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GENESIS ---EXODUS--- LEVITICUS 1.1-7.38 --- 8.1-11.47 --- 12.1-16.34--- 17.1-27.34--- NUMBERS 1-10--- 11-19--- 20-36--- DEUTERONOMY 1.1-4.44 --- 4.45-11.32 --- 12.1-29.1--- 29.2-34.12 --- THE BOOK OF JOSHUA --- THE BOOK OF JUDGES --- PSALMS 1-17--- ECCLESIASTES --- ISAIAH 1-5 --- 6-12 --- 13-23 --- 24-27 --- 28-35 --- 36-39 --- 40-48 --- 49-55--- 56-66--- EZEKIEL --- DANIEL 1-7 ---DANIEL 8-12 ---
NAHUM--- HABAKKUK---ZEPHANIAH ---ZECHARIAH --- THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW ---THE GOSPEL OF MARK--- THE GOSPEL OF LUKE --- THE GOSPEL OF JOHN --- THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES --- 1 CORINTHIANS 1-7 --- 8-16 --- 2 CORINTHIANS 1-7 --- 8-13 -- -GALATIANS --- EPHESIANS --- COLOSSIANS --- 1 THESSALONIANS --- 2 THESSALONIANS --- 1 TIMOTHY --- 2 TIMOTHY --- TITUS --- HEBREWS 1-6 --- 7-10 --- 11-13 --- JAMES --- JOHN'S LETTERS --- REVELATION
--- THE GOSPELS
E. FROM KADESH TO THE PLAINS OF MOAB (20-25).
The New Beginning.
After the gap for the wilderness wanderings and the return to Kadesh, there now follows a series of historical events which bring Israel to the plains of Moab, and point to a new beginning. History has become important again because Yahweh’s purposes were now going forward. The first section (20.1-21.20) deals with the view that was to be taken of the future. It was to be a move from dearth to abundance, from death to life. The old was being put to one side, so that the new could take over, although only under Yahweh.
The second section (21.21-25.18) will go on to deal with victory in the Wars of Yahweh including the defeat of the Amorites who had once defeated them (21.21-22.1 compare Deuteronomy 1.44), the ‘battle’ with Balaam (22.1-24.25), and their establishment in the plains of Moab having received their first instalment of Yahweh’s inheritance (25.1a) which results in the sin of Peor and deliverance by the hand of Phinehas, son of Eleazar (25.1b-25.18).
(I). The Turning Point of the Death of Miriam and Aaron and the Change in the High Priesthood, The Warning of the Demise of Moses, and The New Approach to Be Taken As They Enter The Land (20.1-21.20).
This section commences with shortage of water and terrible thirst, and the death of Miriam, with abundance of water then provided by Yahweh (20.1-13), but at the cost of the lives of Moses and Aaron. It then continues, with the death of Aaron and appointment of Eleazar coming between (20.22-29), and ends with even greater abundance of water (21.11-20). The new beginning produces new life. This is not just a coincidence. In a similar way in referring to the death of Aaron, and appointment of Eleazar in his place in Deuteronomy 10.6-7, Moses preceded the incident with being at the springs of the sons of Yaakan, leading on to Moserah (chastisement), and followed it with arrival at Yotbathah, a land of brooks of water. In both cases his aim was to bring out that through this change of High Priesthood, which no doubt filled the people with foreboding, God was going to bring even greater blessing. To a nation of farmers water was the essence of all that was good in life. It represented life itself (24.5-7).
In the same way Paul likened God’s continual provision of water to His people in the wilderness as like the availability to us today of the lifegiving, thirst quenching presence of Jesus Christ, He is our rock, once smitten (as at Massah and Meribah in Exodus 17.6), that we may drink of Him (see 1 Corinthians 10.4), and Jesus Himself continually pictured the provision of life by the Holy Spirit in terms of abundance of water (John 3.5; 4.6-15; 6.35; 7.37-39).
Analysis Of The Section.
The section is divided into sub-divisions which all follow the same pattern. The first deals with the death of Miriam (mrym) and the provision of the waters of Meribah (myrbh).
1). The Waters of Meribah (20.1-13).
