Numbers 34

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Numbers 34:1-29

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) 3 Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: 4 and your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea, and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: 5 and the border shall fetch a compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be at the sea. 6 And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border. 7 And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: 8 from mount Hor [mount Hermon] ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: 9 and the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border. 10 And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: 11 and the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth [Galilee] eastward: 12 and the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about. 13 And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: 14 for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: 15 the two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising. 16 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 17 These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. 18 And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. 19 And the names of the men are these: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. 20 And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud. 21 Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon. 22 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli. 23 The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod. 24 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan. 25 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach. 26 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan. 27 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi. 28 And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud. 29 These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.”

Introduction

[Audio version: https://resources.ccphilly.org/detail.asp?TopicID=&Teaching=WED593]

“Chapter 34 brings us to a description of the borders of the land of Israel, God had dealt with Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh who decided that they wanted to stay on the other side of the Jordan River. There was a chapter where those things were settled and they were ground out to the satisfaction of God and Moses, that Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh would go with the armies of Israel and subdue the land of Canaan before they would go and settle in the land on the other side. And to me, second-best of what God had for them, before they would go back and take those lands. So here in this chapter, as the land is outlined, those two and a half tribes are left out of this. This is the land of Canaan, described in its borders, western border easy, parts of the southern border, easy, part of the eastern border, easy to recognize. A lot of the northern border confusing because of the cities and the names that are not easy to track today. Many of those borders were by wadies and ravines and mountains, and some of those are still identifiable. But we get God giving great detail to the borders of the land that he’s bringing the children of Israel into. He ended the last chapter by saying ‘When I bring you in there I want you to drive out the pagans that live there, I want you to tear down their images and their pictures and their molten images, I want you to cleanse the land of all of that idolatry. And if you don’t do that, they will be snares to you, they’ll be barbs in your eyes and so forth, in your sides. It will be the destruction of you if you don’t listen and ultimately I’m going to think to do to you as I would have done to them.’ And he gives a description of the land, and lays it before us. So let’s look at it.

God Lays Out The Borders Of Israel

It says “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts thereof:) Then your south quarter shall be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward:” that’s the Dead Sea, “and your border shall turn from the south to the ascent of Akrabbim,” we’re not sure, “and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall be from the south to Kadesh-barnea,” we have an idea where some of this is, “and shall go on to Hazar-addar, and pass on to Azmon: and the border shall fetch a compass” it shall circle, “from Azmon unto the river of Egypt,” which is not the Nile, it’s Wadi al Arish today, it’s a ravine that runs to the Mediterranean when it’s filled with water, “and the goings out of it shall be at the sea.” (verses 1-5) that’s the Mediterranean. So giving us the southern borders, from the southern end of the Dead Sea, over some of the territory around over then to the Mediterranean [I personally believe the River Egypt is the Nile, esp. when Abraham was given the expanded borders of Israel, what they’d ultimately be. A lot of Orthodox Jewish scholars agree with me, much to the chagrin of the Muslims 😊]. “And as for the western border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west border.” (verse 6) that was easy. Too bad the rest of them are not that simple. So the coast, those of you who are seashore people would be happy, if your tribe got one of these allotments there, it’s beautiful, on the shore of the Mediterranean there. “And this shall be your north border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: from mount Hor [mount Hermon] ye shall point out your border unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to Zedad: and the border shall go on to Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazar-enan: this shall be your north border.” (verses 7-9) Now the things we do seem to know about this, is that it goes fairly far north of Mount Herman, it would probably take in what is Damascus today and part of Syria and the northern area, and all of the Golan Heights, which they are always fighting over these days. God gave all of this area to Moses and the children of Israel in this description. “And ye shall point out your east border from Hazar-enan to Shepham: and the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of Chinnereth eastward:” now that’s the Sea of Galilee, the ancient name Chinneroth, Chinneroth was the harp, and the Sea of Galilee is shaped like a harp, so on the eastern side of Chinnereth eastward it says, “and the border shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea:” so then following the Jordan River all the way down to the Dead Sea, “this shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.” (verses 10-12) So interesting picture, as we look at it God is giving them borders. And he has given them to all of us in one form or another. It will be interesting to see how the lots fall out in the Book of Joshua, they will fall out interestingly enough, and not coincidentally, to the way that Jacob prophecied they would fall out much earlier in Genesis chapter 49 [see https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis47-48.html and https://www.unityinchrist.com/Genesis49-50.html ]. So the dice were loaded that day when they drew lots to see how the land would fall out.

The Tribe Of Dan, Just Who Are They?

