shall they go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.

Now we talked about the Urim and Thummim back in Exodus 28:30, but notice something – with Moses, YAHAVAH spoke to Him directly, but with Joshua, He will speak to him through Eleazer the priest who will consult the Urim – which was some sort of device and appears to be the breastplate with the twelve stones inserted therein.

This appears to be because Moses only gave Joshua a portion (or some) of his honor (verse 20) and therefore Joshua has (from the time he replaced Moses) to consult Eleazar on what YAHAVAH wanted. (verse 22)
Not sure why but again, a change.

22 And Moses did as YAHAVAH commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation:
23 And he laid his hands upon him, and gave him a charge, as YAHAVAH commanded by the hand of Moses.

Numbers chapter 28 opens with

And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, My offering, and my bread for my sacrifices made by fire, for a sweet savour unto me, shall ye observe to offer unto me in their due season.

Then there are 31 verses of detailed instructions on how to rightly do these things, these offerings, then Numbers chapter 29 gives us forty more verses of similar instruction, then it ends at verse 40 with

“And Moses told the children of Israel according to all that the LORD commanded Moses.”

Chapter 29 opens with and interesting note, saying

1 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.

This was the beginning of their civil year, which was festive and as stated was ushered in by the blowing of trumpets.

The seventh month (to them) corresponds to our September. Interestingly, other nations would do the same, often around September 22nd which at this time was around the time of what is called the autumnal equinox – which is today for us – autumn has begun at 654 this morning.

And naturally, this day of “equal night” (equinox) over the northern hemisphere many folklore tales surround it.

Now, trumpets are mentioned all the way back in Leviticus and again in Numbers and we have said that they played an important role in the calling of the Nation together, in calling them to go to war, in calling them to celebrate specific occasions.

In 1st Corinthians 15:51, after teaching the believers at Corinth about the resurrection and correcting their errant assuption, Paul adds, again, to them/then,

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Now hang with me but I submit to you that this was the “resurrection of all,” and forevermore, meaning the time when all humankind was fitted to enter heaven spiritually, and would later, at each respective death, be fitted spiritually with the body they are given by God to inhabit eternity.

This is a radical departure from the standard view of the resurrection most believers assume which is we are all waiting for a day to come where all the dead will rise out of the actual graves with physical bodies gloriously restored from the earth.

This is just not so when deeply investigated but was first Yeshua from the physical grave, then some around that area to prove life after death, then all who were His at His coming being the firstfruits of the church/bride then we have the spiritual reconciliation of the human race all being raised to life through Christ while here, on earth , and being brought back into the Garden of Eden, choose to live by the power of Him who was raised, or not.

At death, the sowing we did to the Spirit will go with us in our spiritual selves and the sowing we did to our flesh will grow increasingly corruptible in the earth.

That said, the resurrection they were waiting for in that day had not occurred when Paul wrote to the believers at Corinth, and so he explains to them what would happen to them when Christ returned to usher it in.

Note again, the language Paul uses, saying,

“but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound,

John the Revelator describes this last trump sounding in Revelation and in this there are seven trumps that would sound from the heavens, depicting different phases of the end before His return to save His Bride and once and for all overcome the fall of Ada.

Reading the seven trumps in English and without any notion of how the Hebrews talked it admittedly can sound like there is no way any or most of them have occurred.

This is why and where we studied Revelation and share our findings with you on our site, and offer 22 chapter books and one overview book of the Book of Revelation itself to aid you in your search.

But a short summary or the seven trumpets,

First trumpet: was a mixture of hail, fire, and blood burns up a third of the trees and all the grass on the land or region .

Second trumpet: A burning object the size of a mountain is thrown into the ocean, killing a third of the sea life, destroying a third of the ships, and turning a third of the ocean blood red.

Third trumpet: A burning star falls from the sky and poisons a third of the fresh water, killing many people.

Fourth trumpet: The light of the sun, moon, and stars is dimmed by a third.

Fifth trumpet: A locust-like creature emerges and stings humans for five months.

Sixth trumpet: Four angels are released to kill a third of the remaining population of the region.

The last trump that Paul mentions in 1st Cornithians, or the seventh trump

was sounded to announce the kingdom of God and to give glory to God.

Which we plainly maintain has occurred and launched the world into the fulfilled age where we have all lived in for the past 2000 years.

