Numbers 22-25 - the Life of Moses

(My BSF notes)

Last week we saw Israel complain again about the food and water so God sent a judgment of poisonous snakes.  Some of the people were bitten and died.  God then told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it on a pole.  When the people who were bitten looked on it, they would live.  God didn’t remove the snakes, just as He doesn’t remove sin from the world.  Instead He provided a way to cure every person of sin.  All we have to do is to look at the cross and believe Jesus died on our behalf. 

Numbers 22 – Balaam’s Summons

Israel traveled to Moab and camped by the Jordan. The people of Moab heard about Israel’s battles with Sihon and Og and what Israel had done to them.  They were terrified of the two million Israelites and were filled with dread.  (Num. 22:1-3)  They could have had peace talks and maybe formed a treaty or they could have taken their concerns to God.  They really had no reason to fear, because God had forbidden Israel to attack Moab.   They just assumed they were in danger so the king of Moab, Balak sent for Balaam and asked him to put a curse on Israel. 

Who was this Balaam?  Is he a real prophet?  Is he a believer?  It’s confusing to tell here.  He had an reputation of being a great sorcerer and was hired by Balak to put a curse on Israel.   Later in Numbers 25 we will see the Israelites get into sexual immorality with Moabite women and worship their gods.  Then later in Numbers 31 we will see that this was Balaam’s idea.  He gave the advice to send in the women to the Israelite men.  He was offered lots of money to make Israel go away.  At first you think he is not going to give in the temptation, but we don’t see the whole story here.  1 Peter 2:15 warns about false teachers and mentions Balaam.  And in Rev. 2:14 Jesus rebukes the church at Pergamos for teaching the doctrine of Balaam.

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality” – 1 Thess. 4:3.  “Flee sexual immorality.  All other sins a man commits are outside the body, but he who commits sexually sins against his own body.” – 1 Cor. 6:18.  God wants us to keep sex where it belongs, in marriage.

It is possible that Balaam was a believer.  He did speak for God by blessing Israel.  Then we read in Num. 24:1 that he resorted to sorcery at times.  If he was a believer, he is not one you want to be like.  The New Testament makes it pretty clear he was a false teacher. (1 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Rev. 2:14)  False teachers know enough about God and speak the right words to convenience others they are true believers.  Remember God can use anyone He wants to carry out His plan.

The Moab messengers took a fee for divination for Balaam hoping it would convince him to put a curse on Israel.  Balaam didn’t refuse or send them away.  Instead he asks them to spend the night and that he would ask the Lord what he should do.  God asked Balaam who these men were and Balaam told God what they wanted.  God answered Balaam telling him not to go with them and not to put a curse on Israel, because they are blessed. (Num 22:7-12)

Balak didn’t take no for an answer, but sent more messengers to Balaam, probably with more money.

Balaam refused, but asked them to stay the night again and he would ask the Lord what to do.  God then allowed Balaam to go with them, probably only to send a message to Balak.

So Balaam rose in the morning and saddled his donkey and went with the princes of Moab.  Then God gets angry.  Is God changing His mind?  I think Balaam is getting excited about financial gain and God is concerned he will get carried away with his lust for money. 

Then the angel of the Lord with his sword stood in the road in front of the donkey.  Balaam didn’t see the angel, but the donkey did.  The donkey turned and went into the field and Balaam struck him to get back on the path.  Balaam kept pushing the donkey and then God opened the donkey’s mouth and he spoke to Balaam.  The donkey is caught between the angel of the Lord with his sword and Balaam’s stick.  Balaam is caught between God’s will and Balak’s pushing for a curse.  This is funny story and a miracle, but the point of the story is the humiliation of Balaam.

Finally Balaam saw the angel of the Lord and bowed down.  The angel told Balaam to go with the men and speak only what he is told.  So Balaam went with them.  Then Balak took Balaam to higher ground to get a glimpse of part of the Israelites hoping to change his mind.