But look, it is interesting, Dan seems to be the exception. Ephraim complained a bit when these lots fell out, they wanted a little more territory, and Joshua said then drive out the enemy and broaden your territory a bit. Dan was the only tribe who was not content with what God had given to them, what had fallen out, they did not believe that it was God’s design or God’s wisdom for them to have this piece of ground down in the south near the valley of Elah. So the tribe of Dan went northward, in the Book of Judges we’re going to see that, and they take the ancient city of Lachish, which is then named Dan, and the description of the land of Israel becomes “From Dan to Beersheba” from the north to the south. Moses, referring to the ancient city of Lachish called it Dan all the way back in Genesis as he’s writing, remarkably and prophetically. But this was the tribe that wasn’t content with what God had given them. This is a tribe that ends up to be the center of the worship of the Golden Calf, Dan and Bethel, of idolatry in Israel. Ah, discontent with what God had given them, they seem discontent all along with what God had given them. And one error leads to the other in greater and greater measure, until Dan is a tribe that’s infamous and related to idolatry in Israel and trouble. [Taken from the previous sermon in Genesis 49-50 we have: Prophecy About Dan In The Last Days, verse 16, “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward. I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.” (verses 16-18) And of course Samson is from the tribe of Dan, one of the most dominant judges that the nation would see. Ah, “Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel. Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder” a poisonous snake “in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.” I wonder if Dan is appreciating this from his old dad. ‘What a blessing, dad.’ And then he comes out with this statement ‘I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.’ we don’t know if he comes out with that because Dan is so depressing, or if he comes out with that just as a positive ending to Dan, some feel he comes out with that because [they feel] the anti-christ will come from the tribe of Dan. We don’t know that for sure, because of the mention of the serpent and so forth here. Dan is omitted in Revelation chapter 7 where there’s 12,000 from each of the 12 tribes chosen. But in Ezekiel chapter 48, where we have the division of the land to the 12 tribes, Dan is given a portion during the Millennial Kingdom Age. So certainly here, some reflections of Samson, being a strong judge, being a serpent, poisonous, in some ways. Remember Dan down there by the area of the Philistines [Joppa], their original inheritance would even have taken in the port of Joppa, but Dan never, after Samson, really overcame the Philistine adversity, they were always being attacked, so in the days of the Judges they would end up leaving, and move up to Lachish, and they would overtake that city and murder everyone, and move up there. You hear the statement in the Bible “from Dan to Beersheba,” Dan ends up relocated up in the north where they should not have been, wanting something that hadn’t been God’s lot for them, there’s certainly a lesson there, and idolatry originates in Israel largely through Dan, then even under Jeroboam it says Bethel and Dan is where golden calves were set up. So Dan, poisonous to the nation, in that sense, making it certainly fall back, we can look at that. And then this burst comes out of Jacob on his deathbed, “I have waited for thy” literally “Yeshua” which is Hebrew for Salvation, Greek the word is “Jesus,” the word is “salvation” and it’s the first mention in the Bible, first time the word “salvation” is used, and it’s in the context of Dan, it’s interesting. Just imagine Jacob, all of a sudden after kind of giving Dan the business, looks up and says “I have waited for thy salvation, O LORD.” [Steven Collins in his book “Israel’s Tribes Today,” on pages 214 through page 218 shows tremendous historic evidence that Dan became the nations of Ireland and Denmark, both of which were brutally warlike in their early history. The ancient Gaelic name of Ireland, as taught even today in their school history books is Tuatha de Danaan, which is Gaelic for Tribe of Dan. The Danish viking kings in the early 800s AD raided and almost conquered all of England, with the exception of the kingdom of Wessex to the south, where England’s first king of note, Alfred the Great, withstood them, and after 300 years of brutal warfare, the two races assimilated. [The BBC series based on Bernard Cornwell’s book series titled “The Last Kingdom” is all about the history of the near total Danish-viking conquest of England.] Ireland, even up to the time of “the troubles” between England and Ireland in the 1960s, show through the I.R.A. how Ireland, Dan, lives up to the prophecy of being ‘a serpent by the way, an adder that bites the heel of the horses to make it’s rider fall backward.’ Other than Judah, the Jews, Dan is the only other tribe out of the 10 northern tribes that is so clearly identified in secular history as being the Danish and Ireland, two racially linked nations. The historic description of how they end up there Steven Collins gives in his book, pages 214 through 218.]

We Are Also Given Our Borders--What Are Israel’s Future Borders?

