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Numbers 25:16-18
“We
are in Numbers chapter 26, by attendance it looks like some people
read ahead, and they’re somewhere else tonight. Some of you read
ahead and said ‘Oh,
no, that’s why this is called Numbers, I remember now.’ But
there are great things here. We had come to the end of the plague
that had come on the people. Balaam had not been able to curse them,
but told Balak how to tempt them out from under God’s blessing as
it were. And verse
16 of chapter 25
says “And the LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, Vex the Midianites, and smite them: for
they vex you with their wiles, wherewith they have beguiled you in
the matter of Peor, and in the matter of Cozbi, the daughter of a
prince of Midian, their sister, which was slain in the day of the
plague for Peor’s sake.” (verses 16-18)
Numbers 26:1-65
“And
it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD
spake unto Moses and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,
saying, 2
Take the
sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel, from twenty
years old and upward, throughout their fathers’ house, all that are
able to go to war in Israel. 3
And Moses
and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by
Jordan near
Jericho, saying, 4
Take
the sum of the people,
from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD
commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of
the land of Egypt. 5
Reuben,
the eldest son of Israel: the children of Reuben; Hanoch, of
whom cometh
the family of the Hanochites: of Pallu, the family of the Palluites:
6
of Hezron,
the family of the Hezronites: of Carmi, the family of the Carmites.
7
These are
the families of the Reubenites: and they that were numbered of them
were forty and three thousand and seven hundred and thirty. 8
And the
sons of Pallu; Eliab. 9
And the
sons of Eliab; Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is
that Dathan
and Abiram which
were famous
in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in
the company of Korah, when they strove against the LORD:
10
and the
earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with Korah,
when that company died, what time the fire devoured two hundred and
fifty men: and they became a sign. 11
Notwithstanding
the children of Korah died not. 12
The sons
of Simeon after their families: of Nemuel, the family of the
Nemuelites: of Jamin, the family of the Jaminites: of Jachin, the
family of the Jachinites: 13
Of Zerah,
the family of the Zarhites: of Shual, the family of the Shaulites.
14
These are
the families of the Simeonites, twenty and two thousand and two
hundred. 15
The
children of Gad after their families: of Zephon, the family of the
Zephonites: of Haggi, the family of the Haggites: of Shuni, the
family of the Shunites: 16
of Ozni,
the family of the Oznites: of Eri, the family of the Erites: 17
of Arod,
the family of the Arodites: of Areli, the family of the Arelites. 18
These are
the families of the children of Gad according to those that were
numbered of them, forty thousand and five hundred. 19
The sons
of Judah were
Er and Onan: and Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan. 20
And the
sons of Judah after their families were; of Shelah, the family of the
Shelanites: of Pharez, the family of the Pharzites: of Zerah, the
family of the Zarhites. 21
And the
sons of Pharez were; of Hezron, the family of the Hezronies: of
Hamul, the family of the Hamulites. 22
These are
the families of Judah according to those that were numbered of them,
threescore and sixteen thousand and five hundred. 23
Of
the sons of Issachar after their families: of
Tola, the family of the Tolaites: of Pua, the family of the Punites:
24
of Jashub,
the family of the Jashubites: of Shimron, the family of the
Shimronites. 25
These are
the families of Issachar according to those that were numbered of
them, threescore and four thousand and three hundred. 26
Of
the sons of Zebulun after their families: of Sered, the family of
the Sardites: of Elon, the family of the Elonites: of Jahleel, the
family of the Jahleelites. 27
These are
the families of the Zebulunites according to those that were numbered
of them, threescore thousand and five hundred. 28
The sons
of Joseph after their families were
Manasseh and Ephraim. 29
Of the
sons of Manasseh: of Machir, the family of the Machirites: and
Machir begat Gilead: of Gilead come
the family of the Gileadites. 30
These are
the sons of Gilead: of
Jeezer, the
family of the Jeezerites: of Helek, the family of the Helekites: 31
and of
Shemida, the family of the Shemidaites: and of
Hepher, the family of the Hepherites. 33
And
Zelophehad the son of Hepher had no sons, but daughters: and the
names of the daughters of Zelophahad were
Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 34
These are
the families of Manasseh, and those that were numbered of them, fifty
and two thousand and seven hundred. 35
And these
are
the sons of Ephraim after their families: of Shuthelah, the family of
the Shuthalhites: of Becher, the family of the Bachrites: of Tahan,
the family of the Tahanites. 36
And these
are
the sons of the Shuthelah: of Eran, the family of the Eranites. 37
These are
the families of the sons of Ephraim according to those that were
numbered of them, thirty and two thousand and five hundred. These
are
the sons of Joseph after their families. 38
The sons
of Benjamin after their families: of Bela, the family of the
Belaites: of Ashbel, the family of the Ashbelites: of Ahiram, the
family of the Ahiramites: 39
of
Shupham, the family of the Shuphamites: of Hupham, the family of the
Huphamites. 40
And the
sons of Bela were Ard and Naaman: of
Ard, the
family of the Ardites: and
of Naaman, the family of the Naaamites. 41
These are
the sons of Benjamin after their families: and they that were
numbered of them were
forty and five thousand and six hundred. 42
These are
the sons of Dan after their families: of Shuham, the family of the
Shuhamites. These are
the families of Dan after their families. 43
All the
families of the Shuhamites, according to those that were numbered of
them, were
threescore and four thousand and four hundred. 44
Of
the children of Asher after their families: of Jimna, the family of
the Jimnites: of Jesui, the family of the Jesuites: of Beriah, the
family of the Beriites. 45
Of the
sons of Beriah: of Heber, the family of the Heberites: of Malchiel,
the family of the Malchielites. 46
And the
name of the daughter of Asher was
Sarah. 47
These are
the families of the sons of Asher according to those that were
numbered of them; who
were fifty
and three thousand and four hundred. 48
Of the
sons of Naphtali after their families: of Jahzeel, the family of the
Jahzeelites: of Guni, the family of the Gunites: 49
of Jezer,
the family of the Jezerites: of Shillem, the family of the
Shillemites. 50
These are
the families of Naphtali according to their families: and they that
were numbered of them were
forty and five thousand and four hundred. 51
These were
the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a
thousand seven hundred and thirty. 52
And the
LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, 53
Unto these
the land shall be divided for an inheritance according to the number
of names. 54
To many
thou shalt give the more inheritance, and to few thou shalt give the
less inheritance: to every one shall his inheritance be given
according to those that were numbered of him. 55
Notwithstanding
the land shall be divided by lot: according to the names of the
tribes of their fathers they shall inherit. 56
According
to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between many and
few. 57
And these
are
they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of
Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the
Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. 58
These are
the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family
of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the
Mushites, the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amran. 59
And the
name of Amran’s wife was
Jochebed, the daughter of Levi, whom her
mother bare
to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amran Aaron and Moses, and
Miriam their sister. 60
And unto
Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. 61
And Nadab
and Abihu died, when they offered strange fire before the LORD.