Do you try to manipulate God?

Where are you comprising God’s commands?

When has God spoke to you in an unusual way?

God uses the most unlikely people and even used a donkey, so are you willing to let God use you?

Principle:  God will not be manipulated.

Numbers 23-24 – Balaam’s Oracles

(Balaam 1^st Oracle, Num. 23:1-12)  An oracle is a parable or a poem.  The divination begins.  Balaam had Balak built 7 altars and prepare 7 bulls and 7 rams as offerings.  This is part of Balaam pagan practice.  Then he went to the Lord to influence Him as to what he should do.  The Lord told Balaam again not to curse Israel, because they are a people set apart.  They are holy people.  Balaam returned to Balak and told him what the Lord said.  Balaam promised he would say only what God told him to say.

(Balaam’s 2^nd Oracle, Num. 23:13-26)  Balak was angry and took Balaam to another place where he can see all the people.  Again Balaam built 7 altars with 7 offerings.   Balaam then went to God for an answer.  God told him that He cannot lie and does not change His mind.  God promised to bless Israel.  Needless to say Balak was very angry.

(Balaam’s 3^rd Oracle, Num. 23:27-24:14)   Balak took Balaam to another place thinking this might change his mind.  Balak didn’t give up.  Again Balaam built 7 altars and prepared 7 offerings.  Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel and didn’t use sorcery as he had done before.  Doesn’t sound like he’s a believer to me.  The spirit of God came upon him and uttered his oracle.  This sounds confusing, because he is not a believer.  God used him anyway.  God gave future blessings on Israel.  They would live abundantly.  Kings and kingdoms would be exalted and they would devour hostile nations.   Of course Balak’s anger burned against Balaam.

(Balaam’s 4^th Oracle, Num. 24:15-19)  Balaam told Balak that he can do nothing on his own beyond the command of the Lord and that he was going back to his people.  Before he left he gave Balak a warning.  He predicted that One who is greater than David will come and reign on the throne forever. This of course is Jesus.  Israel would conquer Moab and Edom and Israel will be strong.

(Balaam’s Final Oracle, Num. 24:20-25)  Balaam gave his final oracle predicting Israel’s future conquering of the Amelkites, Kenites, Asshur, and Eber.  Then Balaam returned home and Balak went away.

Balaam’s sin was the love of money.  It’s a good reminder that no one can serve both God and money. (Matt. 6:24)  Money itself is not good or bad, but it’s the love of money that is the root to evil. (1 Tim 6:10)  Loving money can lead to discontent.  The more money you have can lead you to not depending on God.

Balaam’s words didn’t make him a true prophet.  He was a pagan prophet for hire.  He only repeated God’s words.  He didn’t believe in the Lord as the only true God.  He practiced divination and sorcery.  He was out for himself.  He was a people-pleaser.  He lusted for money.  He was a false teacher.  His motives were obedience for profits and eventually led to his death.  He realized the power of God, but his heart was occupied by the wealth he could gain in Moab.  There he returned to die when the armies of Israel invaded.

Do you believe in the one true living God?    

Are you certain you are going to heaven?

If not, will you repent and confess your sins and trust Him to forgive?   

Take Him at His Word and believe that Jesus is the Son of God who died for you, rose to life on the 3^rd day, and sits on the right hand of God.  Then stop doubting and trust in your salvation.  Satan loves it when we doubt God.  Stay on your knees in prayer.  Stay in His Word daily so He can assure you of your inheritance.

Principles: 

"I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." - Job 42:2

God never changes His ideas about sin or His ideas about salvation.

How are you tempted to make plans to do what you want instead of what God wants?

Will you ask Him to show you what is best for you?

