The Christmas season is a unique, global phenomenon when the entire world is focused on gift-giving. Most people are thinking of material gifts, but there are other ways we can give—with our time, attention, and service. Setting aside time to connect with those who were neglected during our busy days or doing something special for a neighbor are lovely ways to gift someone. I always look forward to lunch and FaceTime visits with friends over the holiday. As we come to the end of our Numbers study, God, through Moses, will be reminding his people of all he has given them—his guidance, the Promised Land, his power to take the land from a pagan people for his holy purposes, and an orderly plan for its possession and distribution, including cities of refuge and land for daughters. As we conclude the book, there seems to be a smooth transition into Deuteronomy, which is a kind of doctrinal guide for Israel. However, we will be making a transition in 2024 to the doctrine of the gospel from a New Testament perspective. The Lord gives us many lessons and ideas in the history of Israel to prepare us to receive what was a shadow and mystery to his Old Testament people—the good news of forgiveness and reconciliation with him for those who believe in his Son—the ultimate gift of God. We also have the wonderful present of Scripture to learn from the Lord’s work and journey with Israel. Let’s see what God will show us in these last chapters of Numbers. Here is an opportunity for us to continue focusing on the greatest gift of God—his Son, Emmanuel—who is with us by virtue of his humble birth and life of service and sacrifice.
Lessons Of God’s Faithfulness
“These are the stages of the people of Israel, when they went out of the land of Egypt by their companies under the leadership of Moses and Aaron. Moses wrote down their starting places, stage by stage, by command of the Lord, and these are their stages according to their starting places.” (Numbers 33:1-2) “[Chapter 33] is not just a random collection of place names but is a list designed for shape Israel’s perspective on her wilderness wandering as a whole. As such, it had a message also for future generations who, like ancient Israel, are pilgrims and strangers on a journey through the wilderness of this world. When we look closely at the itinerary in Numbers 33, we quickly discover that there are three different kinds of places listed here. Each of these categories has a lesson to teach us. Some are places where they stayed that call to mind the Lord’s faithfulness to Israel in providing for their needs in the desert…We too need to be reminded regularly of God’s faithfulness to us along the way…we need to remember step by step where we have come from and who has brought us safely through the toils and dangers thus far. ‘Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice! Seek the Lord and his strength; seek his presence continually!…he brought his people out with joy, his chosen ones with singing. And he gave them the lands of the nations, and they took possession of the fruit of the peoples’ toil, that they might keep his statutes and observe his laws. Praise the Lord!” (Psalm 105:1-4, 43-45) (1)
Lessons of God’s Forgetfulness and Safety
“Other places call to mind Israel’s sinful rebellion against the Lord at a variety of points through their wandering…Yet strangely enough, if you didn’t already know Israel’s history of rebellion, you wouldn’t have known from this account that any of these negative things happened. Whereas the itinerary lists specific reminders of the acts of God’s faithfulness, it passes in complete and total silence over Israel’s unfaithfulness…This fact shows us that we need to be reminded of God’s forgetfulness as well as his faithfulness…Sometimes we are afraid to look over our past for fear of being overwhelmed by the reality of our sin…Yet…when the Lord looks back over our lives, he passes over our sins. He doesn’t keep a record of our wrongs filed away, ready to use agaist us at an opportune moment…If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: the old is gone, to be remembered no more, and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17)…‘As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remover our transgressions from us’ (Psalm 103:12). Still others are places where, as far as we know, nothing particular of note happened…There are far more names in this group than in either of the first two…Their inclusion in the list is a reminder that life is more than simply a collection of high points and low points; it is also what happens in between…Each of them has its own part to play in God’s grand scheme of redemption. God’s faithfulness is shown to us in the little things of life and in the ordinary days just as much as it is in the defining moments…Israel now stood on the brink of…[a] sabbath of rest, as they entered the Promised land. We too may find comfort in the knowledge that our days are numbered by the Lord and that their end is his sabbath rest…the Lord will bring us safely into our heavenly dwelling place, where he has prepared a place of rest for all of his people [in Christ].” (2)
God’s Command to Drive Out the Inhabitants
“And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.”…But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.'” (Numbers 33:50-53, 55-56) “Now that they were to pass over Jordan, they were entering again into the temptation to follow idols; and they are threatened that, if they spared either the idols or the idolaters, their sin would certainly be their punishment…It was intended that the Canaanites should be put out of the land; but if the Israelites learned their wicked ways, they also would be put out…Let us hear this and fear. If we do not drive out sin, sin will drive us out. If we don’t put to death our lusts, our lusts will be the death of our souls.” (3) “Sadly, Israel never lived up to their calling to persevere in a holy war. By the end of the book of Judges, they had become completely like the peoples of the land in which they lived…The heathens had more determination to cling to their turf than the believers had to dispossess them…Eventually [Israel’s] compromises with the nations around them and among them caught up with Israel: they were exiled from the land because of the idolatrous practices they had learned from the surviving Canaanites. The threat of Numbers 33:56 was not an empty one; like the Canaanites, Israel too would discover that there were consequences to their sin.” (4) God tests our faith, to help us recognize the need to strengthen it by trusting in his power. Only through Christ can we live an empowered gospel-centered life whereby we reject the world’s values and temptations. God helps us to construct good boundaries to protect our focus. “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it.” (Psalm 139:5-6)