Back to Numbers 29 where from verse 2-.
40 we get all the specifications relative on how to offer, rams, bulls, goats and all the rest.

On thing to note we read at verse 7

29:7 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:

And then at verse 12

29:12 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:

SO, two different special days of special observance wherein they were to do no work – on the twelfth day and on the fifteenth day of the seventh month.

And here is my point in pointing these verses out – just like the offerings and tithes where they were commanded to give, which were FAR more than just ten percent of their increase, their Sabbaths were also far more than observance of the last day of the week but over the course of the year included numerous days in addition to the annual 52.

Why even comment on this? Because whenever you hear anyone today – (I keep the Sabbath or I pay tithes) you can know that in all probability they are NOT in compliance with what YAHAVAH says to the Nation.

Chapter 30 is all about vow making under the law – whether a man makes a vow, a married woman, a daughter or one engaged person does – with the stipulations included.

Vows and vow making are important throughout the Nation under the Law and they were even addressed by the Lord in His incarnation.

Lots of circumstances for the making of them and for the people making them. Not gonna cover in depth even if they do come up in both the Tanakh and the Apostolic Record.

The only thing to know about this chapter and vow making is when a vow promise/oath was made in that day, if the person making it was under the guidance of a parent or spouse the parent or spouse had to voice their opposition to the vow made when it was made or they would be beholden to the vow uttered.

Chapter 31 opens with YAHAVAH sending 1000 from each tribe out to destroy the Midianites.

Let’s read from verse 7,

Numbers 31:7 And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses; and they slew all the males.

Now in Deuteronomy, we will read that before going into a people and slaying them that the Nation would first make a peace offering to the nation to be invaded but here this does not happen.

It might speak to the fact that these Midianites were involved in attempts to get Israel to fall back when their King Moab tried to get Balaam to pronounce a curse on them.

When that failed Balaam appears to have been behind a plan to let the Nation hang themselves by sleeping with the Midianite women (who also got them to worship false Gods).

We get another clue that Balaam was involved in this because of what it reads in verse 8, saying,

8 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.

From here we enter into some of the first actions that the Nation would do that to the present day readers seems barbaric (verse 9)

9 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.
10 And they burnt all their cities wherein they dwelt, and all their goodly castles, with fire.
11 And they took all the spoil, and all the prey, both of men and of beasts.
12 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.

13 And Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and all the princes of the congregation, went forth to meet them without the camp.
14 And Moses was wroth with the officers of the host, with the captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, which came from the battle.
15 And Moses said unto them, Have ye saved all the women alive.
16 Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit trespass against YAHAVAH in the matter of Peor, and there was a plague among the congregation of YAHAVAH.
17 Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman that hath known man by lying with him.

The little ones here are the male children along with every woman that had known man by lying with him.

There is so much to say here, and so much to just have to accept.

Bottom Line – what is our perspective of this action, how are we to understand and see it today in a world so far removed from this kind of thing – at least from the mouth of God?

The standard view is God is a monster, or God alone commands life to end or continue – so deal with it – things like this.

And while I do believe that this is true, I think we have to mitigate that view with the fact that God is love and all that He does must be by and through expressions of love in all of its manifestations.

That said, I suggest that His love is exercised and executed on the GRAND View of things which governs the micro view of things out to the macro.

To better explain this, I think we have to admit that what He allows and does is always in response to His love for ALL souls – start to finish – and does not always or frequently work not on a case by case basis for one individual and/or in a vacuum.

So, where He is aware of each individual I tend to see His actions and will for each of us IS connected to who we are in the spectrum of eternity and what part we play in the grand narrative.

In the Grand Narrative of bringing forth His only human son to save the world, in and through this Nation, I see these things that trouble us as permittable to bring about the overall best conclusions to His loving will for us all – from Adam to the youngest person on earth right now.

I also see His actions as serving to constantly teach all of us principles and in the grand narrative we are presented with a picture and type in what can be seen as mere barbarism.

Finally, I do not believe that God ever acts unjustly and only acts within the paradigms of perfect justice.

Wherein is the justice in wiping out all the male children and woman who have laid with a man among the Midianites?

Here is where last week’s teaching on the Spirit makes even more sense. See, if the Holy Spirit of God could never succeed in helping humans to relate directly with God, was never going to be continual, or constant because MAN was so warped in sin and death, then children were not in that day, an exception.

This is hard for people to really comprehend but prior to Christ I do not see human beings – from birth to death – as deserving anything from God as most of them were, in effect, broken models of darkness.