Numbers 25 – Israel’s Seduction

While the Israelites were camped in Moab country, they began committing immoralities.  They were having sex with temple prostitutes and with those whom they were not married.  They also committed spiritual immorality.  They bowed down before the Moab gods and worshiped the god Baal of Peor.  The Lord’s anger burned against them.  God told Moses to have the leaders of the rebellious people killed and expose them in front of the whole assembly of people.  God wanted all the people to see the consequences of their sins.  One sin leads to another.  First they sinned by having immoral sex and that lead to worshipping the Moabite gods.

There was an Israelite man who brought a Midianite woman into the tent and for sex.  When Phinehas, son of Eleazer, son of Aaron the priest, saw this he could not contain himself.  They were dishonoring God!  He took his sword and killed both the man and the woman.  The plague against Israel was stopped.  24,000 died in the plague. (the plague is the immoralities)

God said to Moses, “Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them.”  - Num. 25:11.  Phinehas had a pure motive.  It was nothing about revenge or self-serving, but it was only about God’s honor.  God then made a covenant of lasting priesthood with Phinehas and his descendants, because he made atonement for the Israelites.  From that point on God told Israel to treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them.

God protects His people.  God is our protector and will not tolerate sin.

How zealously are you honoring God with your choices?

When has your sin influenced others?

What situation have you honored God when others did not?

Principles:

God may permit sin, but he never tolerates it.
Zealousness for God's honor is displayed by our heartfelt obedience.

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Numbers 21 - The Life of Moses

Last week we learned the death of Miriam, Moses’ sister and the death of Aaron, Moses’ brother.  We saw how God made Aaron’s son, Eleazor the new high priest to take Aaron’s place.  There was to always be a high priest.  This was essential and anticipates the coming of the only true high priest, Jesus.

Numbers 21:1-3 – The Vow to God

The Israelites needed to conquer the country of Canaan before they could occupy it as their Promised Land.  This took them about 7 years.  There were several kings who ruled their territories within the country.   The Lord delivered these Canaanite territories into the hands of Israel.

The first victory was at Arad.  The king of Arad heard about the Israelites and attacked them as they traveled and captured some of the people.  The Israelites didn’t try to free the captives.  Instead they went to God.  Finally they took their concerns and problems to God.  They made a vow to God saying, “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” - Num 21:2.  God listened and gave the Canaanites over to Israel.  So they completely destroyed them and their cities.

What promise have you made to God?

Do you depend on Him to keep His promises?

When should you have depended on God, but did not?

What were the results?

Principles: 

God is faithful and keeps His promises.

Trust and dependency on God results in victory.

Numbers 21:4-20 – The Bronze Snake

They continued to travel around Edom.  Remember in our last lesson Edom wouldn’t let them pass through their land.  The Israelites didn’t want to fight with them because they were relatives.  Also God had instructed them not to make war with them.  Now, Israel became impatient since their travels were taking longer than they expected so they began to complain again.  They complained against God and Moses about having no bread and no water.  (Num. 21:4-5)

Impatience usually brings trouble.  The fruit of the Spirit is patience.  God wants us to slow down and grow at His pace, not ours.  We are to “wait on the Lord”.  God provided daily manna and water for the Israelites.  Jesus gives us the water that gives life.  In the Bible water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit.  Everyone who believes in Jesus receives the Holy Spirit that guides us in the way we are to live.

God had provided all they needed, but they weren’t grateful for it.  They rejected God’s blessing of manna.  So God punished them by sending poisonous snakes.  The snakes bit some of the people and many died.  The people then came to Moses and confessed their sin and asked him to pray for God to take the snakes away.  Faithful Moses again interceded for the people.

When has your impatience and complaining led you to sin? 

Are you grateful for how God has provided for you?

How do you show that gratitude?

Principles: 

Impatience can lead to sin.

God provides all we need.

