I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 34-36.

    The most interesting part of this passage is the establishment of the cities of refuge. It provided a place of refuge where someone who had accidentally killed another person could go to avoid being killed by the dead person’s relatives. The killer still had to stand trial to determine whether the death was truly accidental. One of the points was that if you caused someone’s death by striking them with an object, the death was not considered accidental. There is a list of things which indicate that even if you did not intend to kill the person, you did intend to cause them serious harm. However, there is also a list of things which suggest that the death was indeed an accident. Finally, it is worth noting that even if the person is found to have not purposely killed the victim, there are still consequences which they will suffer.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 32-33.

    When the tribes of Reuben and Gad saw the land which the Israelites had conquered on the east side of the Jordan, they saw it as perfect for their lifestyle. They approached Moses to request that it be made their inheritance rather than land on the west side of the Jordan. Moses immediately assumed that they did not want to face the people on the other side of the river, just as the previous generation had not wanted to enter the Promised Land. He assumed the worst about them. They were quick to explain that they were not only willing, but eager to fight alongside their brothers from the rest of the tribes. There is an important lesson for us here. The tribes knew how their request would be misunderstood and were prepared to answer the accusation. They did not ask for the land in order as a way to fighting alongside their fellow Israelites, nor did they use their desire for the land east of the Jordan as an excuse to avoid the fighting. In the same way, we should be quick to volunteer to do the hard work associated with the goals of the organizations we are part of, even when the activities we are interested in do not require it.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 30-31.

    A short time after the Moabite plot to seduce Israelite men into worship of Baal of Peor the Israelites went to war against the Midianites in retaliation. There are some who are confused by this transition from Moabites to Midianites. However, there are two things which make clear what was going on here. First, before Balak sent for Balaam he consulted with the elders of Midian. Second, this passage records that when the Israelites defeated the Midianites they killed Balaam. Balaam’s presence among the Midianites lends support to the statement by Paul in the New Testament that Balaam advised Balak to have the women seduce the Israelites into Baal worship. Finally, Moses command after the battle to kill all of the women who were not virgins supports the idea that the plague which struck the Israelites was a sexually transmitted disease. A final point which supports the idea that there was significant disease among the Midianites was that all of the men who went into the battle, all of their captives, and all of the plunder needed to be washed with the “water of purification” (which was either soapy water or lye water–lye dissolved in water…the ritual for preparing water of purification would result in one or the other, I am not sure which).

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 27-29.

    Every time I read this passage it seems to me that there is a deep insight to be found in the story of Zelophehad’s daughters. I have struggled with finding that insight. However, as I was thinking about writing that I could not find that insight something came to my mind. In that society, women were economically provided for by their father and/or brothers until such a time as they married. The ruling here said that women whose father had died and who had no brothers should be able to economically provide for themselves. They should not be forced to throw themselves on the mercy of the first man they could find who was willing to support them.

    When Moses realized that his death was near he acted to ensure strong leadership for the people of Israel. However, Moses did not wait until that time to prepare for it. Ever since the people had left Egypt, Joshua had worked as Moses’ deputy. However, Moses also realized that there needed to be a separation of spiritual and secular leadership. Over time when the two roles are combined either the concerns of being secular leader will corrupt the spiritual side or the concerns of being spiritual leader will belittle the needs on the secular side. This is a problem which every organization faces. If the organization is a purely secular one the problem is minor. However, for religious organizations this is a problem which must be dealt with. The secular and spiritual leadership should work together, but they should be separate people whose only common interest is the good of the organization.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 25-26.

    After Balak’s failure to get Balaam to curse the Israelites, the local Moabite women seduced some of the Israelite men into worshiping Baal of Peor. The passage tells us that God told Moses to have the ringleaders of this among the men of Israel put to death. Moses called together the leaders of the people of Israel to give them God’s command about this. As he finished doing this, an Israelite man brought a Midianite woman into his tent right there where Moses and the assembled people could see him doing so. This indicates a certain brazenness, an expectation that no one would, or could, do anything to stop him. Aaron’s grandson, the son of Eleazar (who succeeded Aaron as high priest), grabbed a spear and killed the man.

    OK, my analysis of this passage. The first thing that confuses some people is the shift from Moabite women to Midianite women. However, this is not as big of a switch as it might seem. Before Balak sent emissaries to Balaam he consulted with the elders of Midian, which suggests that the Moabites and the Midianites were both part of one nation at the time. The next thing of interest is that, while the Moabite and Midianite women seduced Israelite men and involved them in the worship practices of Baal of Peor, there were leaders among the Israelites drawing other men into the practice. So, this was not just a case of foreign women leading Israelite men astray. The men themselves recruited other men to the practice of Baal worship. The final thing I want to bring up is that there was apparently a plague caused by the Israelite men doing this. The passage does not say so, but it is reasonable to suppose that this plague was some sort of sexually transmitted disease. I said that was the final point, but there is one more thing I want to write about this. This passage reminds us that sexual immorality is intrinsically linked with idol worship. That is, those who practice sexually immoral practices inevitably get drawn into idol worship/

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 22-24.

    The next king who found himself in the path of the Israelites tried a different approach to that taken by the previous two. He sent messengers to summon Balaam. We do not really know much about Balaam, but he was clearly a prophet of some kind with a reputation for getting results. Anyway, the story is that when Balak’s representatives first came to Balaam, Balaam asked God what he should do and God told him not to go with them. When Balak sent a second group of messengers, Balaam once again asked God what he should do. This time God told him to go with them, but only say what God told him to say. However, when Balaam set out, God sent an angel to kill him. Balaam only escaped with his life because of his faithful donkey.

    The passage tells us that God sent the angel because He was angry with Balaam for going with Balak’s messengers (the similarities between the two names in this story has caused me no end of confusion when listening to sermons on this passage, especially in my childhood days). This always struck me as unfair, since God had told him to go with them. There is however a lesson for us to learn here. If we persist in asking God for something, He may grant us what we asked for, but that does not mean He wanted that for us. That being said, I do not believe that God intended for the angel to kill Balaam. Instead, the angel was intended to remind Balaam that he must only say what God tells him to say. That is an important lesson for us. We must strive in all we say and do to only say or do those things which God tells us to say or do.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading. I had been using One Year Bible Online, but it was time for a change.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Numbers 19-21.

    The King of Edom refused the people of Israel passage through his land. He mustered his army and confronted them at the border. As a result, the Israelites turned back and went another way. Later, two other kings also refused the Israelites passage. However, these two kings were not satisfied with mustering their armies and defending their borders. Instead they launched an attack against the Israelites. The result in these latter cases is that the Israelites completely conquered those who attacked them.

    There is a lesson here for us (actually two). The King of Edom made a show of force, but did not initiate violence. By doing this he gained the outcome he desired. The Israelites did not enter his lands. The other two kings also made a show of force, but they initiated violence. Not only did they fail to keep the Israelites out of their land, they were completely destroyed. The lesson here is that there are times when a show of force is called for, but we need to resist the urge to be the first to turn to violence. The second lesson is that is we follow God’s lead, He will defeat our enemies for us.