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On May 16, 2012: Numbers 30-36 End Of The Wilderness · Teachings On This Day On FerventWord

• You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2012. Alright, so this evening, here we are. Numbers chapter 30. We'll be looking at chapters 30 through 36. As we look at the book of Numbers, of course, the meaning of the book of Numbers is Numbers. And it's named that because of the two countings or accountings of the people of Israel that take place in Numbers chapter 1 and chapter 26. Moses wrote this book as they were in the wilderness sometime between the range of 1446 to 1406 B.C., And the theme of Numbers is in the wilderness because it covers the time period. As you look here on the timeline, it covers the last portion of what we're looking at in the books of Moses. And that is the time where Israel is right on the edge of entering into the promised land. In the book of Genesis, we saw the beginnings of all kinds of things. The beginning primarily of the Hebrew nation through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And then as they were in Egypt in the book of Exodus, we saw God bring them out and establish the law there in the book of Leviticus. And in Numbers, we've been focusing on that time in the wilderness where they're wandering around for 40 years, where they're making their way up to the edge of the promised land and some of the battles that take place. And that's where they're camped here in our portion this evening as we look at chapters 30 through 36. They're camped right across from the city of Jericho, right next to the Jordan River in the plains of Moab. And they're there waiting to enter into the promised land. And so we're right at the end of this wilderness time here on the timeline. We see this from a couple different portions. In Numbers chapter 9 verse 5, we have the one-year mark where Israel has been out of Egypt for one year. They celebrate the second Passover feast. They make their way up to the land of Israel that God had promised to them. But of course they did not enter in and so they've been wandering the wilderness for 40 years. Aaron's death we'll look at briefly here in Numbers chapter 33. That happens at the end of that 40 years. It's the 40th year since they've left Egypt. And so we're looking at that time period. Now, as we head on into Deuteronomy starting tomorrow, Deuteronomy takes place all within this 40th year. It's Moses addressing the people there in the same place we're camped today in the plains of Moab next to the Jordan across from the city of Jericho. So we're going to be spending a little bit of time in this time period that we're looking at here in this 40th year as Israel's about to enter in to the promised land. Well, the geography of numbers we've been looking at, we have Israel leaving Egypt, spending some time in Sinai, heading north to the land of Canaan. They stop at Kadesh Barnea where they refuse to enter into the promised land. Then they wander in the wilderness. And we've also seen them going on from here, go up, from Kadesh Barnea go around Mount Hor where Aaron dies and then they head up north. They deal with the Amorites. They deal with Bashan. They deal with the Moabites and they're camped there kind of near the tip of the Dead Sea there in the plains of Moab and getting ready to cross over into the promised land. Well that brings us to Numbers chapter 30 as we begin our chapters for this evening. Numbers chapter 30 verse 2 says... If a man makes a vow to the Lord or swears an oath to bind himself by some agreement, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth. Here as we look at Numbers chapter 30, we're dealing with God's instruction regarding vows or oaths or promises that are made. And so he starts out making the declaration, making kind of the first principle. And that is, if you make a vow, then you are bound to that vow. That you are not to break your word. You're not to break your promises. When you make a vow, you are to keep it. Otherwise, it is sinful. Otherwise, it is rebellion against God. And so he gives the law of vows specifically for a man there in verse 1 and 2. But then in verses 3 through 9, he gives the law concerning overruled vows. Now the law of overruled vows concerned a couple of different situations. Primarily it's all around ladies who make vows and the different condition that the lady might be in. So if she is unmarried, it means that she's still under her father's authority. And so her father has the ultimate say on any vows that she might make. That's what is being explained here in verses 3 through 9. So if she goes out, she makes a vow, she makes a promise, she makes a deal or enters into a covenant and she goes home and tells her dad about it, her dad is allowed to overrule the vow that she's made and break the vow or to Keep the vow, whichever he may choose. The same thing is true with a married woman, except for instead of the father having the authority to overrule, it is the husband who has the authority to overrule. Well then in verses 10 through 16 we have the law of confirmed vows and that is dealing with the other side. So when a vow is not overruled by the father or by the husband then that vow is confirmed and must be fulfilled. It's binding and it must be completed. So it's the law concerning vows. And we learn from this, of course, the importance of our words and our promises, that they are binding, that they're meaningful, and that God would say, you need to keep your promises. I came across a quote that the Quakers say. They say, your unspoken words, to them, you're the master. But to the words you speak, you are the servant. And to the words you write, you are the slave. When you've not spoken it yet, you're the master. You get to choose what goes in, what goes out, what you do, because you haven't spoken it. But as soon as you speak it, now you're a servant to those words. And once you write it down, he says, or they say to those words, you're