This first incident occurred through lack of water (20.1-13). Shortage of water in the hot and dry desert and semi-desert areas had been a continuing problem throughout the wilderness experience and it raised its head here seemingly for the last time. Note the play on words. The passage begins with the death of Miriam (mrym) and the dearth of water at Kadesh (qdsh = holy place) and ends with the life-giving waters of Meribah (mrybh) and the ‘making holy’ (yqdsh) of Yahweh.
This can be analysed as follows:
We must now consider this in detail.
Miriam (mrym) Dies and The People Strive With Moses and Aaron For Lack of Water (20.1-3).
20.1 ‘And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to the wilderness of Zin in the first month. And the people abode in Kadesh, and Miriam died there, and was buried there.’
In the first month the people arrived at the wilderness of Zin in the Negeb. (This was probably the first month of the fortieth year after leaving Egypt (33.38). But the emphasis here is on which month it occurred in). ‘The first month’ would spring out at those early readers. It was the anniversary of the Passover. It should have reinvigorated the people and encouraged their hopes of deliverance, but instead of the joyous celebration and hope that there should have been we find sorrow. As the people settled down in the area of Kadesh (qdsh) Miriam died there.
There was a threefold reason for the mention of this sad event. The first was because her death linked with the shortage of water. There was both physical drought and spiritual drought. This suggests what a blow this was to the people. In spite of her failings Miriam had been a provider of spiritual sustenance to the people, and they recognised that her death would bring them a spiritual drought along with the physical drought caused by lack of water.
The second was that Miriam’s death brought home God’s warning that the generation of which she was a member were doomed to die in the wilderness. It was even true of Miriam.
The third was because the death of Miriam (Mrym) would lead on both to the production of abundance of water at Meribah (Mrybh), and the ‘contention’ (mrybh) of God both with the people and with Moses and Aaron. When the people of God are at their lowest God always meets them with greater blessing, but in this case it would be a mixed blessing, for at Meribah Aaron and Moses would disqualify themselves from entry into the land. This would lead on to the death of Aaron, and more gloom. But it would then result in the appointment of a new High Priest and the even greater abundance of water at Beer (21.16). Man proposes, but God disposes, and then comes in with even greater blessing for His people. He is ever ready to begin with us again.
Life is like that. God takes our disappointments and uses them to make us look to Christ. There we find in Him sustenance and life. But how easily we can then spoil it all by allowing sin to take over, so hindering our growth.
The arrival at Kadesh (qdsh) would also result in the ‘sanctifying’ (yqdsh) of Yahweh ‘in (by) them’ (verse 13), that is either by the provision of the waters of Meribah or in the people. His holiness was revealed either by the demonstrating of His compassion in miraculously providing water or through His being made holy in the sight of His people.
As previously mentioned above this can be compared with Deuteronomy 10.6-7, where Moses preceded the death of Aaron with being at ‘the springs of the sons of Yaakan’, leading on to Moserah (chastisement), and followed it with arrival at ‘Yotbathah, a land of brooks of water’. The final emphasis of the whole section is therefore on blessing beyond Aaron.
The shortage of water at Kadesh (qdsh) is at first sight surprising. The site we identify with it included a group of oases in the Negeb. If that was the Kadesh mentioned here then this shortage of water may thus have been due to exceptionally dry conditions, to drought, which might explain why the people were so disappointed as a result of finding Kadesh short of water when they had been expecting an abundance. Coming to such a place with such expectation and finding insufficient water would have been a huge shock, which might well have precipitated their despair. Or it may be that it was another Kadesh (it was likely to be a common name), on the borders of Edom, where there was no water.
It will be noted that the name Kadesh (qdsh - holy place) relates to yqdsh in verse 13. It was to be the place where Yahweh was sanctified. God’s holiness and mercy is often revealed when an unexpected period of darkness is followed by a period of blessing.
20.2 ‘And there was no water for the congregation, and they assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.’
At the same time as Miriam died there was a real shortage of water. The dry wilderness and the hot sun were beginning to tell. So instead of a feast of rejoicing all was gloom. Miriam had died and Kadesh had failed them. They had no song and they had no water. They were at a low ebb.