62
And those
that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand, all males
from a month old and upward: for they were not numbered among the
children of Israel, because there was no inheritance given them among
the children of Israel. 63
These are
they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered
the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near
Jericho. 64
But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the
priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the
wilderness of Sinai. 65
For the
LORD
had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there
was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and
Joshua the son of Nun.”
Introduction: God Is A God Of Numbers
[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED590]
“And
it came to pass after the plague, that the LORD
spake unto Moses” and
for the first time
“and unto Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest,” which
was normally always “unto Moses and Aaron,” now “unto Moses and
Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest,”
“saying, Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of
Israel, from twenty years old and upward, throughout their fathers’
house, all that are able to go to war in Israel.” (verses 1-2)
Now this is what we did right in the beginning of the Book, this is
the second numbering of the children of Israel, it takes place 38
years after the numbering in the 1st
chapter of the Book, God certainly being a God of numbers, that keeps
count. He tells us that the very stars of heaven are numbered [and
named, each has an individual name], and scientists are still trying
to figure out how many of those there are. I’ve been around since
1950 and that number has grown consistently since they told us how
many there were in the 50s and 60s. As their telescopes get better
their estimate goes up. God knows the number of them tonight. It
says the very hairs of your head are numbered, again making that work
easier 😊
than others. It says not one sparrow falls to the ground without his
notice. We’re told by David in the Psalms,
‘How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God, how great is
the sum of them. If I should count them, they are more in number
than the sand. When I awake I am still with thee,’ a
God certainly of numbers. He gives us great detail in Daniel chapter
9, to the detail he tells us from the time the commandment goes forth
to restore and rebuild Jerusalem to the coming of the Messiah would
be 173,880 days, a God of numbers. And look, that’s important to
us, because as he numbers, it isn’t sovereign majesty, it’s in
his Fatherly care. [see
https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-commentary/bible-commentary-daniel-9]
Not one sparrow falls, not one hair of your head is a mystery to him,
he knows the number, he doesn’t count them, he knows the number of
each of them, ‘there
goes number 3,242 just fell off, there goes 3,243 just fell off,’
he knows the number
that’s on each head. And he counts his people because each one of
them count. And the lie that Satan would tell us, is that our life,
or our ministry, or what we have to contribute, or our part in God’s
people or God’s Work is insignificant. That’s why on that CD we
put the testimony of Mr. Gainer on there, because you listen to that,
and you realize ‘Here’s
this guy who through all of these years is faithful, and never heard
whether one person ever came to Christ through his ministry, only to
hear before he goes to glory that over 100,000 that are known at
least from his ministry had come to Christ, and yet he had not known
of one of them,’
and just had been faithful to do what the Lord would tell him to do
[that makes me feel a little bit better]. So here’s God numbering
his people. Again, he could have just done it himself, had an angel
do it. He has Moses and Eleazar and the heads of the tribes do
this. They are to see and to learn things, no doubt, in the process.
This will be the military numbers, fighting men. They are on the
border of the Promised Land, again, 38 years later, they are ready to
go in. Jericho, the battle of Jericho will be before them, and many
of the cities. So there is a counting, a taking again, a census,
numbering of those that are able to go to war.
The Re-Numbering Of Israel
“And
Moses and Eleazar the priest spake with them in the plains of Moab by
Jordan near
Jericho, saying, Take
the sum of the people,
from twenty years old and upward; as the LORD
commanded Moses and the children of Israel, which went forth out of
the land of Egypt.” (verses 3-4) Now,
I won’t torture you with this. We’ll go through this and make
some annotations here. First we have the tribe of Reuben, the eldest
son [of Jacob] it tells us in verse 5, verse 7 tells us when the
Reubenites, the men of war were counted, there were 43,730 in verse
7. There were, when we started the Book, 46,500, so they are down
2,770 less fighting men than the tribe had in the beginning of the
Book. It tell us this in verse
9, we want to take
note of it, “the
sons of Eliab, Nemuel, and Dathan, and Abiram. This is
that Dathan
and Abiram, which
were famous
in the congregation, who strove against Moses and against Aaron in
the company of Korah,” so
it says, in the tribe of Reuben was Dathan and Abiram, and it’s
that particular Dathan and Abiram, and he’s being specific because
the names were fairly common, that had been involved in the rebellion
of Korah, where 250 died and then 14,700 died. “and
the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed them up together with
Korah, when that company died, what time the fire devoured two
hundred and fifty men: and they became a sign.” (verse 10)
There is a lesson in it. Verse
11, take note,
“Notwithstanding
the children of Korah died not.”