But any time we are discontent with the borders God has given to us, there is idolatry involved. God has given us borders in marriage we’re to maintain, he’s given us borders that we’re to enforce on our children as we raise them. He’s given us borders in our ministries. You don’t want me to do brain surgery on you, maybe you want me to do a Bible study on Wednesday night, you do not want me cutting your head open with a saw. Why? Because my borders don’t go there. There’s folks in our church that can do that, they can do that well. I’m glad I know them if that ever has to happen, I can go to somebody in church. I hope they’re not nervous giving them shaky hands. God’s given us borders, he’s given us gifts, he’s given us areas to develop. Some of these tribes, it’s going to tell us Reuben, Gad, half the tribe of Manasseh, their border was toward the rising of the sun. It’s not explicit. They’re on the wrong side of the Jordan, it seems so wonderful ‘Ah, get up in the morning,’ and yet other tribes, their border is going to be the Great Sea, I mean, they can’t go west and take extra land if they want to, they got an ocean in front of them. And sometimes God puts borders like that in our lives, and yet they will be the tribes that are most secure, and the one direction Israel [the Israeli nation] is still the most secure today is that direction of the Mediterranean Sea, they get it from every other direction. So all of us, you know, we may receive an inheritance like most of the tribes, where the lines were blurred, where they could cross into someone else’s territory, they could cross into someone. And we very easily become territorial in all kinds of things, that’s the way we are by nature, even the way you guys pick your seats out in the sanctuary sometimes. But it is interesting to follow this process from Genesis chapter 49 through here to the Book of Numbers, into Deuteronomy and Joshua, and to see all of this falling out by God’s sovereignty, God’s design, he’s the One who makes this fall out they way he wants it to. So boundaries, there are boundaries in our lives, depending on our nature, whether we see those boundaries as protective or restrictive. I’m thankful for the boundaries that God’s placed in my life. They keep me safe, because I’m not smart enough to keep myself safe. So if I’m willing to yield to the ones he’s given me, it’s a pretty fair journey. It’s when we don’t trust him and don’t believe him, and cross those boundaries we end up in trouble. But the land here, ‘This is the land that will be given to you, these will be your coasts round about,’ really most fully realized under David and Solomon, to be more fully realized in the not too distant future [they never took all this land, but left Lebanon and Syria alone, which bit them royally later on, as the Phoenician Empire with their headquarters cities in Tyre and Sidon would later infect the 10 northern tribes of Israel with Baal worship. In the Millennial Kingdom of God, Israel’s borders will be the larger territory that was promised to go to Abraham’s descendants in Genesis, going from the western shores of the River Euphrates to the Mediterranean and all the way south to the ends of the eastern shores of the Nile River, and all the way along the eastern shore of the Nile River down to Somalia. And the eastern border will encompass a huge territory going all along the western shores of the Euphrates all the way up to it’s headwaters in northeastern Turkey, and all the way down to the Gulf of Arabia encompassing the western half of Iraq, all of Syria and Lebanon, all of Saudi Arabia, then cutting across westward to Somalia and going up the eastern shores of the Nile up to the Nile Delta (the Arabs and Muslims don’t like this prophecy given to Abraham at all, they bristle at it). That territory is what the future nation of Israel, all 12 tribes, plus the tribe of Levi, will encompass in what the Jews term “The World To Come,” or what one denomination has termed “The World Tomorrow.” Exciting times are coming, we’re about to go for a prophetic ride, as we enter into the year 2025! The world is exploding with wars and rumours of wars, we’re at Matthew chapter 24, verse 8, about to step into verses 9-14. The Russo-Ukraine war is exploding, the Hamas-Israeli and Hezbollah-Israeli war is exploding, and 13 million souls are about to starve to death in the Sudanese civil war, with poor, destitute black Sudanese being exterminated by the other Sudanese, forcing them to flee across into Chad. China is arming for World War III and threatening the Philippines and Taiwan. That’s just what’s going on right now, as of September 2024].

The Land Is To Be Divided Up By Lots--The LORD Names By Name Those Who Are To Do The Dividing