20.3 ‘And the people strove with Moses, and spoke, saying, “Would that we had died when our brethren died before Yahweh” ’
The result was that once more the people began to rebel. They sent their leaders to make their feelings known to Moses. They ‘strove’ (ryb) with Moses, and their cry expressed the wish that they had never survived to have to face up to such thirst. They rather wished that they had died when their fellow-tribesmen had died ‘before Yahweh’. Judgment would have been better than this. Their thoughts were seemingly still on the ground that had swallowed up Dathan and Abiram, and the fire that had destroyed the rebellious Levites (chapter 17). Better had it been for them, they said, if they had been included. Although it is equally possible that they were referring to those who had died throughout the period in the wilderness as having died ‘before Yahweh’, because it was seen as His specific judgment on them.
The People Complain Because They Have Been Dragged Away From the Pleasures of Egypt and Moses and Aaron intercede before Yahweh (20.4-6).
20.4 “And why have you (ye) brought the assembly of Yahweh into this wilderness, that we should die there, we and our beasts?”
Why, the only result of their still being alive was that they had now been brought to this wilderness to die along with all their herds and flocks. All was despair. Note their accusation. They claimed to be ‘the assembly of Yahweh’. And yet they had no trust in Yahweh to provide. They were simply using the idea in order to put Moses and Aaron in the wrong. They were trying to force home on Moses and Aaron the greatness of their failure. How could they bring ‘the assembly of Yahweh’ to such a pass. Did Moses and Aaron not realise that they were to be seen as completely to blame for their predicament and for letting down Yahweh’s holy people? It was they who had brought the assembly of Yahweh into the wilderness to die, when they could have been worshipping Yahweh in Egypt. They were responsible before Yahweh.
Such was their hypocrisy. Yet it was not only an accusation against Moses, it was an unspoken, backhanded accusation against Yahweh Himself. Moses had told them that they were His people, that they were ‘the assembly of Yahweh’, but now even He had brought them to die miserably here in the wilderness.
But they should have recognised that if they were the ‘assembly of Yahweh’ their disappointment would only be for a moment. If they would but look to Him in confident trust they would be doubly blessed, first by the joy of trusting in the darkness, and then by the equal joy of receiving blessing and experiencing God’s power when the water came.
20.5 “And why have you made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in to this evil place? It is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates, nor is there any water to drink.”
Instead they were angry at the thought that they had been so well off in Egypt, and yet Moses had dragged them away from it! There they had had seed, and figs, and vines, and pomegranates, and above all plenty of water. To listen to them you would have thought that life in Egypt had been a bed of roses. But their main point was that Moses had promised a land of ‘milk and honey’, of seed, and figs, and vines and pomegranates, and that this evil place in which they found themselves was the very opposite. At least in Egypt they had had something. This was a place of total dearth and barrenness. And even Miriam was dead so that the song had gone from their hearts.
And it should be noted that this was the new generation in which Moses had pinned such hopes, and for whom God had such great plans. But they had had thirty eight years in the wilderness and hope had grown dim. They were beginning to despair of any prospects for the future. Hope deferred was making the heart sick (Proverbs 13.12).
20.6 ‘And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly to the door of the tent of meeting, and fell on their faces, and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them.’
The reaction of Moses and Aaron was to leave the assembly and approach the door of the Tent of meeting. That is always a good move to make in a crisis. And there they fell on their faces, ‘and the glory of Yahweh appeared to them’. He had not deserted them. He was still the same as ever. He does not change. It is we who change.
There comes a time in most of our lives when we have to face the dearth in the wilderness. It is then that the test of our faith comes. Will we grumble and look back and wish we had never been converted? Or will we approach the door of the Tent of meeting that we might see the glory of God? For if we do this latter we can be sure that soon we will again begin to see His wondrous working on our behalf.
Yahweh Promises Water From A Rock At The Voice of Moses’ Command (20.7-8).
Yahweh’s response was gracious and generous. He recognised the strain under which His people were, and He responded accordingly. There was no hint of criticism in that response. He was ready to meet His people’s needs. He recognised the disappointment that they had received on arriving at Kadesh. And he knew that, unlike their fathers, they had not recently received good reports of the land. They had grounds for discouragement. So He was eager to encourage them, and at a word of command from Moses, to provide them with abundance of water. He was all compassion.
