March 1st Numbers
31
Conduct in War
1:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2:
Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou
be gathered unto thy people. 3:
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. 4:
Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall
ye send to the war. 5:
So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of
every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. 6:
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. 7:
And they warred against the Midianites, as the LORD commanded Moses;
and they slew all the males. 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. 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 the LORD in the matter of Peor,
and there was a plague among the congregation of the LORD. 17:
Now therefore kill every male among the little ones, and kill every
woman that hath known man by lying with him. 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. 25:
And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 26:
Take the sum of the prey that was taken, both of man and of beast,
thou, and Eleazar the priest, and the chief fathers of the
congregation: 27:
And divide the prey into two parts; between them that took the war
upon them, who went out to battle, and between all the congregation:
28:
And levy a tribute unto the LORD of the men of war which went out to
battle: one soul of five hundred, both of the persons, and of the
beeves, and of the asses, and of the sheep: 29:
Take it of their half, and give it unto Eleazar the priest, for an
heave offering of the LORD. 30:
And of the children of Israel's half, thou shalt take one portion of
fifty, of the persons, of the beeves, of the asses, and of the
flocks, of all manner of beasts, and give them unto the Levites,
which keep the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD. 31:
And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses. 32:
And the booty, being the rest of the prey which the men of war had
caught, was six hundred thousand and seventy thousand and five
thousand sheep, 33:
And threescore and twelve thousand beeves, 34:
And threescore and one thousand asses, 35:
And thirty and two thousand persons in all, of woman that had not
known man by lying with him. 36:
And the half, which was the portion of them that went out to war, was
in number three hundred thousand and seven and thirty thousand and
five hundred sheep: 37:
And the LORD's tribute of the sheep was six hundred and threescore
and fifteen. 38:
And the beeves were thirty and six thousand; of which the LORD's
tribute was threescore and twelve. 39:
And the asses were thirty thousand and five hundred; of which the
LORD's tribute was threescore and one. 40:
And the persons were sixteen thousand; of which the LORD's tribute
was thirty and two persons. 41:
And Moses gave the tribute, which was the LORD's heave offering, unto
Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses. 42:
And of the children of Israel's half, which Moses divided from the
men that warred, 43:
(Now the half that pertained unto the congregation was three hundred
thousand and thirty thousand and seven thousand and five hundred
sheep, 44:
And thirty and six thousand beeves, 45:
And thirty thousand asses and five hundred, 46:
And sixteen thousand persons;) 47:
Even of the children of Israel's half, Moses took one portion of
fifty, both of man and of beast, and gave them unto the Levites,
which kept the charge of the tabernacle of the LORD; as the LORD
commanded Moses. 48:
And the officers which were over thousands of the host, the captains
of thousands, and captains of hundreds, came near unto Moses: 49:
And they said unto Moses, Thy servants have taken the sum of the men
of war which are under our charge, and there lacketh not one man of
us. 50:
We have therefore brought an oblation for the LORD, what every man
hath gotten, of jewels of gold, chains, and bracelets, rings,
earrings, and tablets, to make an atonement for our souls before the
LORD. 51:
And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, even all
wrought jewels. 52:
And all the gold of the offering that they offered up to the LORD, of
the captains of thousands, and of the captains of hundreds, was
sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. 53:
(For the men of war had taken spoil, every man for himself.) 54:
And Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the captains of
thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tabernacle of the
congregation, for a memorial for the children of Israel before the
LORD.
Numbers
32 Some Tribes settle east of Jordan
1:
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; 2:
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, 3:
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh,
and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4:
Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of
Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5:
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. 6:
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? 7:
And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from
going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 8:
Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the
land. 9:
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. 10:
And the LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
11:
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: 12:
Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of
Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13:
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. 14:
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. 15:
For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in
the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. 16:
And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here
for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 17:
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. 18:
We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have
inherited every man his inheritance. 19:
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.
20:
And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go
armed before the LORD to war, 21:
And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he
hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22:
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. 23:
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD:
and be sure your sin will find you out. 24:
Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and
do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 25:
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses,
saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. 26:
Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be
there in the cities of Gilead: 27:
But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the
LORD to battle, as my lord saith. 28:
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: 29:
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: 30:
But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have
possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31:
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying,
As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. 32:
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.