Verse 13, “And Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying, This is the land which ye shall inherit by lot, which the LORD commanded to give unto the nine tribes, and to the half tribe: for the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance: the two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.” (verses 13-15) I think God wants to rub it in a little bit, “these guys have received their inheritance,” but this is the land I’m giving to the 9 and a half tribes that were willing to go where I’ve been trying to get you for several hundred years, but these guys have “received,” the threefold repetition seems to indicate they got what they asked for, they’ve “received their inheritance on the other side of Jordan eastward, toward the sunrising.” “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest,” Aaron has died, “and Joshua the son of Nun.” Moses will be gathered to his people like Aaron. So these two Eleazar and Joshua would play a major role. “And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance.” (verses 16-18) And then he gives the names from 9 and a half tribes of men that he would have divide the land. Look, the division of the land is so important to God, that he comes to Moses with the names of the men that he wants involved in dividing the land. He hand-picks the men. Imagine that. God comes to Moses and gives Moses this list of names, and says ‘these are the men I want you to give this responsibility to for dividing the land.’ God knows them, each of their names. And isn’t it interesting, Moses had to go to them and say ‘God gave me your name, he wants you to come down to the Tabernacle. God gave us your names, he wants to see you.’ So just remarkable that God is that specific here, so important to him the way this land is divided, he hand picks these individuals. Now it’s interesting as I went through this, I was reading a little commentary by Erving Jensen, he gives names, and I don’t know where he got some of these names, some of them I can’t find them the way he found them. They’re nice the way he found them, I’ll give you his version of them, if you don’t agree with them, complain to Erving Jensen not me, just giving you that. “These are the names of the men which shall divide the land unto you: Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun. And ye shall take one prince of every tribe, to divide the land by inheritance. And the names of the men are these: of the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.” which has the idea of “dog,” it also has the idea when you look at the root of “being forceful.” Jensen says “one who seizes,” I don’t know what that tells us. “And of the tribe of the children of Simeon, Shemuel the son of Ammihud.” which means “to be heard of God,” “Of the tribe of Benjamin, Elidad the son of Chislon.” which means “to be loved of God,” “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Dan, Bukki the son of Jogli.” I have a question mark, he says it means “reverer of God,” that’s not what I found when I looked, but that’s a nice idea, “The prince of the children of Joseph, for the tribe of the children of Manasseh, Hanniel the son of Ephod.” which means, which is the same as Johann, “God is gracious,” “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Ephraim, Kemuel the son of Shiphtan.” which has the idea of “the assembly of God,” “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Zebulun, Elizaphan the son of Parnach.” which means “God shields,” “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Issachar, Paltiel the son of Azzan.” “whom God rescues” is what his name means, “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Asher, Ahihud the son of Shelomi.” which means “the friend of God,” “And the prince of the tribe of the children of Naphtali, Pedahel the son of Ammihud.” which means “whom God redeems,” “These are they whom the LORD commanded to divide the inheritance unto the children of Israel in the land of Canaan.” (verses 17-29) Now the majority of their names are godly, I could go through most of them and 7 out of the 9 are easy to track down, and you get the sense with those kinds of names, they were raised no doubt in homes hopefully where the parents were serious about their inheritance, serious about the God they were following, maybe repentant if they had turned away at Kadesh-barnea, there was some strength and some character in their lives. And just interesting to see God specifically picks these individuals and said “These are they whom the LORD chose to divide the inheritance.” In the Book of Acts, just to wait on table, they had to be filled with the Holy Spirit, of good report, and men of wisdom and so forth, just to care for the most basic things. God picks these evidently godly men to be part of the division of the Land. And no doubt the exhortations will be attached to this, as they divide the land, ‘if you don’t drive out the inhabitants,’ and we’re going to see that they don’t, sadly, ‘they’re going to be barbs in your sides, like burs in your eyes,’ and so forth.”

Numbers 35:1-34

“And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about [1,500 feet]. 5 And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities. 6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. 7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. 8 And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of the cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth. 9 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, 10 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 11 then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. 12 And they shall be unto you cities of refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. 13 And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. 14 Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither. 16 And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21 or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying in wait, 23 or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24 then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: 25 and the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil. 26 But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he has fled; 27 and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: 28 because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. 29 So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. 30 Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die. 31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. 32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest. 33 So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it. 34 Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.”