the slave. That you are held accountable to those things that you say, those things that you communicate. And I think that's very appropriate. Jesus also deals with this later on in the Gospels. And he talks about letting your yes be yes and your no be no. That your word needs to be as strong as a vow. That it needs to be that when you say you will do something, that you will do it. That you will fulfill and be faithful to your word. So we see the importance of our words here, the importance of our vows and our promises. We also see the authority and the structure of authority that God has established for his people here with the dealing of overruling of vows and the confirming of vows. Now, there is a real authority that God has given to the man of the home, to the father over his children, to the husband over the home as well. And there's this real authority that has been given so much so that he is able to overrule the vows of the daughter or of the wife that they might make. This authority we see not only here, but of course all throughout the scriptures. But it's a good model and a reminder for us of that authority. But it's important to understand that with this authority comes great accountability. Would you look with me at verse 15? It says, Here's what God says in verse 15. If the husband or the father hears the vow but doesn't overrule it, but then later on says, you know what, never mind, we can't keep that vow, then it's the husband who is guilty of breaking that vow, not the wife. He bears the ultimate burden, the ultimate guilt for that vow being broken. And so he has authority that God has given within the home to overrule and to confirm. But along with that authority comes the burden of guilt, the burden of accountability and responsibility. Warren Wiersbe says, God never grants authority without accountability. When this is understood, it makes submission much easier. We need to understand that God has given certain orders to the family, to the church, to us as members of society. And with that authority that he's given to husbands, to fathers, to parents, to pastors, to government leaders, he also gives a stricter accountability. And so we need to be submitted to those in authority over us. Because they are accountable for their decisions, for their actions, and for what they do. Now the other exception that's dealt with here in Numbers chapter 30 is the widow. Now the widow is under a separate section because, well, the widow, she's no longer in the house of her father. Her husband has died. So for the widow, she's in the position that her vows are binding. She has no one to overrule or to confirm the vows. Her vows are confirmed automatically when she makes them. Another thing that's really interesting here in chapter 30, there's lots of things we could look at, but just one last thing before we move on, is the value of silence, the importance of silence. How silence is considered an approval of a vow. So in the case of a father and a daughter, the daughter comes home and says, this is the vow that I've made. And when the father hears of it, if he says nothing, if he is silent, if he does not speak regarding that vow, then that vow is confirmed. So his silence is a confirmation. What you say is important and your words, what Jesus says, that will be judged according to every idle word that we speak. So what we say is important. But also, when we're silent is important. And sometimes we need to speak up and not be silent. In this kind of condition, silence is an approval or a confirmation of what is taking place. Now silence is not always approval. But when you're dealing with those whom God has entrusted to you, think about it this way. God has entrusted to you children, family, disciples, those he's called you to raise up. He's entrusted to you people in the workplace, wherever it may be. He's entrusted people to you. In that situation, silence is an approval statement. of the things that are being said, the commitments that are being made, the actions that are taking place. And so sometimes we need to break the silence and speak up, even if it's not very comfortable, because silence is an approval when you are in a position of authority. Silence is a confirmation in that case. So we have the law concerning vows here in Numbers chapter 30. Now as we move on to chapter 31, the key verse says, Hey guys, I lost control again. Sorry. The key verse in Numbers chapter 31 is verse 2. It says, Take vengeance on the Midianites for the children of Israel. Afterward, you shall be gathered to your people. So here in chapter 31, God is instructing them to... Take vengeance upon the Midianites. Now this goes back to chapter 22, 23, 24. You might remember the situation with Balaam and how King Balak called Balaam to curse the people of God in order to help Moab have victory over the nation of Israel. Well, Moab and... Midian joined together on this. We learned that from Numbers chapter 22. And there in Numbers 22, Moab calls together Midian and says, hey, we are fearful about this group that's come in and let's get Balaam to curse them for us. And you might remember what happened. Instead of cursing them, Balaam blessed them. And in order to get the money that he wanted to get, Balaam said, okay, well, let me teach you how they, how you can cause them to bring a curse upon themselves. And so he did that by telling them to seduce the men into immorality and idolatry. So now God says, you need to deal with them. You can't let this go. You can't let this stand. You need to deal with this situation yourself. And not let it go. And so he sends them into battle against the Midianites to deal with their sin, with their deception upon the people and to cause them to take vengeance upon them. And so God says, send in 12,000 soldiers, 1,000 from each tribe. I found this interesting because it's only 12,000. We saw just last week in the census, there was over 600,000 soldiers there in Israel. But it's only 12,000 that are sent into this