The children of Korah died not. Now you read that, I guess that’s
both good and bad, something that we would always be warned of,
usually the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, and lots of times
grumblers raise the next generation of grumblers. The children of
Korah died not, there will always be grumblers, complainers,
accusers, subverters. But the other side of that is grace, the
children of Korah died not. We find out in 1st
Chronicles chapter 6, verse 22, that the sons of Korah are listed
there amongst the musicians, and God gave the names to David, that
were to minister in the Temple. Psalms 42 to 46 are written to “the
sons of Korah,” and then in the 80s again. So God’s grace is
there, they were not punished, there were those of Korah’s family
who sought the LORD
and walked with the LORD,
and were not punished when their father was in sin. So it’s a
picture here both no doubt of grace, and sometimes I wonder of
warning. Verse 12 we have the sons of Simeon, it tells us in verse
14 the number of the Simeonites was 22,200. Now they’re down from
51,300, they’re down 37,000 from the first chapter, fighting men,
that’s a huge decrease. And it tells us that Cozbi and Zimri was
the son of a prince, look back in verse
14 of chapter 25, “Now the name of the Israelite that was slain,
even that was slain with the Midianitish woman was Zimri, the son of
Salu, a prince of a chief house among the Simeonites.”
So no doubt they were involved in this sin, and we know 23,000 died
in one day involved in that process. Verse 15, the children of Gad
are listed for us, and it tells us in verse 18 that their number is
40,500, that’s down from 45,650, the number is down 5,150. So
there’s a decrease in these first three tribes. All of these three
tribes camp on the south side of the Tabernacle. There were those
from these three tribes involved in the rebellion of Korah. They
were involved in the rebellion of Baal-peor, so that might explain
why the numbers are so severely down on these first three, birds of a
feather kind of flock together, bad company corrupts good morals,
here are these three tribes, famous for complainers, immoral folks,
rebellion, so the numbers are down severely in these first three.
The next three tribes we’re going to look at, the numbers are up in
all of them. It says in verse 19, the sons Judah were numbered,
verse 22 it tells us that the sons of Judah numbered 76,500 in verse
22. And that’s up from 74,600, so they’re up 1,900 increased in
the number of fighting men. Verse 23 tells us of the sons of
Issachar, and they are numbered for us in verse 25, and there it says
there are 64,300, that’s an increase from the first chapter where
there were 54,400 the first several chapters. And that means they
have an increase of 9,900 in the number of their fighting men. The
sons of Zebulun in verse 26, then the Zebulunites are given to us in
verse 27, 60,500 are numbered, they are up from 57,400, they’re up
3,100, so an increase in all three of these tribes who camped on the
east side. The sons of Joseph now, it’s going to give us Manasseh
and Ephraim, Manasseh being first in verse 29, and if you slide down
to verse 34, we have their numbers, these are the families of
Manasseh, those that were numbered, and their number is 52,700, that
is up from 32,200, that’s a 20,500 increase, the largest increase
amongst any of the tribes is that of Manasseh, which is interesting.
And then Ephraim, the other side of Joseph, is down, which is
interesting, both sons of Joseph. Verse 35, the sons of Ephraim,
verse 37 gives us the number, 32,500, that’s down from 40,500, so
they’re down 8,000, they’ve decreased in the number of fighting
men in their tribe. [To see whom Ephraim & Manasseh were
prophecied to become in Genesis see
https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis47-48.html
] The sons of
Benjamin, verse 38, verse 41 gives us the number of the Benjaminites,
45,600, that’s up from 35,400, so they’re up 10,200, they’ve
increased in their number of fighting men. These are the sons of
Dan, verse 42, after their families, their number in verse 43 is
64,400, and they’re up from 62,700, so there’s an increase of
1,700. Verse 44, the children of Asher (aren’t you glad we’re
traveling at this pace? you’re getting all this free information),
verse 44 is the children of Asher [Hebrew for Asher is “Happy.”],
verse 47 gives us their number, and I don’t have this memorized by
the way, I have it written in my column, 53,400 it tells us, and that
is from 41,500, so they’re up 11,900, that’s the tribe of Asher.
Verse 48, the sons of Naphtali, and that number is given to us in
verse 50, 45,400, they’re down from 53,400, so they’re down 8,000
in number. And these, verse
51 is going to give
us the total, “These
were
the numbered of the children of Israel, six hundred thousand and a
thousand seven hundred and thirty.” 601,730
is the number there, verse 51. In the beginning of the Book there
were 603,550, so that’s 1,820 less in a 38 year period, there’s a
zero growth-rate at least in the number of fighting men. Now it’s
very similar, you know, there’s 1,800 less in a decrease, so in a
sense there’s God’s blessing. But the thing to take note of
there, is when they were in Egypt, from 75 souls, they increased to
be between 2 and 3 million. Right in an era when Pharaoh was
demanding to throw the male babies into the river and to kill them,
it says they were multiplying. God’s hand was there, his blessing.
As they’re in the wilderness, and they’re going through all of
the process of learning, and they’re rebelling against God,
complaining against God, turning away from the things of God, there’s
a zero growth-rate over these 38 years, and yet they are preserved,
their numbers are similar. So as the years go by, Israel is still
there, a whole generation of them is gone.
The Promised Land Is To Be Divided Up Among You By Lot
Verse
52 says “And
the LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, Unto these the land shall be divided for an
inheritance according to the number of names. To many thou shalt
give the more inheritance,” that
means the bigger tribes would get a larger portion,
“and to few thou shalt give the less inheritance: to every one
shall his inheritance be given according to those that were numbered
of him. Notwithstanding the land shall be divided by lot: according
to the names of the tribes of their fathers they shall inherit.
According to the lot shall the possession thereof be divided between
many and few.” (verses 52-56)
Now it tells us that the disposing thereof is the lot, that the lot
is cast, but the way it falls out is of the LORD
it tells us in Proverbs chapter 16, verse 33. Here’s the
interesting thing, when we get to the Book of Joshua, and the land is
divided after the conquest of the land, it’s divided by lots, and
as the lots fall out, and the portions of land are given to the
tribes, they fall out in description just the way that Jacob said
they would in Genesis 49 on his deathbed when he prophecied over his
sons, and talked about their land, he talked about what the land
would reflect, and some of them specifically what it would look like.