Boundaries and Cities of Refuge
“The Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Command the people of Israel, and say to them, When you enter the land of Canaan (this is the land that shall fall to you for an inheritance, the land of Canaan as defined by its borders)…” (Numbers 34:1-2) “Canaan was of small extent; as it is here bounded, it is but about 160 miles in length, and about 50 in breadth…This was the vineyard of the Lord, the garden enclosed; but as it is with gardens and vineyards, the narrowness of the space was made up by the fruitfulness of the soil. Though the earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof, yet few know him, and serve him; but those few are happy, fruitful to God. Also, see how little a share of the world God gives to his own people. Those who have their portion in heaven, have reason to be content with a small pittance of this earth. Yet a little that a righteous man has, having it from the love of God, and with his blessing, is far better and more comfortable than the riches of many wicked.” (5) “The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities. All the cities that you give to the Levites shall be forty-eight, with their pasturelands.” (Numbers 35:6-7) The Lord provided cities of refuge for those who had unintentionally taken a life. “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there. The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment…for refuge for the people of Israel, and for the stranger and for the sojourner among them, that anyone who kills any person without intent may flee there. But…The murderer shall be put to death…on the evidence of witnesses. But no person shall be put to death on the testimony of one witness…You shall not defile the land in which you live, in the midst of which I dwell, for I the Lord dwell in the midst of the people of Israel.” (35:9-34) Here is a picture of God’s mercy through Jesus, who gave his life as a sacrifice and refuge for sinners. Now there is only one remedy for estrangement from God created by sin—the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone reconciles us to holiness through a relationship with God; otherwise, we are polluted and far away from our perfect Ruler. By God’s grace, Israel was given his guidance, the Promised Land, power to capture the land for his holy purposes and cities of refuge. By his grace, we have Christ and his power for our sanctification.
No One Left Out
“‘Every one of the people of Israel shall hold on to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. And every daughter who possesses an inheritance in any tribe of the people of Israel shall be wife to one of the clan of the tribe of her father, so that every one of the people of Israel may possess the inheritance of his fathers. So no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another, for each of the tribes of the people of Israel shall hold on to its own inheritance’…These are the commandments and the rules that the Lord commanded through Moses to the people of Israel in the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.” (Numbers 36:8-9, 13) “Back in Numbers 27, we were introduced to Zeopphehad’s daughters, those feisty young women of faith who went to Moses to ask for a share in the inheritance in the Promised Land…this issue was a purely theological question since no land had yet been won…together these episodes bracket the story of the new generation, those who were counted in the census of Numbers 26…They are, if you like, Israel’s ‘Greatest Generation’…Like Zelophehad’s daughters, we find ourselves poised on the ridgeline looking back and looking forward. We look back to the cross, where our salvation was accomplished…[and] the resurrection, the event that guarantees our salvation…At the same time, we still look forward to the day when…Christ will return to set up his final kingdom (1 Thessalonians 4:16). Like [Zelophehad’s daughters] and their generation, therefore, we need to step out in faith, confidently believing in what God has promised us…Like them, we need to seek the Lord’s guidance in all things in the word of the Lord…We too face the constant challenge to live in accord with the faith we possess…The questions that we face may be different, but the fundamental issue of faith versus sight is still the same…The final challenge of the book of Numbers to people like us, people living on the ridgeline, is the challenge to live by faith. If we trust in the Lord and in his Word, we will not be abandoned or put to shame. That does not mean that life on the ridgeline will ever be easy….But as we step out in faith, staking our lives on Jesus Christ as our only hope in life and death, looking onward and upward to our final destination, the inheritance that God has prepared for us, we will find that the Lord is indeed faithful to his promises. The wilderness is not the end of the story. The trials and difficulties of our earthly existence are not all there is. The future belongs to the Lord and to his Christ and to all whom he has called to be his. It is promised to all those who persevere by faith in Christ, and it will assuredly be given to them on the last day. The Lord is faithful, and he will do it.” (6) The Christmas gifts are unwrapped, and the goodies from Monday may be consumed, but God’s gift of grace in Christ is endless. And his Word continues to be relevant until the day we reach the Promised Land. “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
Related Scripture: Exodus 11:7; 12:37-39; 14:19-22: Deuteronomy 19:1-7; 32:8; Joshua 3:17; 14:1-4; 15:1-18:10; 20:1-9; Psalm 105; 2 Corinthians 13:1; 1 Timothy 5:19; Hebrews 10:26-30;
Notes:
1. Duguid, Iain M., Numbers—God’s Presence in the Wilderness, Numbers 33-34, Crossway Books, 2006.
2. Duguid, Ibid.
3. Henry, Matthew, Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary on the Bible, Numbers 33:50-56, www.studylight.org/commentaries/mhn/numbers-33.html
4. Duguid, Ibid.
5. Henry, Numbers 34, Ibid.
6. Duguid, Numbers 36, Ibid.
December 28, 2023
Divine Wisdom for Daily Living by Joanne Colvin 