battle. A very small portion of the whole number of soldiers. It's interesting too, we see at the end they take account and not one of those soldiers is lost. Now, these 12,000 soldiers are sent in not because it's such a small army, because we see from the spoils that are taken here in chapter 31 that it's pretty massive actually what happens. Because they bring home 32,000 virgin women. So 32,000 are the ladies who've never slept with a man. That's, you know, what was left after they had the battle. They also brought back 675,000 sheep. It's quite a bit of sheep. So this was a big victory, a big battle. We don't know exactly how big the Moabites and the Midianites army was, but they won this victory even though they only had 12,000 because, of course, it was God sending them in. Another important thing we see here in verse 8 is Balaam's demise. He gets the money, he gets the reward from Balak, but verse 8 says that Balaam they also killed with the sword. So he didn't last very long with all the money that he received from King Balak. So they take vengeance upon the Midianites. They come back with all the spoils of war and God gives them instruction. You can't just take the things from these battles that you received and implement them now in your daily life. They have to go through a cleansing process. And this is going to be true of all the wars that are to come. As we head into the book of Joshua and see the battles in the promised land, this is going to be true. You can't just bring in the things that you achieved in battle, but you got to run them through this cleansing ritual, this cleansing things that God said. So gold and silver, anything that can withstand the fire needs to be put through the fire. Also anyone who is... in contact with a dead body as a result of the battle. So if you, you know, put anyone to death, then following what was declared in Numbers chapter 19, then you have to go through this cleansing seven-day ritual where on the third day and the seventh day you're cleansed with the water. You might remember the ashes from the red heifer. You have to go through that process there from Numbers chapter 19. Then in the final part of the chapter, verse 25 through 54, you have the instruction for dividing the plunder. And the plunder, the spoils of the war, weren't just for those who went into battle, but also it was for those who stayed back. And so it was divided amongst the leaders and amongst the soldiers and amongst those who stayed back. Well, that brings us to Numbers chapter 32. Numbers chapter 32 verse 5, it says, Well, here in chapter 32, we have a situation where basically three tribes decide, you know what, we don't want to go into the promised land. It starts out with just two. It's Reuben and Gad in verses 1 through 5. And they request to stay on the east side of the Jordan River. With this request, Moses gets very concerned. Because you might remember when they were at Kadesh Barnea, about to enter into the promised land. And the ten spies came back and said, hey, we don't believe that God can do this. We don't want, you know, to go into the promised land. Then God said, okay, 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. Thank you, ladies. 40 years of wandering in the wilderness is decreed for you. And so that whole generation died in the wilderness. Well, now as this group of people are saying, we don't want to enter into the promised land, Moses is concerned. He's saying, look, you're going to discourage the whole multitude and they're not going to enter in and they're going to experience this judgment of God by not entering in again to the land that God had promised to them. So verses 6 through 32, Moses then requires that they join in the promised land battles so that Okay, you can have this land here, but you have to cross over the Jordan, fight the battles over there, and then afterwards you can return back to this land. So you have to be part of the battles that take place. And so verses 33 through 42, we find Moses giving the land to Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh. If we can go to the next slide. So here's the land east of the Jordan. Hit the next button again, hit the arrow. There you go. So this is the land east of the Jordan. Remember, they're camped right there in that section. They've just had a couple good victories with the king of Bashan and the Amorites. And so with that victory, the land has been cleared out of their enemies. And so they decide, we want to camp there. We want to stay there. We don't want to take our inheritance into the promised land. Now Moses gives them their request and he allows them to stay there, but it's very clear, even as we'll look later on in our passages this evening, that's not considered the promised land. The promised land is on the other side of the Jordan River. And so they're choosing not to enter in to the promised land. They're choosing not to enter in to the land that God had given to them. And it's divided between three tribes, Reuben, Gad, and then the half tribe of Manasseh. Now that can be a little bit confusing sometimes. It's not like they were stepbrothers or something like that. But half of this tribe decided we want to enter into the promised land. The other half said, no, we want to stay here. And so Manasseh actually ends up being in two different places, one on the west side and one on the east side. And you'll see that a little bit later on this evening. So half the tribe of Manasseh, Reuben and Gad stay on the east side. Now these tribes paint for us a very important lesson that we need to learn. They settled for less than what God had desired for them and had promised to them. And as a result, these tribes are the first tribes to be conquered by the enemies. When Assyria comes down amongst the land, these three tribes are the first tribes to fall. Would you keep your thumb or something here in Numbers chapter 32, but turn with me to 1 Chronicles chapter 5 real quick. I want you to see it for yourself, so you