NUMBERS 22 THROUGH 31 - REQUIREMENTS AND PREPARATIONS FOR GOING INTO BATTLE

 

PART TWO

 

Numbers 25 - Worship of Baal-peor and its aftermath - Right after this event Israel profaned themselves by whoring with the Moabite/Midianite women. This word “whoring” in the Hebrew means whoring in a sexual cultish manner with these pagans. Ref: Acts 15.20-21. It was part of the worship of idols to perform sexual rituals with cultic prostitutes.

When the Lord sees this He tells Moses to publicly impale the ringleaders so that the wrath of the Lord will turn away from all Israel. Just then Zimri, a chief of the tribe of Simeon, with a Midianite woman named Cozbi, brazenly come into the camp!

Phineas, a priest of the Aaronic line takes a spear and stabs them in the belly checking the plague that had started due do this whoring. The name of the Midianite woman Cozbi is translated = “deception, liar.”

Phineas is honored by the Lord for displaying his passion with a pact of priesthood for all time. The Lord then tells Moses to wage war with the Midianites.

Lesson: Once again we are warned about mixture in the assembly. There is so much paganism in the church today. A simple example is to just examine many of the customs in the Roman Church (Protestant churches are not exempt) today. Statues, pillars, obelisks, sun symbols, Sunday worship, Gregorian calendar, and on and on. We are to worship God in spirit and truth--no images! Cozbi means deception. We see the Lord speaking clearing to us in this incident. Our churches are deceived!

New Age and Kabbalah have crept into both Judaism and Christianity. What about the feast days? We are to observe the feasts of the Lord (Lev 23.1). There are many areas that the Lord would want us to examine and change. Are we ready to respond?

The Lord would have us all examine ourselves and seek His truth. He wants a people who are free from pagan mixture, New Age, deception, etc. This will take time as we seek Him for the truth and make the changes in our lives which God requires.

Numbers 26 - The Second Census Prior to Entering the Promise Land - Now that the plague is over and Israel has been cleansed of rebellion and mixture Moses is instructed to conduct a census. This census is to determine the amount of land each tribe is to inherit according to their population. The area will be determined by lot, but the size of the area by each tribe’s population. All those who refused to enter the land after the spies report have died and all paganism and mixture has also been eliminated.

Lesson: We all talk about doing great things for the Lord and fulfilling any words we have received. What we forget about is being “prepared” for this work. We all want to “do” something but first we must “become” transformed into His image.

The Israelites were not ready when they entered the wilderness--this was their time of testing. First the generation that refused to enter had to “die to themselves”, then the next generation had to be cleansed from idolatry and mixture. They too had to die. Before we can enter and possess the land that God has promised us we must become what He desires us to be. It is very easy to do things--but becoming is painful. God is preparing a people for these end times but we aren’t quite ready for action. Let us yield to the Spirit and become!

Numbers 27 - The Case of Zelophad’s Daughters - Transfer of Leadership to Joshua - This specific case is used here to introduce a revision to the laws of inheritance in the Torah. In Numbers 26.33 we see this in the record of this clan. The father of these women died without having any son to inherit the land portion. The five daughters appeal to Moses and he asks the Lord for direction on this problem. The Lord instructs Moses to create a revision in the Torah/Law so that these daughters can receive their father’s inheritance. The only stipulation is that they must marry within their tribe because tribal inheritance cannot transfer from tribe to tribe.

Later in the chapter Moses goes to Mt. Nebo to view the promised land where he is instructed to separate Joshua in front of the entire assembly and invest him with his authority. Moses lays his hands on Joshua and commissions him.

Lesson: The Lord is fair and He hears the appeal of the Zelophad’s daughters. He even allowed Moses to make a revision in the Law without breaking the spirit of the law. When we have concerns we should speak up and seek resolution. It is good to deal with problems before they fester and create division. Speak up and reason together to find the truth!

In the case of Joshua, “A man’s gift makes room for him” is found in Proverbs 18.16. When we are at the proper place of “becoming” God will promote us.

 

Tomorrow: Part 3