Numbers 26-33 Recap | OT Ep 20

In this epidsode, Austin and Ashley recap Numbers 26-33 and discuss inheritance, leadership transitions, and the responsibilities outlined in the Book of Numbers. We see a transition from the old unfaithful generation, to the new one...the one that would eventually enter the Promised Land. The discussion also touches on God's judgment and mercy, particularly in the context of the Midianite conflict.  As always, we are finding Jesus in places you may not expect. Check it out!

Reading Plan - Old Testament in One Year
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Transcript

Hey everyone,

My name is Austin. And my name is Ashley. Welcome to the Clean Slate Podcast. Where we're finding Jesus in the Old Testament.

Hey friends, welcome in to episode 20. Today we're going to be recapping Numbers chapters 26 through 33.

We start chapter 26 with the Lord telling Moses and Eleazar to take another census of this new generation. Now remember, Eleazar has now taken the high priest position since his father Aaron had passed. The purpose of the first census back in chapter one was for moving out and to field an army should they need to, which they did.

Now the purpose of this census is for their inheritance of the land. The tribes with more people are going to need more land, and that makes sense. The chapter goes on to list the census out by tribe, which is pretty straightforward. But something in verse 11 caught my eye.

So verses nine through 11 quickly recount the event in chapter 16, where Korah rebels and speaks against Moses, and God makes the ground swallow them whole. So in our current chapter, 26 verse 11 says, but the sons of Korah did not die.

So we were talking about this in small group and after rereading chapter

at the end of verse 32 it says all the people who belonged to Korah

which means that it was everyone backing Korah up in speaking out against Moses. Chapter 26 verse 11 helps to clarify for us that his sons were not with him and therefore are a part of this new faithful generation. It's clear in the closing verses of the new census that the Exodus generation is gone. Verse 64 says, among these there was not one of those, meaning from the previous census, listed by Moses and Aaron.

Verse 65, not one of them was left. Of course, except Joshua and Caleb.

Now after the census, the beginning of chapter 27, we see a group of daughters whose father has died in the wilderness and had no sons to carry on his last name, and therefore his heritage would die. They approach Moses and Eleazar and were careful to point out that he was not one of those who gathered with Korah, but died of his own sins, and asks if there is a way for his name to live on. And the Lord agrees and says

they should be given an inheritance among their father's brothers, and even lays out what should happen in several different situations similar to these daughters. Now, it is important to note that women could already inherit property,

but she would take that property into a different family upon marriage and her family line would come to an end. So with the instructions God gives here for families with only daughters, when those women marry, their husband and children will be counted as part of the woman's paternal heritage. In modern terms, this would kind of be akin to the husband taking on the wife's last name.

So through this, the daughters of Zilophehad are able to carry on his heritage.

Verse 12 starts a new section with a rather weighty title. It says, Joshua to succeed Moses. My goodness, what a pair of shoes Joshua has to fill. So the Lord tells Moses something similar to Aaron, to go up the mountain and be gathered to his people, meaning it was getting close to his time to die. Remember that due to Moses' sin, he was unable to physically enter the promised land.

But the Lord was so kind to Moses in that he let him go up the mountain and see the promised land, the land that God had used Moses to lead these people to. And Moses asked God to appoint another man so the sheep would not be without a shepherd. God tells him to appoint Joshua and have him stand before Eleazar and the entire congregation so they will know that Joshua is the one who walks with God's Spirit in him

and was God's new mouthpiece to the people.

And in verse 22, Moses did as the Lord commanded concerning Joshua.

Moving into the next couple of chapters, we see the Lord still has some words for Moses to speak to the people.

Chapters 28 and 29 involve the Lord reminding this new generation of the offerings and festivals they are to keep. Some of them were probably very young throughout this 40 year span in the wilderness, so I think it's a great kindness of God to recount all of these things for them. Now remember that these holidays,

just like ours are times of feasting with loved ones. For Israel, this was also a reminder that God also feasted with them through these offerings.

Now we have seen many of these before, so I'm not going to go through every single one of them again. But I wanted to point out that with this reminder, it would have been a bolster to their faith. let me explain. The sacrifices described in chapters 28 and 29

would have called for a total of 113 bulls, 1,086 lambs, more than one ton of flour, and 1,000 bottles of oil and wine. The Lord would have to make them a successful agricultural society after reaching the promised land to meet all of these sacrificial requirements. Something interesting to note,

these feasts is that in most of the celebrations the language used for being a day of rest is to do no ordinary work. In the Hebrew that is literally translated work of labor. This is different from the day of atonement. The language used in the passage in chapter 29 verses 7 through 11 is you shall do no work. That implies a more solemn attitude toward the work on day of atonement than these

I think this is so that the people would really stop and understand that their atonement wasn't from any of their work.