make sure you understand that you get the point of how important it is to enter into the fullness of what God has for you. 1 Chronicles chapter 5. Here in 1 Chronicles chapter 5, God's giving an overview of the different tribes of Israel and what had taken place with them. And in verse 25, he's dealing with Manasseh, but also making reference to Gad and Reuben. Verse 25, it says, They were unfaithful to the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, that is Tiglath-Pileser, king of Assyria. He carried the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh into captivity. He took them to Hala, to Habor, to Hara, to the river of Gozon, to this day. So what it's declaring for us here is that Later on in history, these three tribes who said, we don't want to enter in, they were the first ones to be taken into captivity. We also see here that they enter into idolatry. Now, God is going to be doing something special in the land of Israel, the land that he promised to them. He's going to be establishing a place where he puts his name, where the temple is going to be built, where the people will congregate and meet with God and walk with God. But the nations, or the tribes on the east side of the Jordan River are different. removed from that not because you know they were disowned or something but it was just more difficult to get back across the Jordan and so instead of journeying and participating in the worship that that was required to be part of you know the Jewish people they would go into idolatry much like the northern kingdom did as well as the southern kingdom we'll talk with that more as we get into the history of Israel in the coming books but But the point is, these three tribes are the first to go into captivity. They refuse to enter in. They keep themselves at a distance. It's an important lesson for us to learn because, well, they thought, hey, we've already won these battles. We're already set. So let's just stay here. This land's good enough. But God had something greater for them in the promised land. And as a result of their distance, They didn't last as long as the rest of Israel as they turned away from God. David Guzik says, If a child of God is content to settle for less in their Christian life, there is little or nothing one can do. But when their complacency begins to affect their brothers and sisters, it must be confronted. This was the basis of Moses' confrontation. So Moses comes against them and he says, look, you guys are going to be discouraging others from entering into what God has promised for them. And so you and I as believers, we need to understand, first of all, God wants to take you further. We like to settle. We like to think, you know, we've had enough conquerings in our life. We've gotten far enough. Enough has been done. So let's kick back now. Let's relax. Let's just enjoy our success. But God wants to take you further. He wants to continue to cause you to take steps of faith, to go forward, to fight new battles, to accomplish new things. God wants to continue the work in your life. And we need to be careful as believers that we don't just sit back and get comfortable. Now it's a choice that you have though. And Moses let them settle on the east side. But his contention was... You better not discourage others from entering into what God has promised to them. Look, if you don't want to enter in, you don't want the fullness of what God has for you, well, that's unfortunate, but that's your choice. But the terrible thing, the tragedy takes place when now you begin to discourage others and you say, look, you don't have to fight that fight. You don't have to take those steps. You don't have to go forward in what God has called you to. You don't have to be so faithful to read the Bible. You don't have to be so faithful to church. You don't have to do those things. You can settle like I do. Now that becomes a problem and that needs to be addressed. And so we see this picture here of this complacency and this need for with those who would discourage others from going in and experiencing all that God has for them. Well, that brings us to Numbers chapter 33. The key verse of Numbers 33 is verse 1. It says, So here in chapter 33, we have a long list of names and places. All the different places that Israel camped there in verses 1 through 49, their journey throughout the wilderness. Now, as we've talked about in the past, we really don't know the exact location of many of these places, but here they are listed so that one day when we know them, then we'll know exactly where they were. But then in verses 50 through 56, we have the instructions for conquering Canaan. That they were to go into the land. They were to dispossess the people. That is, they're to drive all the inhabitants out. They are to go to battle, to fight the inhabitants of the land of Canaan, to drive them out, and then divide the land by lot. And we'll see that described a little bit further in chapter 34. God gives them a warning here in verse 55 that is really important. Numbers chapter 33 verse 55 says, So, God's command, enter into the promised land, drive out the inhabitants. Some of the people said, we don't want to enter in, we're going to stay on this side. Others are going to enter in and they're going to decide, we're not going to drive out the inhabitants. That's too hard, that's too difficult. And so God gives this warning. You have to be faithful to the battle that I've called you to. It is a battle, it's real, it's hard. But be faithful to the battle because if you let those things survive, then they will be a constant trouble for you. They will constantly be harassing you and irritating you and coming against you. They'll be like thorns in your sides and irritants in your eyes. You know, you get something in your eye and it's like you just, you can't function because that little speck is in your eye. In the same way as believers, we have that temptation to be like the tribes on the east of the Jordan and say, we're