It should therefore have become a time of abundant blessing for all, a time when all experienced God in a way that would never be forgotten. But it would not be so for Moses and Aaron. There is no indication at this stage of the devastating event that would soon follow, an event that would blight Moses’ final days. But those who would serve God and be used by Him have to follow in the way of obedience, and must recognise that to fail to do so can only result in loss. While God was patient and understanding, Moses and Aaron were sadly less so. It was in fact in its own way an indication that they needed to be replaced. Yet as the future would reveal, this event probably raised Moses from the depths to which he had sunk to a new spiritual level. Without it his career might well have been over. He learned again that he was the servant of Yahweh, not the lord of Israel, a lesson all God’s leaders have to keep in mind.
20.7 ‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses, saying,’
Once again we have confirmed that we are dealing with words spoken to Moses by God.
20.8 “Take the rod, and assemble the congregation, you, and Aaron your brother, and speak you (ye) to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water. And you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock. So you shall give the congregation and their cattle drink.”
Patiently God prepared to give His people an indication of the power of His word. They would see what Yahweh could do using but the voice of His servants, and He would from it receive great glory. He would be ‘sanctified’, set apart as the Holy One, the unique and peerless One, in their eyes. And the people would gain great assurance in readiness to face the future. And they would see that all it would require was a word. They would go forward confident in the One Who spoke and it was done. They would be reminded of how when God had spoken through His word the world came into being (Genesis 1).
‘Take the rod.’ This was possibly the one Moses had used in Egypt through which such wonders had been done. Or it may have been the one which had budded revealing Aaron’s authority as High Priest. Or it may have been a specific one which revealed Moses’ status. Certainly it was the one that was the sign of Moses’ authority from Yahweh. This in itself was a significant action. To take the rod, the symbol of Moses’ authority received from God, was to declare to the people that they were about to act on the authority of Yahweh. It was a symbol not a weapon.
Then they were to assemble all the congregation in order that they might see the great thing that their God was going to do. He was going to give them abundant water in the wilderness at the spoken word of His servant acting in Yahweh’s name.
‘Speak you (ye) to the rock before their eyes, that it give forth its water. And you shall bring forth to them water out of the rock. So you shall give the congregation and their cattle drink.’ The instructions were quite clear. In the eyes of the whole congregation Moses and Aaron were to speak to the rock which would produce water. They were to bring forth water from the rock with a word. In this they would reveal that they were the favoured servants of Yahweh. And there would be sufficient for all to drink, both men and cattle. So would God be magnified and the faith of the people strengthened. The future would suddenly become bright again. By the word of Yahweh the water would gush forth, and they would recognise that He and He alone was the One to Whom they could always look with full confidence, even when there appeared to be no water.
Before the Reed Sea he had lifted up his rod and the sea had parted. Here he would lift up his rod and speak and water would gush forth. In its own way it would be a repeat of the Reed Sea miracle.
Moses Strikes The Rock In Anger and Water Gushes Out (20.9-11).
But Moses and Aaron were seething with anger. They had had enough of these treacherous people. First it had been their fathers, and now it was them. They were almost reluctant to act to provide the water. They considered that the people did not deserve it. But what they failed to consider was their own attitude. What they did not realise was that by their behaviour they were forfeiting their own right to lead the people of God, and that God could see it. Not only Aaron, but Moses also, had come to a low ebb. They were no longer fit to lead.
20.9 ‘And Moses took the rod from before Yahweh, as he commanded him.’
Outwardly all seemed well. Moses obeyed Yahweh’s commandment and took the rod ‘from before Yahweh’. That it was essentially Yahweh’s rod that he used was well recognised by the people. But in taking it from before Yahweh he ought to have recognised how obediently he should have used it. It was not given to him for the glory of Moses. He was within the sphere of God’s commands, and it was intended to be for the glory of God. Even the rock would recognise the authority symbolised by that rod. The Creation would gladly respond to its Creator. But it was to be through the word of power, not through ill-will and violence.
20.10-11 ‘And Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, “Listen now, you rebels. Shall we bring you forth water out of this rock?” And Moses lifted up his hand, and smote the rock with his rod twice, and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their cattle.’
