[Brother V]

Numbers 19-21

Today we get:

The red heifer
Dead bodies everywhere
Water from the rock
Wandering around from town to town
The death of Aaron
The Nehushtan


Numbers 19

God said:

2 This is the ordinance of the law which the LORD hath commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring thee a red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke:

Take a red heifer (a female cow who hasn't given birth yet), that has no other coloured hairs, and that has never done any work, and kill it outside the camp.

Eleazar will take the blood and sprinkle it before the tentbernacle. Burn the whole thing outside the camp.

The guy who burns it has to wash his clothes and wash himself in water, and he's unclean until the sun goes down.

Another guy is to gather up the ashes and store them.

11 He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean seven days.

On the third day, he is to purify himself, on the seventh day, he is considered clean.

13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness is yet upon him.


Touch a dead body, go to church, get kicked out.

Here's some rules for dead bodies.

If a person dies in a tent, anyone who goes in the tent is unclean for 7 days (every open vessel in the tent is unclean).

If you touch a person killed in battle, or a dead body, or a human bone, or a grave, you are unclean for 7 days.

17 And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel:

Take some red heifer ashes, put them into a vessel, and then a clean person will sprinkle it on you on the third and seventh day. Then after you wash all your clothes and yourself, you are finally clean at evening.

If you don't get purified this way, you are cut off.

Whoever does the sprinkling is unclean until he washes his clothes.

22 And whatsoever the unclean person toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth it shall be unclean until even.

Just don't touch a dead body, or go into a tent of a dead guy, and you are ok.

Numbers 20

1 Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

Moses sister dies. I'm sure he was a little sad, but then again, she and Aaron did just recently bother Moses about wanting to be the leader of the people.

2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.

Wow, the jews got angry at Moses, I find that hard to believe, they always seem to be so accepting of their situation, and so happy that they are out of bondage in Egypt.

I wonder if they whined that they were going to die in the wilderness?

3 And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!

4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?

Haven't I read this before? Or is it just so similar that the whole thing seems very familiar?

5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

Ok, so think about this. All those times that God earlier said

Exodus 20:2 I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

They didn't really care.

Moses and Aaron go and talk to God, and ask for water.

God said

8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

Moses gathers the congregation...

10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

You guys whine so much, do I have to be the one getting you water. Heck, I can get it from this rock!

11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

uh-oh.

12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

Even though God already said that only Joshua and Caleb would be the only people over the age of 20 to get into the Promised land, He said that Moses wouldn't get to lead the people in.

So the people come upon Edom. Moses sends some messengers ahead asking for passage through the land.

The king says HELL NO! even though they promise not to jew them out of anything.

17 Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.

19 And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing anything else, go through on my feet.

Edom then sends out the army to block the road.

So they travel to mount Hor. God said

24 Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.

25 Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:

26 And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.

Moses strips Aaron of the priestly robes and puts them on Eleazar, and then, Aaron dies. Moses loses his brother and sister in the same days bible reading. How sad.

29 And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

Numbers 21

King Arad the Canaanite sends out spies, and fights against the people and takes some prisoners.

2 And Israel vowed a vow unto the LORD, and said, If thou wilt indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.

Wow, how odd for them to make a vow to the LORD instead of bitching that they were brought out of Egypt to die in the wilderness (even though God already cursed everyone over 20 to die in the wilderness, they must not have remembered the curse)

3 And the LORD hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah.

PRAISE JESUS!!! I wonder if the slaughter was anything like when Levi and Simeon slew Hamor and Shechem, or was this a real battle?

4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.

Why didn't they just go kill all the Edomites, like they did the Canaanites there?

Wait, did I just see the people were discouraged? Surely they didn't whine that they were going to die in the wilderness.

5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.

Once again... they did. No wonder God wanted to kill them several times.

So God sent some fiery serpents to bite them and kill them. See, things can always be worse. The wilderness may have been bad, but at least before you were bitching, you didn't have fiery serpents!


7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.

And now, the Nehushtan, not to be confused with the Greek, Rod of Asclepius.

8 And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.



So Moses makes it out of brass, and anyone who looks at it doesn't die.

Then the people start traveling. First to Oboth, Ijeabarim, Zared, Arnon, and to Ar.

16 And from thence they went to Beer: that is the well whereof the LORD spake unto Moses, Gather the people together, and I will give them water.

Praise God for the waters of BEER!

17 Then Israel sang this song, Spring up, O well; sing ye unto it:

I'll have to remember that drinking song.

Then they went to Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and finally towards Pisgah.

Then Israel sends messengers to the king of the Amorites asking the same thing they asked of the king of Edom.

This king also refused, and got together his men and actually marched out to attack the people.

24 And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from Arnon unto Jabbok, even unto the children of Ammon: for the border of the children of Ammon was strong.

All they wanted was to go through, but instead, old king Sihon got his ass kicked!

So they lived there for a while.

33 And they turned and went up by the way of Bashan: and og the king of bashan went out against them, he, and all his people, to the battle at edrei.

God said don't be afraid, He brought the king there to be killed.

35 So they smote him, and his sons, and all his people, until there was none left him alive: and they possessed his land.

PRAISE JESUS!!!

So what have we learned today?

1. Miriam and Aaron both died.

2. Moses doesn't get to go into the promised land because he hit the rock twice.

3. Killing a red heifer is needed to purify you from touching a dead body.

YIC
V

[Brother Temperance]

Originally Posted by Brother V

2. Moses doesn't get to go into the promised land because he hit the rock twice.

V

I hate to think how many times someone who wasn't the meekest person in the world would have hit that rock.

[repented harlot70]

Why does today's lesson remind me of this?


John 3:14,15 (King James Version)

14And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:

15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.