not going to enter in, we're comfortable here. But some will go a little bit farther and sometimes as believers we enter into the promised land but we don't want to fight all the battles. Again, the point is God wants to take you further. He wants to use you for greater things. He wants to work to a greater degree in your life. He wants to do a work of holiness in your life that's greater than you're experiencing now. He wants to use you to a greater capacity than you're being used now. He wants to take you in. He wants to give you the fullness of the land that he's promised to you. But you got to keep fighting. You got to keep growing. You got to keep pushing forward. You got to continue on in faithfulness to what God has called you to. And if you don't, and you just kind of put up with that sin, you just, you know, put up with that habit or that condition or, you know, whatever. You keep putting off those things that God has called you to. Well, it would turn out those things will be a constant nuisance to you. They're going to trouble you and hinder you. If you do not, be obedient to God and drive those things out. And go to battle with those things that God has called you to go into battle against. Well, on the next slide we have the map of the wilderness journey. So hit the next... There we go. So they left out of Egypt. This is what Numbers chapter 33 is overviewing. They left out of Egypt. They crossed over the Red Sea. They went down to Sinai. They were camped in Sinai for about a year. As God gave them the law, the Ten Commandments, the tabernacle, and all of that. And then next, they go from Sinai up to Kadesh Barnea. And there, at Kadesh Barnea, kind of on the border of the land of Canaan, they decide, we're not going to enter in. This is too scary. And so God says, you're going to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. Next. Next. And so they wander in the wilderness, basically going around and around and around for 40 years in the wilderness. God's providing for them miraculously, but the whole generation is dying off. And it's the next generation that now goes back to Kadesh Barnea and is going to enter into the promised land. And so they go around the mountain, they go up through Edom, Actually around Edom and then up through Moab and are camped now at the banks of the Jordan about to cross into the promised land. And so this is the journey that is described here in Numbers chapter 33. Again, we don't know the exact city locations, so it might look a little bit different shape whenever we get the full information, probably once we're in heaven. But it's a good general idea of the journey that took place from Jerusalem Egypt all the way into the border of the promised land. Well chapter 34 verse 2 is the key verse. It says, Command the children of Israel and say to them when you come into the land of Canaan this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance. The land of Canaan to its boundaries. So verses 1 through 15 describe the borders of the land that God is giving to them. And then verses 16 through 29, God gives instruction regarding the men who shall divide the land. So the borders and the boundaries are given. And then those who are going to divide up the land for the different tribes are also given here. So the borders of the land, if we'll go to the next slide. Hit the next and you'll see the southern border. Now this border is not exact. This is again we don't know the location of all the cities that are made reference to. So it's just kind of a rough idea. But it goes from the bottom of the Dead Sea Down south of Kedesh Barnea and then up to the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Then the western border is the Mediterranean Sea. So all the way up the coast, that was their land. The northern border goes up to the area known as Tyre. And that was the kind of the northern border. And then the eastern border was the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. Now you'll notice by this, the tribes who settled on the east side of the Jordan, they're not in the boundaries that God is setting here. These are the borders he set for the land. This is the land he promised to them. They're settling outside of those boundaries, outside of those borders. And that, again, is the issue. That is the problem with their decision. Hit the next slide. On the left side here, you have the modern state of Israel. These are the boundaries that currently exist. Some of the boundaries within this region are disputed, like West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Golan Heights, that kind of thing. But this is the general shape of the nation of Israel. It's interesting to me how it kind of matches... you know, the borders that God has given, except for it extends a little bit further to the Gulf of Aqaba there, which extends off the Red Sea at the bottom. So very similar to what God had given then, here described in Numbers chapter 34, to what they occupy now, the land that God has given to them. Next slide. This is just a little bit of a point of reference for you regarding the size of Israel. You know, we talk about the Sea of Galilee and, you know, the different mountains there in Israel. And, you know, we kind of picture and envision these really big and massive things. But Israel is really actually quite small. The nation of Israel is about 10,840 square miles with these boundaries here, with these borders that exist today. So it's about 10,000 square miles. Now by comparison, the county of Riverside is 7,207 square miles. So the whole nation of Israel is not that much bigger than the county of Riverside. If you look at San Bernardino County, of course, that's 20,000 square miles. And so it's about twice the size of the nation of Israel. So San Bernardino County is twice as big as Israel. Inyo County, which you've probably never heard of, is 10,000 square miles. It's just about the same as you can see. So just to give you an idea, you know, Israel is not big. And this