Wrapping up Numbers

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Numbers

Wednesday 03/06/19

Series: Thru the Bible

Message – Wrapping up Numbers – Numbers 34-36

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Wrapping up Numbers

Numbers 34

Num. 34:1-29, HCSB “(1) The LORD spoke to Moses, (2) “Command the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land of Canaan, it will be allotted to you as an inheritance with these borders:

(3) Your southern side will be from:

the Wilderness of Zin along the boundary of Edom.

Your southern border on the east will begin at the east end of the Dead Sea.

(4) Your border will turn south of the Ascent of Akrabbim (Scorpions),

proceed to Zin, and end south of Kadesh-barnea.

It will go to Hazar-addar and proceed to Azmon.

(5) The border will turn from Azmon to the Brook of Egypt, where it will end at the Mediterranean Sea.

(6) Your western border will be the coastline of the Mediterranean Sea; this will be your western border.

(7) This will be your northern border: From the Mediterranean Sea draw a line to Mount Hor;

(8) from Mount Hor draw a line to the entrance of Hamath, and the border will reach Zedad.

(9) Then the border will go to Ziphron and end at Hazar-enan. This will be your northern border.

(10) For your eastern border, draw a line from Hazar-enan to Shepham. (

11) The border will go down from Shepham to Riblah east of Ain. It will continue down and reach the eastern slope of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee).

(12) Then the border will go down to the Jordan and end at the Dead Sea. This will be your land defined by its borders on all sides.”

(13) So Moses commanded the Israelites, “This is the land you are to receive by lot as an inheritance, which the LORD commanded to be given to the nine and a half tribes.

(14) For the tribe of the Reubenites and the tribe of the Gadites have received their inheritance according to their ancestral houses, and half the tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. (15) The two and a half tribes have received their inheritance across the Jordan from Jericho, eastward toward the sunrise.”

(16) The LORD spoke to Moses, (17) “These are the names of the men who are to distribute the land as an inheritance for you:

    • Eleazar the priest and
  • Joshua son of Nun.

(18) Take one leader from each tribe to distribute the land.

(19) These are the names of the men:

  • Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah;
  • (20) Shemuel son of Ammihud from the tribe of Simeon;
  • (21) Elidad son of Chislon from the tribe of Benjamin;
  • (22) Bukki son of Jogli, a leader from the tribe of Dan;

(23) from the sons of Joseph..:

  • Hanniel son of Ephod, a leader from the tribe of Manasseh,
  • (24) Kemuel son of Shiphtan, a leader from the tribe of Ephraim;
  • (25) Eli-zaphan son of Parnach, a leader from the tribe of Zebulun;
  • (26) Paltiel son of Azzan, a leader from the tribe of Issachar;
  • (27) Ahihud son of Shelomi, a leader from the tribe of Asher;
  • (28) Pedahel son of Ammihud, a leader from the tribe of Naphtali.”

Notice two tribes are missing…did you pick up on which ones? Gad & Reuben (Manasseh is only mentioned for that part which exists INSIDE the Land Promised to Abraham)

(29) These are the ones the LORD commanded to distribute the inheritance to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.”

Numbers 35

Cities for the Levites

  • If you will remember the Levites, upon being chosen by God for their zeal in choosing to be on the Lord’s side after the golden calf incident – God became their inheritance and they were given no land for an inheritance.
    • Why? This was a teaching device to reveal that those who are zealous for God have a better inheritance – a heavenly one.
      • Heb. 11:8-16, HCSB “(8) By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed and went out to a place he was going to receive as an inheritance; he went out, not knowing where he was going. (9) By faith he stayed as a foreigner in the land of promise, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, co-heirs of the same promise. (10) For he was looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. … (13) These all died in faith without having received the promises, but they saw them from a distance, greeted them, and confessed that they were foreigners and temporary residents on the earth. (14) Now those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. (15) If they had been remembering that land they came from, they would have had opportunity to return. (16) But they now aspire to a better land–a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.”

Num. 35:1-8, HCSB “(1) The LORD again spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho: (2) “Command the Israelites to give cities out of their hereditary property for the Levites to live in and pastureland around the cities. (3) The cities will be for them to live in, and their pasturelands will be for their herds, flocks, and all their other animals. (4) The pasturelands of the cities you are to give the Levites will extend from the city wall 500 yards on every side. (5) Measure 1,000 yards outside the city for the east side, 1,000 yards for the south side, 1,000 yards for the west side, and 1,000 yards for the north side, with the city in the center. This will belong to them as pasturelands for the cities. (6) “The cities you give the Levites will include six cities of refuge, which you must provide so that the one who kills someone may flee there; in addition to these, give 42 other cities. (7) The total number of cities you give the Levites will be 48, along with their pasturelands. (8) Of the cities that you give from the Israelites’ territory, you should take more from a larger tribe and less from a smaller one. Each tribe is to give some of its cities to the Levites in proportion to the inheritance it receives.”

  • Notice that land was afforded the levites in every tribe.
  • The specific cities for the Priests of the Levitical tribe is not given until we get to Joshua 21:13-19.

Joshua 21:13-19, HCSB “(13) They gave to the descendants of Aaron the priest: Hebron, the city of refuge for the one who commits manslaughter, with its pasturelands, Libnah with its pasturelands, (14) Jattir with its pasturelands, Eshtemoa with its pasturelands, (15) Holon with its pasturelands, Debir with its pasturelands, (16) Ain with its pasturelands, Juttah with its pasturelands, and Beth-shemesh with its pasturelands–nine cities from these two tribes. (17) From the tribe of Benjamin they gave: Gibeon with its pasturelands, Geba with its pasturelands, (18) Anathoth with its pasturelands, and Almon with its pasturelands–four cities. (19) All 13 cities with their pasturelands were for the priests, the descendants of Aaron.”