God Lays Out What The Levites Are To Receive In The Land

“Now, chapter 35 takes us to the Levites. Because we’re talking about the inheritance in the land here, the Levites don’t have an inheritance in the land, so God outlines their specific situation here. “And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them.” (verses 1-2) “suburbs,” these are areas for grazing animals around the cities about them. So again, this whole process is taking place in the Plains of Moab, across from Jericho. You know that when they finally cross over into the land, Rahab is going to say ‘The inhabitants of the land are terrorized, they melt in front of you. They heard what your God did to the Egyptians, the Amorites’ and so forth. So you can imagine this, it seems like a period of time, but however long it is, cooking in the hearts of the Canaanites on the other side, on the top of the walls of Jericho, looking at this encampment, somewhere between 500 and 700 square miles, just imagine them day after day watching, looking, seeing the Pillar of Cloud there, and just watching the whole process. By the time God is done instructing them, giving the Book of Deuteronomy to them, and going through all these things, the inhabitants of the land of Canaan are ready to melt before them, as this huge army will cross and come into the land. So these instructions in regards to the Levites. “And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about [1,500 feet]. And ye shall measure from without the city on the east side two thousand cubits, and on the south side two thousand cubits, and on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits; and the city shall be in the midst: this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.” (verses 3-5) evidently taking into part of the city into the measurement because it changes from one verse to the next. So “this shall be to them the suburbs of the cities.” so there’s grazing land around each city, they didn’t farm, but some of the sacrifices, the animals that were given to them, and they were grazing. “And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities.” (verse 6) So there’s going to be 48 cities given to the Levites. And those 48 cities are going to be spread throughout all of the tribes. There’s going to be 6 of those cities which will be cities of Refuge, when there is a case of manslaughter. The person who killed the other person will be able to flee there, until it’s determined whether it was premeditated or involuntary. And a lot of the laws we have in our country we have today come from the descriptions in Scripture. The 6 cities which are the cities of Refuge, and as we go on we hear more about them, and it becomes more developed, it’s very beautiful, on the west side of Jordan, in Israel today was Kadesh, Shechem and Hebron, and on the East side where Jordan is today there was Golan, Ramath and Bezer, and these were the 6 cities that were spread through the land. The roads to these cities had to be maintained year around, so this person could get on an open path and flee to that city. The signs that pointed to the city of Refuge had to be maintained year round, so there was an open path, an open way, there were clear directions. So that when this happened, wherever it happened, if you were chopping wood and the axe head flew off and hit another man and killed him, you could flee to the city of Refuge until the Levites heard the case and decided whether it was premeditated or involuntary manslaughter. And you fled there on a road that was maintained, with clear markers that led you there, it was very important. Interesting, these Levites are spread out through the land, Jacob on his deathbed said ‘Simeon and Levi are brethren, instruments of cruelty are in their habitations,’ remember they had slaughtered the men of Shechem, ‘O my soul, come not thou into their secret, unto their assembly in mine honour be not thou united, for in their anger they slew a man, and in their selfwill they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel. I will divide them in Jacob, and I will scatter them in Israel.’ And now these Levities are scattered in 48 cities through the land, and God turns what was a curse into a blessing. This tribe of Levi has been set aside to serve the LORD in the Tabernacle, then later in the Temple. It is no coincidence that these that are most familiar with the Word of God, with the ways of God, the ordinances of God, are spread across the entire land, like salt, like God had salted or seeded the entire land of Israel with those that were completely familiar with his Word, his ways, with his Statutes. So what had initially been pronounced as a curse God adds his grace to it, and you have this blessing of the tribe of Levi scattered through 48 cities throughout the entire land, so that the people of Israel year round would have access to those who knew the Temple, knew the Tabernacle, knew the Word of God, knew the ordinances of God, knew the Laws of God, which could answer questions, to gain counsel and so forth. [Comment: They must have had Torah Scrolls in all their cities, or else the Levites themselves would have soon forgotten the Word of God. But for the average Israelite citizen, they didn’t own Torah Scrolls the way we can own our own Bibles. The Levites, scattered through Israel in these 48 cities, were supposed to be teachers of the Word of God, not just know it.] A very interesting picture, and it will develop as we go on. So 6 of these 48 cities are cities of Refuge, interesting Shechem is one of those, and that’s where Simeon and Levi had murdered so many, now it’s a city of Refuge. So, verse 7, “So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs. And the cities which ye shall give shall be of the possession of the children of Israel: from them that have many ye shall give many; but from them that have few ye shall give few: every one shall give of the cities unto the Levites according to his inheritance which he inheriteth.” (verses 7-8) So from the larger tribes they would contribute a few more cities to the Levites, the smaller tribes that had less land and less conquest they would contribute few.