is just California. I mean, you compare it to the whole United States. It's just It's like a county. It's very small. It's not that big. It's very small compared to the nations around it as well. It's a pretty small place. It's the land that God has given to them, but it's not, you know, maybe as massive as you might think. And so I wanted to give you some perspective. So altogether, it's 263 miles long. And anywhere from 9 to 71 miles wide. 71 miles is kind of the widest point of the nation of Israel. So it's not very big. It's pretty small. But it's the land that God has given to them. And it was to be divided up according to the tribes. So on the next slide, you see the division of the land. So this is how the division began to take shape. Now here on the right hand side you see the tribes on the east side of the Jordan River. You see Manasseh there on the north with Gad all along the Jordan River and then Reuben there at the south. And so these are the tribes that settled on that side of the Jordan River. Then the tribes, the rest of the tribes settled in the promised land on the west side of the Jordan River. I'm not going to go through them all but you can see the different tribes, the different locations. Couple things to point out. You see Manasseh has two locations and that's because half of the tribe stayed on one side. The other half went into the promised land. Dan also has two portions. We'll get to that as we head into the book of Judges, why that takes place. And then you also might notice all of the tribes are listed here except for the tribes of Levi. Because they are not given an inheritance in the promised land. They don't get a portion of land. And we'll deal with that in the next chapter. So chapter 35. Verse 6 is the key verse. It says, Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites, you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee, and to these you shall add 42 cities. So here in chapter 35, God gives the command to give... cities to the Levites according to the size of the land that's been given to the tribe. So verses 1 through 8 records this for us. And on the next slide, you'll see the Levite cities. So this takes place later on in Joshua chapter 21. We'll see all these cities listed. But these are all the different cities that were given to the Levites. Remember there was three families of the Levites. There was Gershon, Kohath, and Merari. And so that's why there's the different colors. So red, green, and yellow represent those different families within the tribe of Levi. Now Now because they didn't have an inheritance in the land, they didn't get a section of land, God says every tribe is to give them cities. And so they would be scattered all throughout the land of Israel and they'd be able to live there. When it was their turn to serve at the tabernacle or at the temple, then they would go there for that time, but then they would go back to the city where they lived for the rest of the year. So all of these different cities, there was 48 in total that are going to be given to the Levites and they're going to be able to settle there. Those cities will be theirs. Now God also says in verses 9 through 34 that of those cities that are given to the Levites, that six of them are to be set apart and called cities of refuge. Now a city of refuge was for a specific purpose and that was it was a place for people to be able to run when they had accidentally killed somebody. The next slide shows those cities of refuge. So there was three on the east side of the Jordan, and then there was three on the west side of the Jordan. And the idea was, what God says, is they have to be within a day's travel distance from anywhere in Israel so that you could get there quickly if you found yourself in a position where you had accidentally killed somebody or put somebody to death. It's this idea of manslaughter. That it was not premeditated, that you didn't intend to kill anybody, but, you know, let's say you're working with, you know, your axe, and you... Swing it back to, you know, chop the wood and the head of the axe flies off and hits somebody behind you and kills them. It wasn't intentional. You didn't mean to kill them. So God says, let's make provision, a city of refuge, where you can go to make sure that you have fair treatment and a fair trial. So here's what was happening in those days. They had what was called the Avenger of Blood. And the avenger of blood would be the person who was appointed within the family to make amends, to take vengeance. For the killing of a person within their family. And so, you know, if you were the avenger of blood in your family, you were the next of kin perhaps, you know, to someone who was killed, then it was your responsibility to make sure that justice was done, to make sure that the other person paid the price that was to be paid. And what was the price for murder? Well, it was death. God declared that way back in Genesis. You know, if anybody sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed, that they would be put to death. And so this was a way to make sure that when accidents happened, that they weren't put to death themselves. Without reason. That they weren't put to death by this avenger of blood. Without a good and fair trial. Without examining the facts. Because of course if you are responsible for avenging your family. And you just killed my brother. I might not calm down and take a look at the facts. And consider was this on purpose or was this an accident? No, all I care about is you killed my brother, you know, or you killed my father, right? Prepare to die. I just had a flashback of Princess Bride. You know, that would be the mentality. Hey, you killed my family. You killed my loved one. So I'm going to put you to death. And so this was a way that God would establish that there would be justice and fairness, that those who accidentally killed others, they would be protected. And so if you accidentally killed someone, you would run to the city of