33:
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. 34:
And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35:
And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 36:
And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.
37:
And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and
Kirjathaim, 38:
And Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah:
and gave other names unto the cities which they builded. 39:
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and
took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it. 40:
And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt
therein. 41:
And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof,
and called them Havoth-jair. 42:
And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called
it Nobah, after his own name.
Numbers
33 G.
Looking back and looking forward Summary of the wanderings
1:
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. 2:
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. 3:
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. 4:
For the Egyptians buried all their firstborn, which the LORD had
smitten among them: upon their gods also the LORD executed judgments.
5:
And the children of Israel removed from Rameses, and pitched in
Succoth. 6:
And they departed from Succoth, and pitched in Etham, which is in the
edge of the wilderness. 7:
And they removed from Etham, and turned again unto Pi-hahiroth, which
is before Baal-zephon: and they pitched before Migdol. 8:
And they departed from before Pi-hahiroth, 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. 9:
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. 10:
And they removed from Elim, and encamped by the Red sea. 11:
And they removed from the Red sea, and encamped in the wilderness of
Sin. 12:
And they took their journey out of the wilderness of Sin, and
encamped in Dophkah. 13:
And they departed from Dophkah, and encamped in Alush. 14:
And they removed from Alush, and encamped at Rephidim, where was no
water for the people to drink. 15:
And they departed from Rephidim, and pitched in the wilderness of
Sinai. 16:
And they removed from the desert of Sinai, and pitched at
Kibroth-hattaavah. 17:
And they departed from Kibroth-hattaavah, and encamped at Hazeroth.
18:
And they departed from Hazeroth, and pitched in Rithmah. 19:
And they departed from Rithmah, and pitched at Rimmon-parez. 20:
And they departed from Rimmon-parez, and pitched in Libnah. 21:
And they removed from Libnah, and pitched at Rissah. 22:
And they journeyed from Rissah, and pitched in Kehelathah. 23:
And they went from Kehelathah, and pitched in mount Shapher. 24:
And they removed from mount Shapher, and encamped in Haradah. 25:
And they removed from Haradah, and pitched in Makheloth. 26:
And they removed from Makheloth, and encamped at Tahath. 27:
And they departed from Tahath, and pitched at Tarah. 28:
And they removed from Tarah, and pitched in Mithcah. 29:
And they went from Mithcah, and pitched in Hashmonah. 30:
And they departed from Hashmonah, and encamped at Moseroth. 31:
And they departed from Moseroth, and pitched in Bene-jaakan. 32:
And they removed from Bene-jaakan, and encamped at Hor-hagidgad. 33:
And they went from Hor-hagidgad, and pitched in Jotbathah. 34:
And they removed from Jotbathah, and encamped at Ebronah. 35:
And they departed from Ebronah, and encamped at Ezion-gaber. 36:
And they removed from Ezion-gaber, and pitched in the wilderness of
Zin, which is Kadesh. 37:
And they removed from Kadesh, and pitched in mount Hor, in the edge
of the land of Edom. 38:
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. 39:
And Aaron was an hundred and twenty and three years old when he died
in mount Hor. 40:
And king Arad the Canaanite, which dwelt in the south in the land of
Canaan, heard of the coming of the children of Israel. 41:
And they departed from mount Hor, and pitched in Zalmonah. 42:
And they departed from Zalmonah, and pitched in Punon. 43:
And they departed from Punon, and pitched in Oboth. 44:
And they departed from Oboth, and pitched in Ije-abarim, in the
border of Moab. 45:
And they departed from Iim, and pitched in Dibon-gad. 46:
And they removed from Dibon-gad, and encamped in Almon-diblathaim.
47:
And they removed from Almon-diblathaim, and pitched in the mountains
of Abarim, before Nebo. 48:
And they departed from the mountains of Abarim, and pitched in the
plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho. 49:
And they pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim
in the plains of Moab.
Instructions
- conquering the land
50:
And the LORD 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.