He said Levi would be scattered through the land, and they’ll be
scattered through 48 Levitical cities throughout the land [see
https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis49-50.html
]. I mean, it’s
remarkable, when we get to that chapter in Joshua, and we see the way
the land falls out, it says to some of them there was given the
Araba, the desert, it was dry, to some of them there were craggy
mountains, to some of them there were valleys with springs and water,
to some of them there was pasture land, a land flowing with milk and
honey. And as we look at it, it says there was a lot that fell out
to each of them. Of course, there’s problems with that right away,
isn’t there? As we watch, we’re going to see that the tribe of
Dan, who had their inheritance down by the area of Askelon become
dissatisfied with the lot God had given to them, and they migrate
north, so that the history of the nation would be, the geography is
described in later years it would be from Dan to Beersheba, from the
utmost north to the utmost south. But that migration to the north
would produce an idolatrous worship in the city of Dan, in their
territory where a golden calf is set up. When you go to Israel, one
of the interesting parts of the tour is, at Tel Dan, the City of Dan,
there is the oldest free-standing mudbrick gate in the world, it’s
over 4,000 years old, you stand in front of it, you remember in the
Book of Genesis that Abraham went there, and Moses refers to it, that
it wouldn’t be called that, it was called Laish, he says he went to
the gates there, and you think that Abraham stood here, it’s
remarkable. But the other thing there, is the altar with the golden
calf is there unearthed and excavated, and it’s eerie. They were
dissatisfied, and it led to problems. Each one of us has a lot
that’s fallen out to us in some way or another. Dissatisfaction
with that causes us to look, ‘What
do you mean, I got the desert!? That guy’s got springs and valleys,
I got this? I don’t like the sand, I like the mountains, I can’t
believe I got the sand and they got the mountains.’ I
mean, I’m a mountain person, I’m not a beech person. My problem
is, my lot has fallen out to me that my wife and my kids all love the
beech, so I get sandy every summer. God should have given me
mountain people, because I’d like to be at Lake Louise and Banf or
sitting somewhere with a fur hat and a coat and a cup of coffee on a
cold balcony, I’d be happy as a lark. [You know Joe, in our old
age, if your circulation is like mine, you’ll end up loving Florida
and the beech with it’s heat, and you’re only four years younger
than I am.] But you know, our lots fall out to us the way they fall
out to us. What has God given you and what are you going to do with
that? Because when we see and when we follow those tribes, some of
those tribes subdue their territory, they drive out the Canaanites,
they subdue the land, they develop the land, they become prosperous,
they become major contributors to the nation and to Israel [made up
of 12 tribes, not including Levi]. And you know, you look at some
people, you know I look at Joni Eriksson, if you read any of her
stuff, just one of my heroes, Kathy and I have met her, just she said
‘I’d rather be
here, in the wheelchair, knowing Him, than to be back the way I was
before, mobile, and not knowing Him. This is my pulpit,’ she
said, ‘and I’ve
been able to speak to the world.’ God
gave her some barren desert that fell out to her. And instead of
living her entire life bitter and envious, looking at what other
people had, she took that lot, and she developed it, and she prayed
over it, and she gave herself to it, and it’s touched the world
through it. And God has a plan for everyone in this room, there is a
lot that has fallen as it were to each of us. And the thing is, we
have here, God’s sovereignty is involved, the dice are loaded to
some degree. He says ‘Divide
the land according to the size of the tribes, nevertheless, I want
you to do it by lot.’ And
when they cast the lots, and you read how the land falls out, you can
go all the way back to Genesis 49, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds
of years before that and realize ‘Wait,
this has all fallen out the way the LORD
knew it was going to fall out,’ ‘the
lots, the disposing thereof,’
it says, ‘are in
the LORD’s
hand,’ and
certainly they are. So, here they will be distributed by lot.
The Levites Are Re-Numbered
Verse
57 says “And
these are
they that were numbered of the Levites after their families: of
Gershon, the family of the Gershonites: of Kohath, the family of the
Kohathites: of Merari, the family of the Merarites. These are
the families of the Levites: the family of the Libnites, the family
of the Hebronites, the family of the Mahlites, the family of the
Mushites,” in case
you’re wondering, a funny name there, to be a Mushite,
“the family of the Korathites. And Kohath begat Amran.” and
he’s bringing us now to Moses’ family,
“And the name of Amran’s wife was
Jochebed,” so this
is Moses’ mother and father,
“the daughter of Levi, whom her
mother bare
to Levi in Egypt: and she bare unto Amran Aaron and Moses, and
Miriam their sister. And unto Aaron was born Nadab, and Abihu,” we
know about them,
“Eleazar, and Ithamar. And Nadab and Abihu died, when they offered
strange fire before the LORD.
And those that were numbered of them were twenty and three thousand,
all males from a month old and upward:” previously
22,000, so they’re up a 1,000 in number, they don’t go to war,”
“for they were not numbered among the children of Israel, because
there was no inheritance given them among the children of Israel.
These are
they that were numbered by Moses and Eleazar the priest, who numbered
the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near
Jericho.” (verses 57-63) just
imagine that, there’s over 600,000 fighting men, camped looking
over at Canaan, the Promised Land and Jericho, that’s a huge force,
600,000 men, the logistics of moving that many men today is
incredible. They’re camped by Moab, by Jordan near Jericho. Verse
64 and 65 please, take note,
“But among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron
the priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the
wilderness of Sinai.” The
603,550 that were numbered were gone, only two of them remained.