In fact, they could do no work to make it completely obvious. So it was literally impossible for their actions to make atonement for them. Ephesians chapter two, verses eight and nine say, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing. It is the gift of God, not as a result of works so that no one may boast.

Remember that every believer's eternity was determined by their faith in God's promise to send the one who would crush the head of the serpent and redeem his creation.

What the Israelites knew by faith, we know by name as Jesus the King.

And to close out chapter 29, we read, just as the Lord had commanded him.

Chapter 30 discusses how men and women's vows are to be upheld.

Men's vows are always to be upheld, meaning that they are responsible for them and their outcome.

Women's vows are always to be upheld provided either their father when they are younger or their husband when they are grown up and married don't nullify them. Notice that both men and women do in fact speak for themselves.

This is another one of those chapters that at a glance could seem as the world would deem it in our time misogynistic. But what is actually going on here

is not a case of freedom or control, rather who is responsible. To frame this up right, let's look back at Genesis chapters 1 through 3.

to rule over creation and Eve was made to help him do that because he could not do it alone.

The reality is that Adam and Eve are perfectly equal in value, but they had different roles. And you can see that when after Adam and Eve ate the fruit that they were forbidden to eat, God addresses Adam first and last.

In Genesis chapter 3 verses 8-12, God is addressing Adam as the caretaker of God's creation.

God then goes on to address and deal out punishments for disobedience to the serpent and Eve. And then in verses 17 through 19, He doles out Adam's punishment.

So now we have that proper lens on, let's talk about who is responsible. As I mentioned in the case of Adam, Eve ate the fruit and God came to him first as caretaker.

Notice that Adam wasn't being held guilty for the serpent's deception or Eve eating the fruit, but he was being held responsible. And because of his failure, all of creation suffered the consequences.

In the same way, we husbands and fathers aren't guilty for the sins and mistakes of our family, but we are responsible for the people we care for.

So flipping back over to Numbers chapter 30, it's not that the woman can't speak for herself. It is that the care of the family falls on the father or husband in such a way that he is responsible for what she vows to do. And in a way of protecting her and the family unit is able to override a vow that he deems harmful to her or the family.

But as we say all the time, there is more than one thing going on here. In the New Testament, in the Gospel of John, and many other places, it is made plain that we, who are the Church, are the Bride of Christ Himself.

Jesus, unlike us husbands and fathers, and unlike Adam, came and kept God's law perfectly and then paid the price that we couldn't pay for our own sins.

You could say that he nullified our oath to try and work for our salvation because he knew we couldn't do it. How great is our King and the bridegroom of the church?

And just on a real note,

thank God that Jesus speaks for me and says I'm responsible for her and her debt is paid in full.

Moving out of that gospel glimpse, we enter into chapter 31. When we read chapter 31, we need to remember back to Numbers chapters 22 through 25 and remember what happened with Balaam and in chapter 25, what happened with some of the Israelites falling away to worship Baal.

Remember that it was the Moabites and the Midianites that wanted Balaam to curse the Israelites, but God kept that curse from happening.

That said, we see in this chapter that Balaam was also killed in this war between Israel and Midian. We also see that Moses states that it was Balaam's idea to send over the women of Midian to try and seduce the men of Israel away from the worship of Yahweh.

So thinking back to those previous chapters, Balaam knew that God would kill him for verbally cursing Israel.

When Balaam realized he wasn't going to be able to get away with doing that, it seems that he tried a backdoor way of kind of getting at Israel.

So if you've read chapter 31, there are some really difficult parts for those of us who read it here in the 21st century. If we're being honest, since most of us have grown up studying the New Testament more than the Old Testament and knowing about the saving grace of our Lord Jesus, this passage of scripture feels almost like it doesn't belong.

There's a study resource that Crossway puts out called Knowing the Bible. And there are a couple of summaries of this passage that I want to quote because I think they so perfectly sum up the more than one thing going on here that we often reference

quote, the stubborn generation is gone and a faithful generation has arisen. this passage, Moses begins to prepare the new generation to enter and settle the land.

He teaches them the conduct of war in Numbers 31, verse 1 through 54, and the rules of settlement after conquest, Numbers 32, 1 through 42. Many features in this passage are troubling to some readers. War is always a terrible matter, and aspects of its prosecution openly recorded in these paragraphs are intended to sober us.