refuge. And now it was the responsibility of the people to do an evaluation, to examine the facts, and to If it turned out that you indeed premeditated, that you planned, and that you had purpose to kill somebody, well, then you were turned over to the avenger of blood. You deserved the death penalty. But if it was indeed an accident, then you were protected. Now, you were protected under certain conditions. And even though it was an accident, it would change your life because you would have to then stay at the city of refuge for the rest of your life, basically. You wouldn't, you know, just kind of let it cool off and then move back home later on. You would stay there because you were only protected there within the city of refuge. If you went outside of the city of refuge... Then... The avenger of blood... Would be able to... Put you to death... And not be... You know... Counted as a murderer... And so... You had to stay within the city... And within the city limits... In order to have that protection... So you would probably... Move your family there as well... And you would stay the remainder of your life... There... Now the... Exception to that... God says... When the high priest dies... then you're free to go back to your home and you're protected. So if the avenger of blood does put you to death as you return home, then they'll be guilty of bloodshed, they'll be guilty of murder. And so that was the only exception, that when the high priest dies, then you could go home. Until the high priest died, you had to stay at the city of refuge in order to have this protection in the system that God set up. Now, this was pretty cool. It's, you know, interesting to consider the cities of refuge. But one of the amazing things about it is the picture that we have of Jesus here in these cities of refuge. In Hebrews chapter 6, verse 18, the author of Hebrews makes reference to us to Jesus for refuge. He says, we have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope that's set before us. That we've fled to Jesus for refuge. And there's this picture here of Jesus as our city of refuge. You might remember when Jesus was upon the cross. And he's hanging there and he looks down at those who are blaspheming against him and watching him be put to death. And he says, Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing. It was this idea of they're not fully aware of what's taking place. They are not fully understanding what is going on. It's this understanding that this is not first degree murder of the Son of God. This is done in ignorance. You and I as sinners are responsible for the death of Christ. And so if you kind of follow this picture, we are accountable for that blood that was shed because it was our sin that put him there. And so with that accountability, well, we need to run to the city of refuge. We need to seek that relief from the rightful death that we deserve. And so where do we seek that from? Well, of course, we find it in Jesus. He is our refuge. We're safe in Him. Now, the person running into the city of refuge would be safe there until the high priest died. But for us, as the author of Hebrews goes on to explain, Jesus is our high priest. He ever lives to make intercession for us. So our safety in Jesus as our city of refuge has, well, eternal impact because he ever lives to make intercession for us. And so there's this picture here of running to Jesus and having this protection, having this life that's given and that's promised for the rest of eternity. So there's some cool things to consider. There's even more, but I won't get into that. They're in Numbers chapter 35. Well, we finish it up now in Numbers chapter 36. Verse 8 is the key verse. And it says, Last week we talked about this concern of the family who, there was only daughters. The father had died, there was no son to pass on the inheritance to, so there was only daughters left. And the daughters said, we think that it should be fair for us to receive an inheritance, even though there's not a son to pass on the inheritance, that we should inherit the land as daughters of our father who died in the wilderness. And Moses sought the Lord and God agreed and said, yes, that's absolutely right. Those daughters received the inheritance and they get the land that was given to their father. Now we're seeing a further development of this same concept. Now the question is, well, those daughters then receive the land. Well, what if they get married? Now if they get married to someone who is from a different tribe... Well, this is going to become confusing as far as whose land it is. Is it of the original tribe that they were part of? Is it part of the tribe where they got married to? Then in the year of Jubilee, when the land returns to its original owner, where does it go? It's going to ultimately be separated from the family that it was given to. So it'll be separated from the tribe of Reuben or the tribe of Gad or the tribe of Manasseh. It'll begin to go to this other tribe of this husband that she married. And so there's this concern, there's this discussion. Moses again seeks the Lord and comes back with the instruction. So when a daughter receives this inheritance because there's no son, Then that daughter, in order to receive that inheritance, needs to marry someone within the tribe so that the land continues to be in that tribe. And God wanted to protect the boundaries of the land that were given to each tribe and it was to be maintained within that tribe for the rest of the time. So God says, okay, so here's the accountability then or the responsibility of for you to receive the inheritance that was from your father, then you can marry anyone you choose, but it has to be from within the tribe that you are a part of so that the land does not get divided and become part of another tribe. And that concludes the book of Numbers. We finish there in chapter 36. Now, tomorrow morning or tomorrow at whatever time you read, we'll start now in the book of Deuteronomy chapter 