God did not remove the snakes.  Instead he told Moses to make a bronze snake and put it up on a pole so when those who were bitten looked on it, they would live.  In John 3:14 Jesus referred to this when talking about His death.  “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal.”   ”  

I am sure Moses didn’t understand why God told him to make a bronze snake.  God commanded the people not to make images.  Wasn’t a snake associated with Satan?  The snake was the cause of Adam and Eve’s fall in Genesis and sin entered the world.  A serpent is a symbol of sin and evil.  Moses was to lift the serpent or sin on a pole and all who had been bitten by sin would not die.  All the world has been bitten by sin and every person is dying.  “For the wages of sin is death ...” – Rom. 6:23.  God didn’t remove the snakes, and He doesn’t remove sin from the world.  Instead He provided a way to cure every person of sin.  All we have to do is to look at the cross and believe Jesus died on our behalf.  Sin is like a serpent’s bite.  It is deadly poison within us.  We can’t heal ourselves.  We can only be healed by the blood of Jesus.

Principle:  Look on Jesus to save you and give you eternal life.

Have you realized that you have been bitten by the deadly snake of sin?

When you look at the cross, what do you see?

What do you believe about Jesus?

Have you let Jesus heal you of your sin?

Do you believe he died for you?

Numbers 21:21-35 – The Victory Over Sihon and Og

The Israelites continued on their journey to the Promised Land and came to the territory of the Amorites.  They sent messages to Sihon, the king of the Amorites asking him if they could pass through the land.  Sihon would not let them and sent his entire army out into the desert against Israel.  They fought and Israel won.  They captured all the cities and the surrounding settlements.  Israel then settled their in the land.  They also defeated the Amorites in the city of Jazer.  This battle would be important.  God would use this victory to shake up Israel’s future enemies.

Then they traveled toward Bashan and king Og marched out to battle with them.  Og was a giant, but God was bigger.  God told Israel not to be afraid and that He had handed him over to them.  King Og and his army were defeated leaving no survivors.   They took possession of his land. 

What fear do you face?  We should not be afraid, because God loves us and in on our side.  He is much bigger than our enemies.  “… If God is for us, who can be against us?” – Rom 8:31

Principles: 

God uses victories in our past to build and prepare us for future battles.

You can rely on God for spiritual victories.

When have you ever been attacked for no reason?

How has God come to your rescue?

All this destroying and killing may sound harsh, but today we don’t think it’s wrong to kill innocent unborn babies.  Remember the Promised Land belonged to God before the Canaanites established residency there.  It was God’s plan to give this land to Abraham’s descendants. “In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here.” - Gen. 15:16.  The Canaanites were wicked and rebellious people.  They worship gods with crude sexual practices and human sacrifices.  So God used the Israelites to bring His judgment on them.  Also God didn’t want the Israelites to be influenced by this sinful Canaanite civilization.

Was it fair for the Canaanites to be destroyed?  If God were fair, none of us could see His perfect heaven someday.  We are all Canaanites in some way, but because of Jesus our sins have been forgiven.  Thank God that he is not fair.

Note:  The Book of the Wars of the Lord mentioned in verses 14-16 is a collection of odes of the time of Moses containing the early history of Israel’s battles.  It probably contained stories, songs, and poems about war.  We don’t have any copies of this book today.

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Numbers 20 - The Life of Moses

Last week we saw 12 spies sent to explore Canaan and how they brought back a divided report.  This chapter brings us to the last year of Israel’s journey.  It begins with the death of Miriam and ends with the death of Aaron.  In the middle of the chapter we see the failure of Moses and Aaron causing God to not allow them to enter the Promise Land.  Years have passed and now there is a new generation.  They are complaining and grumbling to Moses just like their fathers.

Numbers 20:1 – Miriam’s Death

The Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin and stayed in Kadesh. There Moses’ sister Miriam died (Num. 20:1).  Only a few words are said of her here.  I am sure Moses and Aaron were very sad about her death.  We know some of her history from our past studies.  When Moses was a baby, she saved him from death (Ex. 2).  She led the women to thank God after they escaped Egypt and crossed the Red Sea (Ex. 15).  She helped Moses and Aaron lead the Israelites on their journey in the desert.  She spoke against Moses, but God forgave her.  However, she suffered punishment from God (Num. 12). 