Among these there was not a man of them whom Moses and Aaron the
priest numbered, when they numbered the children of Israel in the
wilderness of Sinai,
“For the LORD
had said of them, They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there
was not left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and
Joshua the son of Nun.” (verses 64-65) The
two that wanted to go in and take the land. Now, Phinehas and
Eleazar are alive too, we’re not exactly sure what time their birth
was. But of those numbered, fighting men, only Joshua and Caleb
remain, and Joshua’s just about 100, Caleb is somewhere around 85,
and they’re left. That’s a tragedy in some ways, as I look at
that. But it’s a measure of God’s grace too. Because there’s
always two old men left, somewhere. There’s always two that bring
to us a purer tradition, that bring to us a more noble past, that
bring to us some link to the orders of prayer that were burning when
there was Revival. There are always those that God allows to speak
to the next generation, that saw the miracles, who saw the Red Sea
part, and saw God’s provision, there are always those. It’s sad
as we see some passing off the scene, Falwell, whether you agreed
with him or not, was a voice, he was a voice, James Kennedy, was a
voice. I wonder how long Billy Graham will last now that Ruth is
gone, he’s been such a voice. But there are always those God
allows. It’s why Jack Keller has been such a treasure to us, I
love to sit and talk to him, hear him tell me what it was like to
hear Ironside preach, and the fact that he was friends with Lemon
Strauss, the ties to that generation, to have an opportunity to spend
several days with E. Wildersmith, my wife and I, the connections you
know. I’m thankful that there’s always a couple old guys or a
couple old gals that longed to see the Spirit move again in a new
generation, that bring something nobler and a purer tradition and
commitment, to say, ‘No,
there was a time when, you don’t need all this slick, savvy, soupy
stupid nonsense, you need prayer-meetings and crying out to God and a
fresh filling of his Holy Spirit,’ we
need something from the vertical not from the horizontal, and it is
so wonderful, I’m so thankful that there is a Joshua and there’s
a Caleb, and there still are, there’s many here, I appreciate them
greatly [see
https://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/prayer-teamessentials.htm].
There were those two.”
Numbers 27:1-23
“Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah. 2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, 3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. 4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father. 5 And Moses brought their cause before the LORD. 6 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 7 The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. 8 And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter. 9 And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his brethren. 10 And if he have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. 11 And if his father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his kinsman that is next to him of his family, and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD commanded Moses. 12 And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. 13 And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. 14 For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. 15 And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, 16 Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation, 17 which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd. 18 And the LORD said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; 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 honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children of Israel may be obedient. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD: at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he, and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation. 22 And Moses did as the LORD 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 charge, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses.”
The Daughters Of Zelophehad
“Now
chapter 27 tells us about the daughters of Zelophehad, you’re
completely familiar with them I’m sure. Just a challenge trying to
say the name right here. “Then
came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of
Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of
Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are
the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, and Milcah, and
Tirzah. And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest,
and before the princes and all the congregation, by
the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying, Our father
died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that
gathered themselves together against the LORD
in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.”
(verses 1-3) he was
not involved in that rebellion. The way everybody dies, but he
wasn’t involved in troubling the nation, he wasn’t involved in
the rebellion of Korah, these were five daughters who hadn’t
learned to be subversive and sow discord, these are five godly women
who are going to come forward and say ‘We
want our inheritance, our father had no sons, so far we have heard no
provision in the Law, why should his name pass away? why should our
legacy, why should our heritage pass away because we’re women? we
have no brothers born.’
And it’s such a
remarkable picture of these single gals who come and say, ‘We
want the same spiritual heritage as the rest of the nation. We want
our inheritance, we want our legacy, there are no men, there are no
brothers. Why should anything be taken from us? God puts no less
value on us than he does on the men.’ And
I think they’re an example to every single gal as it were, just
saying ‘LORD,
I’m not born of those who cause division, who cause trouble, I’m
longing for the things of the Kingdom, I’m longing for the promises
of God, I’m longing for the things that have been set before our
hearts.’ “Why
should the name of our father be done away from among his family,
because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore
a possession
among the brethren of our father. And Moses brought their cause
before the LORD.”
Now Moses wisely
goes to seek the LORD
on the matter, “And
the LORD
spake unto Moses, saying, The daughters of Zelophehad speak right:
thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among
their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of
their father to pass unto them.” (verses 4-7)
Man, we need godly women, and how thankful I am for those that are
here with us, you gals, “And
thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die,
and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his
daughter. And if he have no daughter, then ye shall give his
inheritance unto his brethren. And if he have no brethren, then ye
shall give his inheritance unto his father’s brethren. And if his
father have no brethren, then ye shall give his inheritance unto his
kinsman that is next to him of his family,” whatever
relatives there are that is next unto him of his family,
“and he shall possess it: and it shall be unto the children of
Israel a statute of judgment, as the LORD
commanded Moses.” (verses 8-11)
It will be elaborated on, and the daughters of Zelophehad will be
told the stipulation is, you need to marry within your own tribe,
because if you marry outside of the tribe, then your inheritance
begins to pass to other tribes, and even then in the year of jubilee
it wouldn’t come back to your tribe, it would go to the tribe of
your husband. So, yes, you can receive an inheritance, the only
stipulation would be that they would marry, not in their family,
their father’s house, but amongst their own tribe, somewhere in
Manasseh here evidently is where they were to find spouses if they
married, so that the inheritance would remain in the tribe.
“Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel.”