Perhaps we can even view the human race writ large as pre-human in the way God intended, but were in fact replicated models of our first parents and even then, perhaps in some lower and degraded form.

Maybe there were some exceptions to this in some peoples, but the fact of the matter is when it came to most souls, especially in groups and cultures like the Midianites, maybe they, including their male children, were rotten to the core and in the name of justice, bringing forth the Nation to save the world via their Messiah and love for all, the extermination was entirely justifiable.

Just like a responsible cattle rancher may face putting down any and all cattle exposed to mad cow disease.

Interestingly, all the females were spared unless they had lain with another man.

What does this imply? While not popular, it seems like females, through sexual relations with males, lose some portion of their individual identity and gain or take on some of the identity the males whom she has joined with intimately.

Its sounds arcane but I don’t know how to see it any other way?

For me, once Yeshua overcame sin and death, Satan and hell for all and forevermore, there is no difference now between male and female AND that a;; little children are restored to the pre-fall status of our first human parents.

Somethings to think about, anyway.

YAHAVAH continues at verse 18 and says,

18 But all the women children, that have not known a man by lying with him, keep alive for yourselves.
19 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.
20 And purify all your raiment, and all that is made of skins, and all work of goats’ hair, and all things made of wood.
21 And Eleazar the priest said unto the men of war which went to the battle, “This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD commanded Moses;
22 “Only the gold, and the silver, the brass, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 Every thing that may abide the fire, ye shall make it go through the fire, and it shall be clean: nevertheless it shall be purified with the water of separation: and all that abideth not the fire ye shall make go through the water.
24 And ye shall wash your clothes on the seventh day, and ye shall be clean, and afterward ye shall come into the camp.

Of course, this was a type for what Paul describes about the works of believers in His day when they face an assessment of their labors after departing from that former world, causing him to write in 1st Corinthians 3:11-25 where he says,

1st Corinthians 3:11 For no other foundation can a man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Paul, in this argument, suggests that the foundation of the faith was laid in that day and it is Christ.

Period.

The foundation was not religion about Christ – it was Him alone and he makes it clear that no other foundation could ever be laid by any man.

None.

This imagery is used throughout scripture as He is called both the Foundation, the Cornerstone, the Stone, the Rock (verses sand) even the Rock that would fill the earth itself.

So, with Him as the founding thing, the first principle, the archae, the door, the unmovable unshakable base created by His selfless and worthy acts meted out via His Incarnation, His Life, His Death, Resurrection, Ascension, Mediation, Victory over all things, His Return and His turning all things over to His Father (where YAHAVAH is now all in all) that Rock, that foundation is set, done, over.

Then Paul adds, (verse 2)

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;

The main discussion seems to now doubtlessly be with respect to the teachers and other participants in the faith who stand upon Him and offer their service to His cause.

So Paul carries forward the metaphor now with adding or building upon the foundation that is Christ.

Notice Paul describes the contributors as “any man,” saying, “Now if any man, any person, any believer anywhere involved, decides to take build upon Him.

12 Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.

This fire and the day that will reveal it appears to have meaning both to the Great Day of fire promised by Malachi (and others) as coming their way, but also what people call the bema seat judgement where the works of believers are tried and tested in, again, was known as the
“day of judgment.”

It was a great day which would reveal the secrets of all hearts, and the truth in regard to what every man had done.

It was a day when people with many great works would have Yeshua say to them, “Depart from me you who work iniquity,” and a day where the quality of every person’s labors would be tried by fire.

The true foundation had already been tested. Now all the works done by those who professed him (past tense – people of that day) were tried by the same.

Will our labors also be tried by fire? Because they are not tied to the former age and because the new heaven, the New earth and the New Jerusalem are entirely spiritual, I make the pure assumption that whatever works we bear forth will be seen as either “spiritual platinum, gold and silver,” verse those things that are spiritual wood, hay and stubble, are all of such will be automatically discerned and known in the kingdom above and manifest in the eternities through the resurrected bodies we inhabit.

Could be wrong but this seems to be the better application of this refining process on a bema seat spoken of in the text.

Similarly, it seems that it is our souls, instead of our outward works and labors, are what are frankly purified – those who submit to Him and His will here choose to let him purify them in this life while those who resist will bear forth dross of the souls into the heavenly realm and if they seek to enter-in (while in possession of such dross) that PERHAPS the white bright light of consuming fire will purge them there in their efforts.