The Cities Of Refuge

“And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares.” (verses 9-11) And by the way, as we go through the chapter, it’s not just based on intention and unintentional, motive is really, there’s an emotion attached to all the Hebrew words, he was not at enmity with the person he slew, that’s part of the process, he wasn’t angry with him, there wasn’t hatred and bitterness, he didn’t lie in wait, it was unintentional, yes, but it was unintentional also in motive, in the heart is the idea that’s attached to these ideas. So he killed a person unaware, “And they shall be unto you cities of refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment.” (verse 12) Because there were those that were killed intentionally, sometimes that took place in war, there were those who were to be stoned to death for committing adultery, there were certain that were put to death deliberately, there wasn’t intention, but it was not premeditated manslaughter, it was not murder, it was according to God’s laws, so he breaks all of that down here. “And they shall be unto you cities of refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. And of these cities which ye shall give six cities shall ye have for refuge. Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.” (verses 12-15) Now what he’s going to do, he’s going to outline those who commit deliberate murder here. ok? “And if he smite him with an instrument of iron, so that he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. And if he smite him with throwing a stone, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. Or if he smite him with an hand weapon of wood, wherewith he may die, and he die, he is a murderer: the murderer shall surely be put to death. The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.” (verses 16-19) Now look, there’s an interesting process. The last verse 33 if you look there, it says ‘So you shall not pollute the land wherein you are, for blood it defileth the land, and the land cannot be cleansed of blood that is shed therein but by the blood of him that shed it.’ Government was established in Genesis chapter 9 after they came off the Ark, when God said to Noah, ‘Who so sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed.’ The right to execute the death sentence, the right to execute punishment establishes government. And again, important, in Jacob’s prophecy he said ‘the sceptre would not depart from Judah until Shiloh came,’ and the Jews understood that was Messiah. And when the Romans took the right away from the Jews to execute the death sentence, and the high priest felt that Messiah hadn’t come, he went through the streets of Jerusalem weeping, saying ‘The Word of God has been broken,’ because the sceptre had been removed from Judah and Shiloh had not come. Of course he didn’t know there was a young man in a carpenter shop in Nazareth that was going to rule over the nations with a rod of iron, and with his sceptre. So, the right to rule is that right all the way down to the taking of human life. Romans tells us ‘the magistrate does not bear the sword in vain, he is the avenger of God to execute justice on those who do evil, or those who do wickedness,’ there has to be rules. If there were no 35mph speed limit signs up, what would this city be like? There’s drug laws in this city, hard to believe, isn’t it? With the drug laws we have look at the problems we have. There are laws in this city about manslaughter, and we got the Blue Ribbon last year for more murders than any city in America. Last year more people were gunned down in Philadelphia than Baghdad, just think of that. And in this ancient Israelite culture, we have no police force, there are no prisons. Israel has an army, over 600,000 men ready to go to war. But there’s no police force when they come into the land, and there’s no prisons. The avenger of blood was the next of kin, the next of kin male in a family. If somebody murdered one of my sons deliberately, in ancient Israel, it was my responsibility or his brother’s responsibility to go find that guy and kill him. I’m just telling ya. There was less repeat offenses. It irks me sometimes when I see somebody in our judicial system today up for their third or fourth time for rape, particularly if it’s a child, I’m thinking ‘What’s wrong with the system?’ We see somebody whose up for the third time for murder, manslaughter, you think ‘What’s the point?’ you know, each time he’s in we spend a couple million dollars to feed and support him and try him, that’s, never mind. Here, back here, where are was I? that was my brainlock here. Ah, no police, no prisons, you have a murder. The city of Refuge is never in the Bible as a place to evade justice, it is a place to insure justice. Because the person who was guilty would flee there until the case was heard. If they were innocent, and they hadn’t intended to kill the person, they were allowed to then stay in the city of Refuge, we’re gonna read that. If they were guilty they were put to death. And it was the responsibility of the avenger of blood to do that, it says verse 19, “The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him.” It’s the only way to cleanse innocent blood from the land, it says. “But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him.” (verses 20-21) there’s intent there. He did it with malice and so forth. “But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying in wait, or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm:” (verses 22-23) they got into a confrontation, it wasn’t intentional, a fray got started, you knocked someone down. And just on the news last week you guys saw somewhere I think down in Florida somewhere, a stingray jumped out of the water, the wind blew the stingray, he hit a woman in the boat, she fell backward and hit her head, and died. It wasn’t intentional, it was one of those things. I’ve heard where people get in a confrontation, and somebody, not intentional, it’ll start up, they get stupid, somebody punches somebody or pushes somebody, they fall down, hit their head, they die. Certainly that is involuntary manslaughter. It says he casts a stone, he was not laying in wait for him, it says, verse 23, “or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments: and the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.” (verses 23-25) We are told, it says ‘we have fled to lay hold on refuge, the hope that God’s given us in Christ.’ Look, very interesting, of course the picture, the high priest, what he has to do with it, the death of the high priest. Jesus Christ dying on the cross said ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ In Acts chapter 3, he says ‘In time past God winked at your ignorance.’ ‘He was delivered by the predetermined counsel and foreknowledge of God,’ God knew, and was delivered.’ But it says that you and I, it was without intent, it was in our ignorance. So we are allowed to flee to the City of Refuge, God has made provision for us, the road is always maintained, the signs and the markers are always there. And we are, we obtain refuge unto the death of the high priest, isn’t it interesting? Once the high priest died, then they were allowed to go back to their homes, their family, their children. If they left the city of Refuge without the death of the high priest, and the avenger of blood found them, he was allowed to kill him. That was the marker, the death of the high priest is what set the mark on their being set free. So then once the death of the high priest came they were allowed then to return to their homes. It says in verse 26, “But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he has fled; and the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood:” (verses 26-27) there was a provision in God’s Law and God’s Word for the guilty, that had unintentionally killed, and that was the city of Refuge. And he was to stay there until the death of the high priest. Listen, he was safe there. Why? Was he safe there because he felt safe? Was he safe there because his conscience didn’t bother him? He was safe there because the Word of God said that he was safe there. The same reason you and I are safe in Jesus Christ. And it’s the death of the High Priest that is the freeing element in our own experience. He says if he goes outside of this, and this avenger of blood finds him and slays him, then the avenger of blood is not guilty. “because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. So these things shall be for a statute of judgment unto you throughout your generations in all your dwellings. Whoso killeth any person, the murderer shall be put to death by the mouth of witnesses: but one witness shall not testify against any person to cause him to die.” (verses 28-30) It had to be all the time by the mouth of two or three witnesses. Listen to this, “Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death.” (verse 31) You couldn’t redeem yourself. If you killed someone, you couldn’t buy your way out. Things have changed haven’t they? You couldn’t buy your way out, they weren’t to take any redemption money for that. No bribes, it was to be fair for the wealthy, for the poor, justice. “And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.” (verse 32) even for the man who was not willingly guilty, you’re not to take any satisfaction for him, he has to remain there until the death of the high priest. God says all of this, and he says this, “So ye shall not pollute the land wherein ye are: for blood it defileth the land: and the land cannot be cleansed of the blood that is shed therein, but by the blood of him that shed it.” only by complete justice, “Defile not therefore the land which ye shall inhabit, wherein I dwell: for I the LORD dwell among the children of Israel.” (verses 33-34) “Pollute” means to stain, it’s from a root word that speaks of soil, but it’s soiling or staining or making something dirty in the moral sense, to defile.