Cities of Refuge

Num. 35:9-34, HCSB “(9) The LORD said to Moses, (10) “Speak to the Israelites and tell them: When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, (11) designate cities to serve as cities of refuge for you, so that a person who kills someone unintentionally may flee there. (12) You will have the cities as a refuge from the avenger, so that the one who kills someone will not die until he stands trial before the assembly. (13) The cities you select will be your six cities of refuge.

(14) Select three cities across the Jordan and

three cities in the land of Canaan to be cities of refuge.

(15) These six cities will serve as a refuge for the Israelites and for the foreigner or temporary resident among them, so that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.”

Rules and purpose for the cities of Refuge

“(16) “If anyone strikes a person with an iron object and death results, he is a murderer; the murderer must be put to death. (17) If a man has in his hand a stone capable of causing death and strikes another man and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. (18) If a man has in his hand a wooden object capable of causing death and he dies, the murderer must be put to death. (19) The avenger of blood himself is to kill the murderer; when he finds him, he is to kill him. (20) Likewise, if anyone in hatred pushes a person or throws an object at him with malicious intent and he dies, (21) or if in hostility he strikes him with his hand and he dies, the one who struck him must be put to death; he is a murderer. The avenger of blood is to kill the murderer when he finds him. (22) “But if anyone suddenly pushes a person without hostility or throws any object at him without malicious intent (23) or drops a stone without looking that could kill a person and he dies, but he was not his enemy and wasn’t trying to harm him, (24) the assembly is to judge between the slayer and the avenger of blood according to these ordinances. (25) The assembly is to protect the one who kills someone from the hand of the avenger of blood. Then the assembly will return him to the city of refuge he fled to, and he must live there until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. (26) “If the one who kills someone ever goes outside the border of the city of refuge he fled to, (27) and the avenger of blood finds him outside the border of his city of refuge and kills him, the avenger will not be guilty of bloodshed, (28) for the one who killed a person was supposed to live in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest. Only after the death of the high priest may the one who has killed a person return to the land he possesses.

(29) These instructions will be a statutory ordinance for you throughout your generations wherever you live.

(30) “If anyone kills a person, the murderer is to be put to death based on the word of witnesses. But no one is to be put to death based on the testimony of one witness. (31) You are not to accept a ransom for the life of a murderer who is guilty of killing someone; he must be put to death. (32) Neither should you accept a ransom for the person who flees to his city of refuge, allowing him to return and live in the land before the death of the high priest. (33) “Do not defile the land where you are, for bloodshed defiles the land, and there can be no atonement for the land because of the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the person who shed it. (34) Do not make the land unclean where you live and where I reside; for I, the LORD, reside among the Israelites.”

Numbers 36

This is the continuation of what we discussed a few weeks ago on Feb. 13th 2019 when we covered chapters 25-27 – it is called “The Zeal of Phinehas” on the website. When I taught it here was when the daughters of Ze-lophe-had had approached Moses and Eleazer the Priest concerning their lack of inheritance. At the time I told you that the rules given were greater than those described in that location, but that we would cover it later. NOW…is later.

We have also discussed this two other times and those were In Numbers 1-3 on October 24th of 2018 called “Census & Duties” on the website and back on April 22, 2018 in the third part of a series we called “What the Bible says about Gender” 

So we will just read this, since it will simply be review for you…

Num. 36:1-13, HCSB “(1) The family leaders from the clan of the descendants of Gilead–the son of Machir, son of Manasseh–one of the clans of the sons of Joseph approached and addressed Moses and the leaders who were over the Israelite families. (2) They said, “The LORD commanded my lord to give the land as an inheritance by lot to the Israelites. My lord was further commanded by the LORD to give our brother Zelophehad’s inheritance to his daughters. (3) If they marry any of the men from the other Israelite tribes, their inheritance will be taken away from our fathers’ inheritance and added to that of the tribe into which they marry. Therefore, part of our allotted inheritance would be taken away. (4) When the Jubilee comes for the Israelites, their inheritance will be added to that of the tribe into which they marry, and their inheritance will be taken away from the inheritance of our ancestral tribe.” (5) So Moses commanded the Israelites at the word of the LORD, “What the tribe of Joseph’s descendants says is right. (6) This is what the LORD has commanded concerning Zelophehad’s daughters: They may marry anyone they like provided they marry within a clan of their ancestral tribe. (7) An inheritance belonging to the Israelites must not transfer from tribe to tribe, because each of the Israelites is to retain the inheritance of his ancestral tribe. (8) Any daughter who possesses an inheritance from an Israelite tribe must marry someone from the clan of her ancestral tribe, so that each of the Israelites will possess the inheritance of his fathers. (9) No inheritance is to transfer from one tribe to another, because each of the Israelite tribes is to retain its inheritance.” (10) The daughters of Zelophehad did as the LORD commanded Moses. (11) Mahlah, Tirzah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, married cousins on their father’s side. (12) They married men from the clans of the descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained within the tribe of their father’s clan. (13) These are the commands and ordinances the LORD commanded the Israelites through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho.”

…Blessings! 

 

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in the Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist, that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight! If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you have been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but all outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!