“And the LORD said unto Moses, Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.” (verses 12-14) God tells Moses, ‘Moses, it’s time for you now to come,’ we’ll find that Miriam, Aaron and Moses all die in the same year. We’re going to have more from him, we’re going to revisit this in the end of Deuteronomy, God is challenging him to come up to this mountain and give up his life. Deuteronomy chapter 3 will tell us this, “O LORD GOD, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy mighty hand: for what God is there in heaven or in earth, that can do according to thy works, and according to thy might? I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. But the LORD was wroth with me for your sakes,” Moses says, “and would not hear me: and the LORD said unto me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter. Get thee up into the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes: for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him: for he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which thou shalt see.” (verses 24-28) And then in the end of Deuteronomy it says about Moses “And Moses went up from the plains of Moab unto the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the LORD shewed him all of the land of Gilead, unto Dan” that’s the uttermost north, “all of Naphtali, and” moving south to “the land of Ephraim, and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,” the Mediterranean, “and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, unto Zoar. And the LORD said unto him, This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses the servant of the LORD died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the LORD.” which is not the normal word, we have the “word” 345 times something like that in the Old Testament, 341 times it’s used, but this is a strange word, the rabbis translate it “so Moses died” not according to the word of the LORD, but “according to the kiss of the LORD,” so interesting. “And he” the LORD “buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day. And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” (Deuteronomy 34:1-7) So he had some tread left on, God just told him to come up and lay down, and he did. God showed him all of the land, when we read this it’s remarkable, because it’s from Gilead, and Dan is listed in the north, that wouldn’t happen for over 50 years. So God is showing him more than geography. When we read the description of what he saw, some of the places were over 100 miles away, it was not with the natural eye. God was showing Moses much more than just geography, he was showing prophecy, he was showing him future history, no doubt he looked over on a hill by Jerusalem, Jebus and saw a cross, no doubt he saw some remarkable, remarkable, remarkable things, God showed him, “caused him to see” all of the land. Imagine what God caused him to see. Here in Numbers “Get thee up into this mount Abarim, and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also” not ‘you’re gonna die Moses,’ but he says “shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered.” and this is filled with light and hope, ‘you will be gathered to your people.’ And as Jesus would confront the Sadducees in Matthew chapter 22, he says he is the God, not was, is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, he is the God of the living, not the God of the dead. And Moses would be gathered to his brethren. [Comment: Now when you die, as Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, your spirit, your human “spirit in man” goes upward to God who gave it, the spirit that records your entire physical makeup, as well as imparting human intelligence, along with all your memories, that spirit-in-man goes back upward to God, while your physical body decays. For believers who have had the indwelling Holy Spirit within them, they will arise at the sounding of the last Trumpet, at the time of the 1st resurrection to immortality (1st Corinthians 15:49-54). So God is calling what will be as having already occurred, which we see Jesus and Yahweh doing in Scripture quite a few times.] “For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.” (verses 12-14) So Joshua now will be the one who takes them in, Jesus, Jesus has to be the one who takes them in, the Law could never take them in. Moses evidently gets this incredible view, Matthew chapter 4, when Satan tempted Jesus, he was taken up to see all of the kingdoms of the world, and all of the glory of them, John is taken in Revelation chapter 21 up to a great high mountain to see the Holy City of Jerusalem descending out of heaven, to see something 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles long, and 1,500 miles high, you gotta have a good vantage point to bring that whole baby into your lens [see https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%20%2021-22.htm ]. So God allowing this to be seen. And again we’ll spend more time here when we come to this in the end of Deuteronomy. Verse 15, look, “And Moses spake unto the LORD, saying, Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,” Moses doesn’t say ‘Oh man, can’t you think about it one more time, can’t I put out one more fleece,’ that’s what Balaam did, he worked his way around, and finally got his way. It tells us in the beginning of Deuteronomy that Moses did say to him one time ‘You’re the God that can do all kinds of things, you’re the guy who does miracles, there’s nothing restrained from you, can’t I just go over?’ and God says ‘I don’t want to talk about this anymore, you ain’t going over.’ That must all be settled by this point. So Moses says to the LORD, ‘LORD, you’re the God of all spirits, set a man over them,’ not a man of their own choosing, not a man that’s appointed by man, ‘but put a man of your choosing, LORD, who you know, this is your flock.’ Moses is content with that, “Let the LORD, the God of the spirits of all flesh, set a man over the congregation,” LORD, I trust your choice.’ In one sense Moses is thinking ‘I wouldn’t wish this on my enemy, these people have given me long white hair and a long white beard and ulcers, leading these people through the wilderness, all of the complaining,’ and on the other side of that he so dearly loves God’s people that he had before volunteered and said ‘Strike my name out of your Book, LORD, and not your people,’ he’s a great lover of God’s people at the same time, and he says ‘LORD I trust you, choose a man, you’re wise, you’ll pick the right one.’ “set a man over the congregation, which may go out before them, and which may go in before them, and which may lead them out, and which may bring them in; that the congregation of the LORD be not as sheep which have no shepherd.” (verses 15-17) Moses had spent those 40 years on the backside of the desert tending Jethro’s flock and he had learned how to care for God’s people, to be a shepherd, David as shepherd, Jesus the great Shepherd. We read in Jeremiah about the indictments that God would bring against those that should have been shepherds, and he says ‘The day is coming that I will give you pastors according to my own heart which shall feed you with knowledge, with understanding,’ again, God would say in Jeremiah ‘I will set up shepherds over them that shall feed them, they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, sayeth the LORD.’ Ah, John chapter 21, you know the scene there where the disciples go fishing, there’s a crisis, the Lord had not come when they thought he would come, and Peter said ‘I don’t know about you guys, I’m going back to fishing,’ and a bunch of them said ‘Yup, yup, yup, me too,’ and they all jump in a boat with him, and the Church is having its first crisis, everybody’s changed occupations and they’re fishing again. And the Lord has to come and stand on the shore and says ‘You guy’s caught anything?’ ‘Nah,’ ‘Well cast your net on the other side,’ and it’s so full, and they say ‘It’s the Lord!’ and Peter dives in of course, he swims to the shore, I don’t know if he tried to walk and sunk, but he comes in first, and then the rest of them come in bringing in the fish, and the Lord has breakfast prepared and the fire, the whole conversation, ‘Peter, do you love me?’ ‘Lord, you know I’m fond of you.’ ‘Well feed my sheep then,’ not “get perfect,” not “float off the ground,” “Well then, feed my sheep.” “Peter do you love me,” “Lord, you know that I’m fond of you.” “Feed my lambs,” and then the last time, “Peter, are you fond of me?” And Peter’s grieved with that and says “Lord, you know all things, you know that I’m fond of you.” He says then “Feed my sheep.” And Peter remembering that, as he signs off, and he writes his Epistles, he says ‘I’m writing to the fellow elders, I am also an elder, feed the flock of God which is among you. Take the oversight, not by constraint, not for filthy lucre, but as serving God’s inheritance, his heritage. And when that great Shepherd shall appear, he’ll reward you. Feed the flock of God.’ That hasn’t changed. It says of Jesus ‘He shall feed his flock like a shepherd, he shall carry the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.’ So Moses says ‘LORD, pick a man that will lead your people in, and lead them out, the responsibilities of a shepherd, that will care for them, that your people be not as sheep which have no shepherd.’