But in the eyes of all the people, the whole assembly, the two leaders, instead of revealing the gracious power and provision of Yahweh, castigated the people, calling them rebels, and then pointed to themselves as the providers of what was to come. ‘Shall we bring you forth water?’ And then reluctantly and peevishly Moses, such was his lack of control, struck the rock twice with ‘his’ rod. What should have been a glorious revelation of Yahweh’s power and goodness and authority, and have enhanced Moses reputation as the servant of Yahweh, became a petty display of temper and highhandedness against God’s express command. Moses and Aaron had taken over from, and misrepresented, Yahweh.
Apart from Moses’ anger the people might not have known that anything was wrong. They were not party to God’s commands. What they heard was their leaders’ accusation of rebellion. What they saw was Moses striking the rock twice with the rod of God, and the water pouring out. And they rejoiced and hastened to drink.
But God saw something very different. He saw two men who were taking God’s very symbol of authority and wildly misusing it, appropriating Yahweh’s authority to themselves and in the process wholly misrepresenting Him. He heard anger that should have been compassion. He saw resentment that should have been love. He witnessed the unbelievably arrogant behaviour of these two who claimed to be leaders and to represent Him. He heard the claim that the water was being brought forth by Moses and Aaron. And He saw Moses take His rod and with it disobediently smite the rock, not once but twice. We might almost suggest that He could not believe His eyes. It was as though all the disobedience of the people was being lived out by these two men. They had got above themselves.
The water did come. The people were satisfied. But God was very ‘angry’ indeed. His servants had totally failed Him. They had proved themselves unfit for His service. They were no longer suited to the task ahead.
Yahweh Complains at Moses and Aaron Because They Have Not Sanctified Him in the Eyes of Israel and Punishes Them by Exclusion from The Land (20.12).
20.12 ‘And Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.” ’
God then made clear to them how desperately wrong their behaviour had been. It was not so much the people who were in the wrong, and who were rebels, it was Moses and Aaron. They, His trusted leaders, had flouted His will and disobeyed Him. They had demonstrated that they no longer willingly did His will. They had shown total lack of control and a totally wrong attitude towards the people. They had dared to misuse the sacred rod which had come from ‘before Yahweh’, the instrument of His authority and of His Name, which to take in the hand indicated that they were the especial chosen of Yahweh. And they had shown that they themselves were no longer fitted to lead the people of God into the land, that they could misuse the holy. It was a wonder that they were not struck down on the spot as others had been before them (16.35; Leviticus 10.1-2).
Sadly what had been apparent about the fathers of these people at the beginning of the thirty eight years was now equally apparent of Moses and Aaron at the end. It had become apparent that they would not be able to cope with the entry into the land. They had excluded themselves. They were no longer fitted for it, and it would have to be made the responsibility of someone else.
For instead of performing the wonder with a word as they were commanded they had done it by twice smiting the rock. They had forgotten themselves. They had overlooked who and what they were, servants of God from whom obedience was required. They had misused the rod of God and the authority that had been given to them. Instead of demonstrating His gracious power, they had revealed reluctance of spirit. Instead of showing His lovingkindness they had revealed anger. The people had gained the impression that Yahweh resented giving them water, and that the gift was in the end due to the rod in Moses’ hand, which he could use as he pleased, and not to Yahweh Himself. Why the claim had even been made that it was ‘they’ who had produced the water. It was almost unbelievable.
Perhaps also He knew that Moses was in such a state that he had not fully believed that the water would come out with only a word. That he had struck the rock in a kind of unbelief, remembering the previous incident at another Meribah (Exodus 17.1-12). It demonstrated that Moses’ faith was no longer up to the task ahead. He was no longer obedient. He was not listening carefully. He was doing his own thing. Whatever it was these two men had marred the image that God was seeking to represent. And it had been because of their lack of faith. So God would now need to seek a new leader for the entry into the land, one who would be obedient to His will, and would trust Him and obey Him fully.
It is the great danger for all Christian leaders that they can begin to think that God’s work is in their own hands. They can begin almost to think that they can choose to do whatever they want, that God is subject to their whim. And even the greatest can wane in their behaviour and faith, and begin to magnify themselves. It is one of the greatest dangers facing Christian leaders. It is then that they have to be set aside to be replaced by those more trusting and obedient. God will not give His glory to another. While Moses was meek, God glorified him. Now he had become overbearing, God would replace him.