1. And so here's a quick introduction into the book of Deuteronomy. Next slide. All right. Deuteronomy. The name Deuteronomy means second lot. And so what you're going to find in the book of Deuteronomy is a lot of stuff you've already read. Because it's the second telling of the law. Now it is the second telling of the law with a slight different perspective because... Moses is delivering the book of Deuteronomy to the people. They're camped there across from Jericho. They're about to enter into the promised land. Moses isn't going to go with them. And so Moses is there reminding them. He's giving these sermons and reminding them of all the things that God has done and all the things that God has said ever since they left Egypt. And so what we studied in Leviticus, what we studied in Numbers, what we studied in Exodus, Moses will be refreshing their memory, reminding them. We'll see the Ten Commandments again. We'll see many of the other laws. But the perspective or the details really change a little bit because... The book of Leviticus, for example, remember it means of the Levites because it was instruction to the Levites and the priests on how to fulfill their ministry. There was a lot of details. There was a lot of technical things. The book of Deuteronomy overviews those things, but it's not addressing the priest. It's addressing the normal person in the congregation of Israel because it's Moses delivering these things to the congregation. So it's not as technical. It's a review. It's a summary. It's an overview. But it's not as technical as we have seen already. Now again, Moses is the author of this. He's the one delivering these things. It's written sometime within that same time period, 1446 to 1406 BC. And the theme is a call to commitment. He's calling the people to be obedient. And you'll see that right away in the book of Deuteronomy. He's calling them, remember, make sure that you don't forget what God has done and be faithful to be obedient to him and to follow his commandments. On the next slide, we have a map that's familiar to you because this is where they're at for the whole time of the book of Deuteronomy. The end of the arrows there, right at the top of the Dead Sea, across from Jericho, about to cross over into the Promised Land. That's where they're at. That's where Moses delivers all of these words of the book of Deuteronomy to the people of Israel. And then finally the last slide looks at the time of the book of Deuteronomy. So Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 3 at the beginning of Deuteronomy we're looking at the 40th year. They left Egypt 40 years ago. This is the final time when they're in the wilderness. They're about to cross over into the promised land. And then the end of Deuteronomy in chapter 34 is Moses' death. And so all this takes place really within a couple month time period as Moses delivers all these words and reminds the people about what God has done and what God has said as they prepare to enter in to the promised land. And so as we finish up this evening, I would just go back and encourage you once again, don't settle for less than what God wants for you. Don't stay on the other side of the Jordan River, but enter in. What does God want to do? Does He want you to deal with those issues of sin? Absolutely. Does He want you to go forward on that mission trip? Does He want you to take that step of faith and be obedient to what He's put upon your heart? Absolutely. don't settle and just decide, you know, I could do that. I could do what God has said, but, you know, I'm so comfortable here. It's nice here. This is good enough. I don't have to go through those things. Don't be like that because, well, you will be the first to fall. The safest place for you, as Pastor John Corson always says, is on the front lines of the battle. One last illustration. When Israel came through the wilderness and the nation of Amalek came and attacked them from behind, it was the people who were lagging behind, the stragglers, those who were tired, who weren't really going forward, those are the ones who were attacked. But it was the ones who were on the front lines, those who were going forward, following God, they were safe from that battle. You know, sometimes God calls us and he's taking us into the heat of the battle. And with him we have his protection. And you know even as we saw in our past chapters this evening. All the soldiers returned who were sent out because God was with them. God did this mighty victory. But a lot of times the safest place for you. If you're being attacked by the enemy. The safest place for you is an obedience to God. Be on the front lines. Charge forward in your relationship with God. Cross over the Jordan River. Pursue that relationship with the Lord. Pursue that obedience to the Lord. And experience the fullness of all that He has promised for you. Make sure you enter into the promised land. Yes, there's battles there. But they're battles that God has promised to give you deliverance in. So go forward in your relationship with God. Let's pray. God, I pray that you would help us to not settle, Lord, to not become complacent and to sit back in our relationship with you, but help us to charge forward. to press on, to fight those battles, to enter in to those lands that you've promised to us, that you've given to us. God, I pray that you would deal with those issues of sin in our lives. Lord, I pray that you would deal with those issues of complacency. Lord, I pray that you would draw us near to you, that you would work in us, that you would increase our capacity to glorify you, to honor your name. I pray, Lord, that you would cause us to pursue you. Stir us up, Lord. that we would not sit back and become lukewarm or complacent, but Lord, that we'd be on fire and passionate for you and take those steps of faith, those steps of obedience that you've laid before us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. 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