The LORD Chooses Joshua To Take Over Moses’ Position
“And
the LORD
said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is
the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;” (verse 18) Now
Moses didn’t suggest him, that doesn’t say he wasn’t thinking
about him, “and set
him before Eleazar the priest, and before all the congregation; and
give him a charge in their sight.” (verse 19) Now
this is to recognize him before the congregation, “lay your hand
upon him.” In the New Testament, the laying on of hands of the
presbyter, of the elders, to ordain someone. When we lay hands on
someone, I don’t believe “the gift,” of an overseer takes place
at that point in time. We’re just confirming that we recognize
something that God has already done. All that happens when we lay
hands on somebody is they get more germs on them. Now we do pray
that any other gifts they have, that God certainly would let them
loose in the congregation to the benefit of the church. But it’s
just a time to acknowledge what we already see, or to confirm what
God has already done. Joshua has been trained all these years. I
don’t think Joshua ever thought ‘I’m
getting Moses’ job one day.’ In
fact I don’t he wanted it. In the first chapter of Joshua God’s
going to have to tell him a bunch of times ‘Joshua,
don’t be afraid, be of good courage.’ He’s
100 years old, and he’s gonna get the job, he’s going to end at
107. In the end of Deuteronomy God says to Moses, ‘Go
get Joshua and bring him to the Tabernacle, I got something I want to
tell him,’ Moses
goes and finds Joshua and says ‘Hey
Josh, God wants ya,’ ‘Me?’ ‘Ya, down at the Tabernacle.’
And when they get
down there, God kind of chews out Moses in front of Joshua, ‘You
did this, and you did that, and you failed to do this, and you’re
not gonna go in, the children of Israel, when they go into the land
they’re going to turn and serve other gods, they’re going to do
this, and I’m going to drive out,’ he
gives this long thing, and then God says to Joshua, ‘Joshua,
be strong and of good courage, because I’m with you.’
That’s it. Joshua, here he’s 100 years old, ‘What
I’m going to give the rest of my life to is gonna be a complete
failure, at 100 I’m finally getting a promotion, what I’m going
to do for the rest of my life.’ That’s
why at the end he says ‘You
guys do what you want now, as for me and my house, I’m going to
serve the LORD.’
But
he hears they’re going to fall away, they’re going to worship all
of this stuff, and God says “Joshua,
be strong and of good courage, for
I
am
with
you.’
‘Joshua,
that should outweigh any other success you’ve imagined.’ ‘Yea
though I walk through the shadow of the valley of death, I shall fear
no evil, for
thou
art
with
me.’
In the final
analysis, what weighs more than that? That he would be with any one
of us, or all of us? And he is. Laying on of hands was just
acknowledging that that had already taken place, God had already
picked Joshua, God’s Spirit was on [and indwelling] Joshua, Joshua
had been trained, Joshua had watched, Joshua had been in seminary as
it were for years. “a
man in whom is
the Spirit, and lay thine hand upon him; and set him before Eleazar
the priest, and before all the congregation; and give him a charge in
their sight.” in
other words you’re challenging him to become the leader in front of
everyone, so they can all hear, so they can’t all gripe and try to
undermine the poor guy,
“And thou shalt put some
of thine honour upon him, that all the congregation of the children
of Israel may be obedient.” because
it would be sometime yet before Moses would actually go up to the
mountain and die, so he’s handing in a process leadership here to
Joshua, “And he
shall stand before Eleazar the priest,” now
Joshua and Eleazar instead of Moses and Aaron,
“who shall ask counsel
for him
after the judgment of Urim before the LORD:
at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in,
both he,
and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
And Moses did as the LORD
commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the
priest, and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands upon
him, and gave him charge, as the LORD
commanded by the hand of Moses.” (verses 18b-23)
now the Urim and the Thummim, you guys remember the Urim and the
Thummim, I presumim, if you’ve new here, and you’re just being
broken in, and you have no idea what the Urim and the Thummim are,
welcome to the club, because we’ve been here for a long time and
have no idea what the Urim and the Thummim are, “lights and
perfection,” some feel they were two stones, they were kept in the
breastplate, and it seemed to be a way the high priest could discern
a “yes” or a “no,” a “yea” or a “nay” answer from the
LORD.
Very interesting, he says here, ‘Lay
your hands on Joshua, acknowledge him before the congregation, give
him some of your honour, Joshua will be a man who will seek counsel
from Eleazar the priest, Eleazar the priest will guide him with the
Urim and Thummim, in a yes or a no, should we do this, should we move
forward, when he needs counsel he can come.’
Joshua’s a great
leader, we will see he makes two mistakes, one in regards to Ai, he
goes without the LORD’s
consent, because he had a tremendous victory at Jericho and he
thought ‘Ai’s
just nothing, we’ll knock that out in no time,’
and they failed.