The March Bible
readings begin with the subject of, how will Israel conduct
themselves in the act of war? Then we find that some tribes settle on
the eastern side of the Jordan River. The Lord brings the last
instruction to Moses. The Lord says avenge the children of Israel of
the Midianites and then afterwards you will die and join your
fathers. This was not a personal thing for Moses but it was a
judgment of God on the wickedness of that people. So Moses gathered
the people and said l want you to take arms – one thousand from
every tribe of the children of Israel, twelve thousand in all. Then
they went to war and they killed all the males and the kings of
Midian. Balaam was also killed. They took all the women and children
captives with all the herds, flocks and goods. All the cities were
burned with the strongholds. When Moses saw all the women he was
angry and said wasn’t it the women who caused Israel to sin. So he
commanded all the women to be killed with young male children, all
apart from the virgin girls. Then the Lord declared that the only
spoil to be saved was that which could go through fire – gold,
silver etc. And the men of war were not to enter the camp for seven
days because they are contaminated by blood. Then half of all the
goods were to be devoted to the Lord. This was because everyone had
taken what he could carry ‘every man for himself’. The gold was
given to the tabernacle as a constant memorial of the victory. The
tribes of Reuben and Gad had huge herds of cattle so they asked that
they might settled on the east of the Jordan. But Moses replied will
your brethren go to battle and you sit here? So they said we will put
our cattle and sheep in safety but we will go armed to battle until
every one of our brethren has his own land. He said God will hold you
to this oath then you will have sinned before the Lord and ‘be sure
- your sin will find you out’. They promised faithfully to keep
their word. The Lord would hold them to their word. Next we have a
complete summary of the wanderings of the children of Israel from
Egypt right through the desert to the Promised land.
- Departed from Rameses in Egypt 15th of first month.
- pitched in Succoth.
- pitched in Etham,
- pitched before Migdol.
Through the Red Sea
(In the Gulf of Aquabar)
- pitched in Marah.
- pitched at Elim
- encamped by the Red sea.
- encamped in the wilderness of Sin.
- encamped in Dophkah.
- encamped in Alush.
- encamped at Rephidim,
- pitched in the wilderness of Sinai.
- pitched at Kibroth-hattaavah.
- encamped at Hazeroth.
- pitched in Rithmah.
- pitched at Rimmon-parez.
- pitched in Libnah.
- pitched at Rissah.
- pitched in Kehelathah.
- pitched in mount Shapher.
- encamped in Haradah.
- pitched in Makheloth.
- encamped at Tahath.
- pitched at Tarah.
- pitched in Mithcah.
- pitched in Hashmonah.
- encamped at Moseroth.
- pitched in Bene-jaakan.
- encamped at Hor-hagidgad.
- pitched in Jotbathah.
- encamped at Ebronah.
- encamped at Ezion-gaber.
- pitched in Kadesh.
- pitched in mount Hor,
After 40 years
Israel came out of the wilderness in the 1st day of the fifth month.
(Aaron died 123yrs old)
- pitched in Zalmonah.
- pitched in Punon.
- pitched in Oboth.
- pitched in Ije-abarim, in the border of Moab.
- pitched in Dibon-gad.
- encamped in Almon-diblathaim.
- pitched in the mountains of Abarim, before Nebo.
- pitched in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.
- pitched by Jordan, from Beth-jesimoth even unto Abel-shittim in the plains of Moab.
Then the Lord gave
specific instructions regarding the conquering of the Promised Land.
They were to drive out all the inhabitants of the land in front of
them. And they are to destroy all the pictures, images and high
places. Contrary to most people perception they did not go into the
land to kill everyone but to dispossessed the land and occupy it.
Then the land was to be divided by lot for a permanent inheritance
for all generations. Those people that are not driven out of the land
will be a constant irritation like a thorn in the flesh.
- What instructions does the Lord give to Israel on how to conduct themselves righteously in time of battle?
- How did the tribes that settled in an area where there was no likelihood of war conduct themselves in relation to their brethren who still have had battles to win.
- What did the Lord say he would do to Israel if they failed to drive out their enemies?
No comments:
Post a Comment