The Church Is Not Old Testament Israel--America Is Not Israel--America Is Not The Church

Now we live in a different culture, we live in a different time, America is not the land of Israel. America is not the Church. Sometimes I hear folks in politics that are believers, who confuse those two ideas. The Church [greater Body of Christ] is in America, but America is not the Church. We should influence our culture and influence this country, but the Church is not America, America’s not the Church. In the Old Testament times Israel was the Church, the whole nation [and it was called “the Church in the Wilderness”]. So these laws were absolute, across the land in every way [the Old Testament Law of God was the nation of Israel’s Constitution, as well as being spiritual laws. It will yet be the Constitutional Law of the Land for the nation of Israel and the whole world in the Millennial Kingdom of God (see https://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/MillennialKingdomofGod.pdf )]. What is proper in the Church may be completely different than in our culture. We have a Christian Biblical morality that we’re to uphold within the Church, that is vastly different outside those doors. And sadly of course, there are laws being passed to uphold the victimizer, to uphold the immoral, there are laws being passed in the land that we live in, that the Church is in, that would come back and point the finger at us as being hateful or filled with hate speech. Look, inside the Church, we know what the rulebook is, it’s right here. God says to the Corinthians, ‘I’m not telling you that you can’t be around fornicators or drunkards or extortioners,’ because Paul says ‘you’d have to leave the planet to do that. What I’m saying is that if anybody in the Church who calls himself a brother, is an adulterer or a fornicator or an extortioner, a robber, don’t find fellowship with that individual. Those that are without God will judge. It’s our business to judge those that are within.’ If the Church is what it should be, we certainly should be salt and light in the culture. I think Washington needs more and more elected officials that are on fire for Jesus Christ, that have high moral standards, because I believe moral standards matter. To say that somebody, and we see it all the time, can be in public office, and their morality doesn’t matter, to me is a travesty and a contradiction. How can you expect someone to uphold their responsibility morally and ethically, if they are not a moral individual. You can’t dissect those things, you can’t take them apart. But on the other hand, again, America is not the Church. [What is the balance for believers, should they get involved in the politics of “this world” which is ultimately of Satan? See https://www.unityinchrist.com/topical%20studies/America-ModernRomans6.htm ] The Church is the Church. The unbeliever is always being what they’re supposed to be, the question is, are we being what we’re supposed to be? They’re faithful to be what they’re supposed to be, they work hard at it. Are we being what we’re supposed to be? we need to be salt and light. So this interesting picture in the land of Israel that goes on here with this situation. There was no question, somebody who committed premeditated murder was put to death, because God said if it doesn’t happen the land is polluted. And again, less repeat offense, I’m sure. There are areas in the world today where if you steal they cut your hand off. And if you see a number of one-handed people walking around, you’re much less likely to steal. I’m not saying endorse it, I’m just stating a fact. The last three chapters of Numbers you have some facts stated. Here we are, chapter 36.”