Note the accusation. ‘Because you did not believe in me, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel.’ It was their attitude towards Yahweh that was at fault, an attitude that was far worse than the people’s. They may have been justified in their view of the people, but they were not justified in their attitude towards God’s orders. And that attitude had resulted in their totally misrepresenting God, and reducing the presentation of His glory, and violating the rod of Yahweh. Moses and Aaron had an attitude problem, and they had suggested that Yahweh had one as well.
‘Therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.’ The land was only available for those who would trust and obey God. That had been the theme right from the beginning. Thus the lesson had to come over strongly that those who would not trust and obey could not enter the land, whoever they were. That this gave Moses a huge jolt is unquestionable (Deuteronomy 1.37; 4.21-22). But his exclusion from the land was certain from that moment on. And yet he undoubtedly became a humbler and a better man for it, and learned the humility that would enable him to better prepare the people for that entry, as Deuteronomy reveals. In his diminished dedication God had had mercy on him. Without this lesson he may well have had to be replaced earlier. And as a result, while he could not enter the land, he was able to possess it with his eyes. But in the end even Moses was only a man.
Another at another time would endure a ‘contradiction of sinners against Himself’ (Hebrews 12.3). He too would be faced with the question of obedience to the will of God in the light of an ungrateful people. He too would be tested to the very edge of man’s ability to cope. But in His case He would reply, ‘not my will but yours’ (Mark 14.36). And through full obedience to God’s will in the face of all provocation He would be proved fit to be a sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, thus demonstrating that He was not only a man but God’s Instrument in the fulfilling of His will (see especially Hebrews 10.5-10).
The Place is Called the Waters of Meribah (mrybh) Because ‘the Children of Israel’ Strove (ryb) There with Yahweh and He Was Sanctified (yqdsh) In Them (20.13).
20.13 ‘These are the waters of Meribah, because the children of Israel strove with Yahweh, and he was sanctified in them.’
And the waters were given the name Meribah, which means ‘contention’ (rib = quarrel, complaint). The same name had been given at an earlier incident at the beginning, soon after the departure from Egypt, when the people had also there contended with Moses because of lack of water. Thus the children had repeated what their fathers had done before them. The repetition of the name was probably deliberately in order to bring out that very fact. Moses wanted the people to recognise that they were following in their fathers’ footsteps, and that they were behaving little differently from their fathers. There had been a previous Rephidim (contention with God, resulting in blessing), and the people had gone on to disaster. Now they had their own Rephidim. They too had been contentious, and yet had received blessing. Let them take warning from it not to go on as their fathers had done. The repetition indicated a new beginning for God’s people. Now they could go forward if they had learned their lesson.
But the two incidents were clearly quite different. In Exodus 17.1-7 only Moses was involved, and the ‘miracle’ was performed before the elders of Israel only. There it was out of sight of the people. Here it was deliberately in front of all the people. Furthermore there Moses was told to strike the rock, which he did obediently, not in anger. Indeed the smiting was deliberately drawn attention to, and specifically stated to be similar to the smiting of the Nile (Exodus 7.20), and thus as bringing glory to God. The striking revealed Yahweh’s power. Here the striking of the rock is portrayed as nearly destroying all that God was attempting to reveal. At that stage the people had needed to recognise that the God of the Exodus was working though Moses in the same way as He had before in Egypt. But here, after all that had gone before, the people had needed a new lesson, the lesson that God was with them and would graciously provide for them through His word. Here He had wanted His peoples’ eyes turned from Moses to Himself. And that was where Moses had failed. Considering what had happened to Nadab and Abihu (Leviticus 10.1-2) for the misuse of holy things Moses might well have been smitten down. To hold the rod of God is an awesome thing. It puts someone under a huge responsibility. It was only because he was so favoured in God’s sight, and because it had been more unwitting than highhanded, that his punishment was less.
‘And he was sanctified in them.’ Moses and Aaron had failed Him, but they had not prevented His final aim. As a result of receiving the ‘waters of contention’ (called such because the people ‘contended’ with Him there) He was sanctified in the eyes of the people. They did recognise in it a wonderful provision from Yahweh. And in view of their contentiousness He was even more sanctified as a result of His graciousness being revealed in the face of their contention.