Numbers 20:2-13 – Moses’ Sin

Again the Israelites had no water to drink and cried out to Moses and Aaron.  They wished they had died suddenly like the some of the others had done.  They had not learned anything from their fathers during their 38 years.  They still didn’t go to God with their concerns, but complained to Moses.  This was similar to Ex. 17:1-7 when they complained about no water and God told Moses to use his staff to strike the rock and water would come out of the rock.

How are you influencing your children and what sins are they picking up from you?

Where do you turn when you need help?

Do you simply complain or do you turn to God for help?

Again Moses didn’t argue with the people, but took Aaron and together they prayed to God.  As we would say, “take it to the Lord” and that’s just what they did.  

Do you take your problems and concerns to the Lord?

This time God didn’t tell Moses to strike the rock, but to speak to the rock and water would come out.  However, Moses said to the people, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” – Num. 20:10.  Then Moses struck the rock 2 times and water gushed out.  Then God said, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” – Num. 20:12. 

Do you take credit for what God has done or do you give Him all the glory?

Do you trust God in a few things or in all things?

I feel sorry for Moses.  He had waited so long to enter the Promise Land and now he would not.  He had put up with all the peoples’ complaints and was probably frustrated with them.  His patience finally broke.  His response was only human.  It was still a failure and a sin.  It was unbelief.  Moses spoke to the people out of anger instead of the rock as God commanded.  He didn’t follow God’s instruction and he didn’t glorify God.  He said, “Must we bring you water out of this rock?”  He wasn’t giving God the credit.  He didn’t fully trust God.  Moses spoke rashly and thoughtlessly.  “By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God and rash words came from Moses’ lips.” – Ps. 106:32-33.

Maybe you think Moses punishment was somewhat harsh, but remember the next generation was watching.  God wanted them to see how important it was to obey.  God didn’t kill Moses.  He took him home.

When has your failure to trust God harmed the faith of others?  They are harmed when others see us worry instead of trusting God, when we try to fix things on our own instead of taking it to God, and anytime the choices we make cause those of weaker faith to stumble.  Remember, others are watching and as Christians we need to set a good example.

Principle:  Trust and glorify God in all things.

Numbers 20:14-21 – Passage Denied

Moses sent a message from Kadesh to the king of Edom asking him if they could cut across his country on their way Moab.  If you remember, the people of Edom were descendants of Esau in Gen. 26.  The Israelites were descendants of Jacob, Esau’s brother.  In the message Moses reminded the king they were his relatives and not to consider them as enemies.  If the king would let them pass through, they would not disturb their fields or take any crops or water.  The king refused.  Moses asked him again, but he still refused and sent his large and powerful army to stop them.  The Israelites could have fought, because God and helped them fight their enemies before.  This was not God’s plan so Moses decided to go another way.

Numbers 20:22-29 - Aaron’s Death

The Israelites then traveled to Mount Hor.  God told Moses, Aaron and Aaron’s son Eleazar to go up on Hor, because it was time for Aaron to die.  God didn’t kill him.  He died of natural causes and was blessed with a long life.  He was 123 years old.  Even though Aaron wouldn’t enter the Promised Land because he and Moses didn’t follow God’s instruction, before he died God blessed him by letting him see his son be made high priest.  The high priest wore special garments.  God told Moses to remove these special garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar showing he was now the new high priest.  This was an important act and is in anticipation of the coming of Jesus, our one and only High Priest.

Moses and Eleazar came down the mountain and the whole community learned of Aaron’s death and saw that Eleazar was now the new high priest.  This was probably an encouragement to the people that God was still with them and that He was faithful and would not leave them.  They mourned Aaron’s death for 30 days.

How has God blessed you throughout your life?

Has God blessed you when you were disobedient?

Principle:  God is faithful and will not leave us.

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