And one in regards to the Gibeonites, and both of them end up to be
incredible lessons, and Joshua is a man who repents, comes back to
the LORD,
he’s not perfect, but he’s God’s choice. But he differs, in
that Moses spoke face to face with the LORD,
as a man speaketh unto his friend. Moses would go to the LORD,
and the LORD
would speak directly to Moses, the LORD
would say to Moses ‘Moses,
go get Aaron, and let’s do this.’ Now
the baton is being passed to the next generation, and it is ‘Joshua
shall go to Eleazar to seek counsel, and Eleazar guides him through
the Urim,’ Joshua
is never going to be Moses. He’s God’s choice, he is as
qualified by God’s choosing, not by man’s choosing, he is as
honoured as Moses. But he’s different, different makeup, different
personality, resonates differently. Somehow, the LORD
had this relationship with Moses, somehow, and spoke to him face to
face, as a man speaks unto his friend. And often Moses would be the
one who would give instruction to Aaron. As the baton is being
passed to a new generation, there is a man Eleazar, who is a godly,
godly man. His son Phinehas, zealous, zealous for the things of God,
you know, making a dramatic move, not knowing the outcome of it. He
didn’t do it because he knew there would be a blessing pronounced,
he had no idea of that, and yet he went into the tent with Zimri and
Cozbi and put a halt to the plague, demonstrating his zeal. So no
doubt Eleazar, a remarkable man, godly children. Moses passing off
the scene, and Joshua, who will be a great leader, taking the
steering wheel under God’s direction, ah, the passing of the baton,
the next generation, what a wonderful thing. How important to raise
up the next generation, to make sure that they’re learning, to make
sure that they’re instructed, to make sure they’re fed
[spiritually], to make sure they have a value system. You know,
sometimes, I’m so thankful for, I’ll tell you, some of the young
guys around here, they are godly, they are uncompromising, they can
handle the Word of God, I’m never afraid to leave them here to
teach or put them in the pulpit. We have some great, great, great
young godly men here. And obviously some older, we already talked
about the old guys, but just some great young folks here, and young
gals, and what a privilege to pass to the next generation. Because
some, I’ll tell you the truth, I see some of what’s being
spoon-fed to “young pastors” and so forth in Bible schools and
seminaries, and I think ‘How
impoverished, they’re going to know everything about Coffee Shops
and rear-screen projection, colours and slick, savvy,’ you
know, they’re going to be loaded for bear on the horizontal. Are
they going to spend time on their knees before him? Are they going
to know his voice, are they going to know the Scripture from one end
to the other, and never doubt that it is the Word of God, inspired
and preserved with as much power as it had ever had? And are they
going to feed the flock of God? That challenge has never left.
We’re not to be entertainers. I was reading about a guy, Basil,
isn’t it a great name, Basil, he’s from England, he’s a
theologian, and he wrote 70 or 80 years ago, and he said “We
have to make up our minds serving the Lord, whether we want to
entertain the goats or feed the sheep?” And
I thought, that guy could have wrote yesterday, and he hit the nail
on the head, that’s amazing that he wrote that long ago. But here,
it says “And he
shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall ask counsel
for him
after the judgment of Urim before the LORD:
at his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in,
both he,
and all the children of Israel with him, even all the congregation.
And Moses did as the LORD
commanded him: and he took Joshua, and set him before Eleazar the
priest, and before all the congregation. And he laid his hands upon
him, and gave him charge, as the LORD
commanded by the hand of Moses.” (verses 21-23)
So the Work continuing, the man of God passing off the scene, the
Work of God continuing, Moses we will follow him as he passes off the
scene, and the reins are handed to Joshua.
In closing
Look, read ahead, as we over the next few weeks, if the Lord tarries, we can complete the Book of Numbers [in three more sermon transcripts]. Then Deuteronomy, remember we’re camped right on the edge of the Promised Land. Deuteronomy means “a second stating of the Law.” The generation has been renumbered 38 years later, and as they come right to the border of all of the things that God has for them, he restates his Word to them, it is restated [through Moses] to this new generation. The Book of Deuteronomy is the favorite Book of Jesus Christ. When you read through the Four Gospels, he quoted more from the Book of Deuteronomy than any other Book of the Old Testament. There are remarkable things there, as we come to the Book of Deuteronomy. So we’re coming here in this scene in the Book of Numbers, we’re up to the edge of the Promised Land, God has some very important things to say in these last chapters, some remarkable things are brought before us, some trouble with Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and we see how the LORD handles that, and then on into the Book of Deuteronomy. So feel free to read the Book of Deuteronomy three or four times this week if you want, just to familiarize yourself with it, so when we head into it you know where we’re at. But read ahead, the next three or four chapters, be familiar with these things. We’re through that scary numbering place tonight, everybody survived that, and moving on. So let’s stand, let’s pray, I think we have time for two songs tonight, let’s lift our hearts to the Lord…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Numbers 25:16-18, Numbers 26:1-65 and Numbers 27:1-23, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116] related links: A commentary on Daniel chapter 9, https://www.ucg.org/bible-study-tools/bible-commentary/bible-commentary-daniel-9 To see whom Ephraim & Manasseh were prophecied to become in Genesis see https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis47-48.html He said Levi would be scattered through the land, and they’ll be scattered through 48 Levitical cities throughout the land [see https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis49-50.html you need prayer-meetings and crying out to God and a fresh filling of his Holy Spirit.’ see https://www.unityinchrist.com/prayer/prayer-teamessentials.htm John is taken in Revelation chapter 21 up to a great high mountain to see the Holy City of Jerusalem descending out of heaven, to see something 1,500 miles wide, 1,500 miles long, and 1,500 miles high, you gotta have a good vantage point to bring that whole baby into your lens. see https://unityinchrist.com/revelation/Revelation%20%2021-22.htm
Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED590
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