Perhaps we may conclude this section by again drawing attention to the word play on Miriam (mrym) and Meribah (mrybh). The section commences with the death of mrym and ends with the waters of mrybh. This is surely deliberate. It indicates the passing away of the old order. First in the death of Miriam, and then in embryo in the coming death of Aaron and Moses. For at the waters of mrybh not only did the people quarrel (ryb) with God, but God quarrelled with Moses and Aaron. But it also indicates that after death came life through the waters. The advance had begun. But they had to learn stage by stage that it would not always be straightforward.
EXCURSUS Note on Kadesh.
In the time of Abraham a place called En Mishpat was seen as later called Kadesh (Genesis 14.7), which was ‘in the country of the Amalekites’, a wilderness tribe. In Numbers 20.16 a Kadesh is declared to be a city on the border of the Edom (compare Kedesh in Joshua 15.23). One problem that we have here is that we do not know how far the borders of Edom extended, but it is very doubtful if they reached to Kadesh-barnea. Secondly it may well be that this Kadesh was called Kadesh (qdsh - holy place) by Israel, simply because that was where Yahweh was sanctified in the eyes of Israel (verse 13). The names are given so that the people of Israel can identify the places. Most places around that area would have different names to different peoples, each identifying them in their own terms. It is doubtful how many places, if at all, would have standard names. However, a Kadesh is mentioned in Genesis 16.14; 20.1, thus the name for at least one site appears to come from earlier times.
Kadesh-barnea is not referred to as such until 32.8; 34.4; Deuteronomy 1.2, 19; 2 14; 9.23; Joshua 10.41; 15.3 and was the Kadesh from which the scouts went out and to which they returned. ‘Barnea’ may well have been added simply to distinguish it because it was well known that there was another Kadesh. Kadesh-barnea may, in fact, be identifiable with ‘Ain Qudeirat, where a small fortress would later be built in 10th century BC, and it is possible that it was originally called Barnea. It is noteworthy that it is not mentioned in the itinerary in Chapter 33 until the second visit in verse 36, whereas an earlier visit must have been made around verses 17-18, as mentioned in 13.26 and in the above references. Perhaps then it was called Rithmah. Or Rithmah may have been a more important landmark, only being superseded because of the events chapter 20. There were a number of oases around Kadesh-barnea. In view of the meaning of the name, ‘holy place’, it is not inconceivable that there were a number of Kadeshes. End of Excursus.
2). The Appeal to Edom (20.14-21).
The incident at Meribah was followed by an appeal to Edom to be allowed to use the King’s Highway through their territory. Compare here Deuteronomy 2.4-8. The march on Yahweh’s land had begun in earnest. But in the event they were required to skirt the territory and were not allowed through. God’s presence with His people was not a guarantee that they would face no problems, only that He would help them to overcome them in one way or the other. The reference to Kadesh being on the borders of Edom would support the idea that this was a different Kadesh (‘holy place’) from Kadesh-barnea as the latter was in the heart of the Negeb.
This incident was firstly a reminder to Israel of the obstacles that lay ahead. They had to recognise that they were not going to be welcomed in their project. Even a brother tribe refused them assistance. It would be tougher later. But secondly it stressed to Israel that they were not there as aggressors and seekers of spoil. The Canaanites (including the Amorites) were there for the taking for Yahweh’s judgment was coming on them. But with neighbouring tribes they were to seek peace not aggression. This was stressed in Deuteronomy 2 in respect of Edom, Moab and Ammon.
All Christians have to face constant attack. Sometimes, as here, the way to fight it is to avoid the place of testing, and go around it. ‘Abstain from every form of evil’ (1 Thessalonians 5.22). ‘Flee youthful desires’ (1 Timothy 2.22). In the battle of the flesh avoidance is often a primary weapon. At other times when the battle is in the mind flight is of little use, then we have to stand and fight, ‘take to you the whole armour of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand’ (Ephesians 6.13), just as Israel would be required to stand against the enemies of God, against Arad and the Canaanites (Numbers 21.1-3). In the battle of the mind we cannot flee, but must stand firm on the promises of God, as Jesus did during His temptations.
Analysis.
The Request To Be Allowed Through Peaceably (20.14-17).
20.14-15 ‘And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, Thus says your brother Israel, You know all the trouble that has befallen us, how our fathers went down into Egypt, and we dwelt in Egypt a long time, and the Egyptians dealt ill with us, and our fathers.’