There are always two sides to every work of judgment. One, visiting the wicked with condemnation and two, visiting the righteous with their reward. The conquest of Canaan shows both sides of God's judgment. These events in Canaan serve to foreshadow what God will one day bring about in His final judgment upon the whole world. As we study this passage, God's word sobers and comforts us in preparation for that coming consummation.

of his kingdom."

The author goes on to say, God's judgments show no partiality or respect for persons. That's Romans chapter two, verses six through 11. When Israel sins with Midian the same judgment is deserved by both nations.

God's justice will not make exceptions for Israel.

The entire nation of Israel, beginning with its leaders, deserves to perish. And God begins a plague to bring that about. That's in Numbers chapters 25.

But the people of Israel repent, and one of the priests executes atonement among them.

Thus God's judgment against Israel is fully satisfied. In the judgment thereafter executed upon Midian for their role in all this evil, all of Midian perishes, but not a single person further among Israel dies.

Such a result illustrates the full satisfaction provided through the priestly atonement on behalf of the penitent, who would otherwise deserve judgment just as the world

end quote.

Chapter is a passage that makes us step back and think about things. Where I hope we land is thinking about the holiness and kindness of our God. He is so holy that His standard of judgment will be upheld in all of the earth. He is not like corrupt judges that break the law in order to show kindness. Yet, He is able to show kindness because He always makes a way for us to be made right with Him.

We enter into chapter 32 with the tribes of Reuben and Gad having great amounts of livestock.

They see that the country of Gilead is good for livestock and decide they want to settle there. The problem with this is that the land of Gilead lies outside the borders of the promised land. In verse five, they ask Moses permission to stay there. Starting in verse six, Moses asked him some questions in what is essentially a rebuke.

What Moses is driving at is that their ancestors decided on more than one occasion to not only disagree with Moses, but to outright disobey the commandment of God. This is what caused them to wander in the wilderness until that whole generation had passed away.

Moses warns this current generation of Reuben and Gad that if they defy God's commandment to take the promised land, God will send the whole nation back into the wilderness and a whole generation would pass away.

As a side note, Moses strong response here is really warranted. If you stop and think about it, think about all the times in Exodus and Leviticus that the Israelites opposed Moses. He is ready to make his stand because he knows that if they oppose him here, it would mean disaster for the people. But to Reuben and Gads credit, they compromise.

They say that Gilead will be their inheritance, but they will send their men to fight in Canaan until the land is won for their brothers. This surprises Moses, but he accepts the compromise.

This also shows the humility of this generation. Rather than arguing with Moses, they go back to the drawing board and figure out a way to make sure they're honoring the Lord's command as well as settling in a place that suits their needs.

As we close out our recap for today, chapter 33 we get a concise recounting of Israel's journey up to this point. 49, this journey is detailed out. This is another reason the Bible stands out amongst other ancient texts. It often gives specific details that have never been proven inaccurate.

In the last six verses of chapter 33, Moses again reminds them that the land should divided up in accordance with how many people there are in each tribe.

And in the last two verses, he gives a stark warning.

Verse 55 says, but if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them who 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. Verse 56 says, and this is God talking, and I will do to you as I thought to do to them. That last sentence should chill them to the bone. In the 40 years since the Exodus,

God has shown both mercy and wrath. He always tilts toward mercy, but as the Scriptures say, he will not be mocked.

A passage we mentioned earlier is Romans 2 starting in verse 1 and ending in verse 11. Verse 11 ends by telling us that there is no partiality in God, and a good deal of that passage explains how those who have hardened hearts toward God are storing up wrath for themselves on the Day of Judgment.

But in verse 4, we get a beautiful reminder that God's kindness, His patience, and long-suffering love are meant to bring us to repentance. Friend, if you are far from Him, turn away from the life you're living and put your faith and trust in Christ. You will find a Savior that is more than able to save you and a God who wants you. You'll find a love deeper and more real than anything that you have ever known.

That's right. And if that's you, friend,

And if you have questions about what the Bible says about finding forgiveness and making your life right with God.

Feel free to email us at podcast.cleanslate, C-L-E-A-N-S-L-A-T-E, at gmail.com

podcast.cleanslate@gmail.com

be happy to provide you with some answers and resources. And with that,

That's gonna do it for today's recap. May His grace abound to you and to me as we study to find Jesus in the Old Testament.