All conjecture.

Remember, the end of the former age described in the Apostolic Record is synonymously known as “the consummation of all things” or the end of that world or age.

The scripture speaks of that world being shaken in heaven and earth and destroyed by fire.

It is what Isaiah 66:15 addresses, 2nd Thessalonians 1:8; 2nd Peter 3:7,10 and 11.

This is the end of “all things” that Peter mentions. And it makes sense the fire is the emblem of both destruction and purification to test the merits of those coming in from a material age of Law, temples made with hands, dress and diet.

The burning fires of that day, Paul says, would reveal the character of every man’s work, as fire sheds light on all around, and discloses the true nature of things, ridding things of what cannot abide.

Which is why Paul adds,

“And the fire shall try every man’s work.”

So that fire, typified and pictured by YAHAVAH’s INSTRUCTIONS to the Nation with the booty of the Midianites is fully played out in the first century church with literal fire but I maintain that ever since all of this is spiritually administered.

In that day and age, Paul adds at verse 14

14 If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.

In the purification of the actual booty taken from the Midianites, the property of fire assigned to them was to test the qualities of objects taken.

In that, gold and silver, are not destroyed by fire but only purified from dross, transforming them into new shapes.

But the wood, hay and stubble, are consumed.

Again, the power of fire to try or test the nature of metals, or other objects, is often referred to in the Scripture including Isaiah 4:4; 24:15; Malachi 3:2; and 1st Peter 1:7.

The final verse from Paul adds

15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.

This allows for the idea that someone sincere in their heart but messed up in their teachings or labors may lose their false works but certainly be saved.

The question is did they build upon the True Foundation. Him. This is central to wrong doctrines and practices lending to the loss of reward but the heart that stands on Christ carrying on.

From verse 25 to 54, which ends chapter 31, there are descriptions on how the booty, now passed through the fire and/or washed with the Red Hefer water, was to be distributed among the tribes.

Chapter 32 introduces us to a side story of interest which I will describe as a means to move through it quickly,

In verses 1-5 the Reubenites and Gadites (from Reuban and Gad) see land outside Canaan that is very suited to the amount of cattle they own so they request Moses to give them these lands – which ticks Moses off who thinks that they are running away from the Nations duties to go to war and overtake the promised land.

But they explain themselves better and actually propose some reasonable conditions and Moses softens and allows them to build cities for their wives and children, and folds for their cattle, BUT to cross over into Canaan armed with the other tribes and to fight against their enemies till the land is subdued – and they they would return to their families.

Moses then takes this proposal to Eleazar, Joshua, and the elders, and the Tribes of Gad and Reuban promise to be faithful.

WHICH THEY WERE.

Moses then assigns to them, and the half tribe of Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of
Og, king of Bashan.

Verses 34-36 describes the cities built by the Gadites and verse 37-38 describe the cities built by the Reubenites.

If you want a detailed account of all the places the Nations traveled over the forty years Chapter 33 is your chapter.

Not covering. But the chapter winds up with the following beginning at verse 50:

Numbers 33:50 And YAHAVAH spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
51” Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52 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:
53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
54 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.
55 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.
56 Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.

Again, a solid picture for the goal of all believers and followers of Christ today – to rid oneself of all the items of the former inhabitants of our souls, not allowing anything that will remove you from your heart devotions to Him to remain.

THAT said . . . this is not a material work of our flesh but the Spiritual work of the Spirit of Christ within us, and is not a absolute law or list that must be adapted or enforced by religion.

Interestingly, in the Old Testament, ALL things had to be removed but in the Age of Christ working with individuals YAHAVAH may allow some things to remain in you – some failure, some thorn, right, as proven by Paul described His thorn as being left with YAHAVAH plainly telling him that His Grace is sufficient.

And for this reason and in the face of this we DO NOT try and police individuals and their relationship with Him through religious demands. It is subjective, in the hands of the Spirit, and brings great liberty and freedom in each of our direct relationships with God.

The Spirit will lead you, and let you know what hinders you, what stumbles you, what causes faithlessness, what leads you to failing to love, and the spirit will give you liberty in areas that lend to your growth, humility and love.

Trust in Him through the Spirit.

We will finish the book of Numbers next week picking it up at chapter 34 and working through chapter 36 – to wrap up the book of Numbers.

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