Numbers 36:1-13

Tweaking In The Laws Of Inheritance Concerning The Daughters Of Zelophehad

“And the chief fathers of the families of the children of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of the sons of Joseph, came near, and spake before Moses, and before the princes, the chief fathers of the children of Israel: and they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters.” (verses 1-2) Now what he’s going to say is this, and this is part of the tribe of Manasseh, one side is going to be on one side of the River, and the other half on the other. And their concern is this. You remember earlier in Numbers the inheritance was to be handed most properly to the oldest son. And it was interesting, the oldest son was to, and in some cultures, it’s interesting where the oldest son would divide up the inheritance evenly amongst the siblings, and they let the youngest sibling pick first which portion they want. And the oldest one who divided it picks last, which is just great wisdom, because it makes sure the oldest one divides everything up nice and even, so he’s going to get the last pick, and knows the most immature is going to pick first. But it was handed to the son, was the responsibility of the son. So, because the name, marriage then, the inheritance would remain in the family, with the name of the family. So the daughters of Zelophehad had come and said ‘Look, our father, he was one of the princes, he wasn’t disobedient, he hadn’t turned away, he has no sons, we’re his daughters, surely we are entitled to an inheritance in the land.’ And godly women are entitled to every inheritance that God has for them. And Moses prays and the LORD says ‘Moses, they deserve their inheritance.’ Moses comes back to the daughters of Zelophehad and says ‘When the land is divided up, you will receive your inheritance, your father’s inheritance that would have gone to your brothers it will belong to you.’ Now, at the end of the Book some of the men come back to Moses, and say, ‘Moses, we’ve been thinking about this Zelophehad deal, and the one problem we see is that, if the daughters of Zelophehad which are from the tribe of Manasseh, if they get attracted to a Reubenite or a Gadite or you know, an Issacharite, or somebody from Judah, and they marry that man from Judah (or whichever tribe), when the year of Jubilee comes,’ and it’s only the second time it’s mentioned in the Pentateuch it’s mentioned here, ‘when they marry that person, in the year of Jubilee when all lands return to their original inheritors, our lands will then go and be part of the tribe of Judah (or whatever tribe) if they married somebody from Judah.’ So Moses in this chapter will seek the LORD, and the LORD will say ‘The daughters of Zelophehad or any daughters, this would be a law throughout the tribes of Israel, are free to marry anyone within their own tribe.’ Now look, it’s not talking about inbreeding, so everybody can calm down. Of your father’s brethren, the idea is, they were to marry within their own tribes, so that the land, the inheritance would never be confused, and it would always remain with God’s original designs. So this process, “and they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.” (verses 2-4) This is going to create confusion. “And Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying, The tribe of the sons of Joseph hath said well. This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers.” (verses 5-8) Because when that woman of course would have children her sons then would have an inheritance in the land, in the tribes of their fathers, so all of this wouldn’t be confused. You can imagine what would happen without this rule. Here we are on a Wednesday night, and we have to read about the daughters of Zelophehad, because if this rule hadn’t been in here, they’d have been marrying off their daughters to other tribes just to get their inheritance, they’d have been swindling everybody with their daughters, you know how people are. It went on through Europe, it went on all over the world, Duchesses and Dukes married into other royal families so they could then have their kid on the inside, and another family to spy on them so they could find out what was going on over there, and sometimes there was jeopardy and a double-cross because the daughter really fell in love with the guy, and they never really found out what was going on over there. You shouldn’t worry about all this, but this is the kind of mess the whole thing would be in if this hadn’t happened. “Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance. Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: for Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brother’s sons: And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father. These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.” (verses 9-13) Now it’s interesting, these names I did look up, these are some of the daughters of Zelophehad, “Mahlah” means “disease,” and I looked back and forth trying to makes something good out of that, but it’s what it means. “Tirzah” means “pleasant,” I’m glad of that, “Hoglah” means “partridge” like partridge on the mountain, “Milcah” means “to counsel,” “Noah” means “to rest.” So I’m supposing that I just can’t dig up, the rest of the daughters are pleasant, rest, and counsel, and disease. What father would do that to his daughter? so I’m assuming that we don’t really have the root of Mahlah correct here. But it seems by the rest of their names, godly parents, this is Zelophehad and his family. “the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their father’s brother’s sons” now father’s plural can go all the way back hundreds of years, so the idea is not to their cousins, you know, “And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.” (verse 12) Now, “These are the commandments and the judgments, which the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses unto the children of Israel in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho.” (verse 13) The first series of commandments and so forth were at Sinai. They were there where the Ten Commandments were given, and so much of the whole Book of Leviticus was given there. Now these commandments, reiterated and enlarged upon in the Plains of Moab, by Jordan, across from Jericho, but written certainly as Paul says, for us. 1^st Corinthians 10:6, “Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolators, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.” this is the Book of Numbers, “Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.” the Book of Numbers, “Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:” and the Greek word means “as types,” pictures for you and I, “and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Wherefore my dearly beloved, flee from idolatry.” (verses 6-14) So these things happened unto them to be examples unto us upon whom the ends of the Age have come. Look, the Book of Numbers, we have the numbering by Sinai, we have the numbering again at the end by border of the land, you have 38 years of wandering in those chapters inbetween, and God only picks out specific things to bring before us, at Kibroth-hataavah, at Kadesh-barnea, you go through. Because every one of them are such a pointed lesson for our lives for the Church today to take heed unto. So these things are written for our examples upon whom the end of the Ages have come, that we should take heed. Because whatever temptation comes to any of us, God with that temptation also makes a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it, that you may be able to bear it. And as Christians we love to say ‘Satan made me do it,’ you know, we’ve got all these excuses. The truth is, in any temptation you face, God has made a way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. His exhortation to us is, these things happened to ancient Israel long ago, to be pictures and lessons for us, upon whom the ends of the Age have come, that we shouldn’t sin like they did, commit fornication like they did, commit idolatry like they did. So that to remember, even when you feel you’re going to be overwhelmed by temptation, to get on your knees and to seek this God, the same God, and say ‘Lord, Abba,’ what no Jew could say, ‘Father, where is the way of escape here? because I need to high-tail it out of this situation, please show me.’ Amen? Let’s stand, let’s sing a last song together…[transcript of a connective expository sermon on Numbers 34:1-29, Numbers 35:1-34 and Numbers 36:1-13, given by Pastor Joe Focht, Calvary Chapel of Philadelphia, 13500 Philmont Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19116]