It was to Moses’ credit that having learned that he himself would not be allowed to enter the land there was no hint of his refusing to go forward so as to bring God’s people there. We are probably to see from this that he recognised how grievously he had been at fault. He had learned the lesson of obedience. It would mean that his usefulness could continue. Indeed that lesson came in useful in this next incident. Without it he might well have smitten Edom with the rod of God. But he had learned obedience.
Here (at God’s command - Deuteronomy 2.2-7) he sent messengers to Edom with just that advance in mind. Note the contrast of the description here with 20.5. This description was the truer picture of what life in Egypt had been like.
The words in which Moses expressed his request were typical of a diplomatic letter of the time as witnessed at El Amarna, Alalakh and Mari. It was addressed to the king of Edom, contained the formula ‘thus says’ (compare 22.16), provided the identity of the sender, claimed kinship, outlined their problem, and made a plea for response.
He pointed out that Israel were brothers to Edom (Jacob was Esau’s brother, and Esau had established himself in Edom), and reminded them that Canaan was their real home. They were not coming to make trouble. They were going home. They had a right to be on the way there. He also sought to draw on Edom’s sympathy by reminding them how Israel had, as they well knew, suffered in Egypt, and how they had been treated. This knowledge of what Edom was aware of may well suggest that he knew that the two tribal groups had maintained contact with each other through the years.
His words are also an almost incidental confirmation of what we know of Israel’s history, and are in conformity with the Exodus account. They ring true.
20.16 ‘And when we cried to Yahweh, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and brought us forth out of Egypt. And, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the furthest extent of your border.’
Moses’ aim was to indicate why they, with such a large force, were almost on Edom’s borders, and explained precisely where they were camped. He knew that Edomite scouts would already have reported back their presence. He wanted it known that they had no ill intent. They were there because Yahweh had heard their pleas, and had sent His angel (ml‘k - a messenger) to bring them out of Egypt. They were thus there on Yahweh’s instructions. His message also contained the gentle hint that not to assist them would be to go against Yahweh. And all knew what that entailed for news of His activities would have gone before them (Exodus 15.14-16; Numbers 14.14; Joshua 2.9).
20.17 ‘Let us pass, I pray you, through your land. We will not pass through field or through vineyard, neither will we drink of the water of the wells. We will go along the king’s highway. We will not turn aside to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed your border.’
So he made the reasonable plea that they be allowed to pass along the King’s Highway. That was a recognised trade route that led through Edom towards the land on the east of the Jordan and up towards Damascus. Its length was marked by early bronze age settlements and fortresses, some of which are know to have been occupied at this time. It was called the King’s Highway, partly because it was the way used by travelling kings and was suitable for the travel of larger bodies of people.
He promised that while passing along it Israel would be totally circumspect. They would use their own provisions and would not trespass on Edomite property or springs. They would pass right through Edom without straying right or left.
Edom’s Refusal and Threat (20.18).
20.18 ‘And Edom said to him, You shall not pass through me, lest I come out with the sword against you.’
Edom’s reply was a firm ‘no’. If they did seek to pass through they would be met with the sword. Edom’s armies would positively resist them. Edom were taking no chances with such a large body of people.
Patiently Israel Tried Again and Laid Out The Terms of Peaceable Passage (20.19).
20.19 ‘And the children of Israel said to him, We will go up by the highway; and if we drink of your water, I and my cattle, then will I give its price. Let me only, without doing anything else, pass through on my feet.’
The messengers were again sent to the king of Edom, on behalf of the whole of Israel. But the change to the first person indicates the hand of Moses. The promise was repeated that they would go through peaceably, and it was added that they would pay for anything that they required. All they wanted was passage through.
Edom Still Refuse and Make Clear Their Threat (20.20)
20.20 ‘And he said, You shall not pass through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.’
The king of Edom again refused permission, but recognising that his refusal might result in warlike action from the advancing host, moved to his borders with a display of strength, at the points where he knew they might make the attempt. If they wanted to come through, they would have to fight every step of the way. With its mountain passes Edom was fairly easy to defend in that area.
The Request Being Refused, Israel Turned Away Peaceably (20.21)
20.21 ‘Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border, for which reason Israel turned away from him.’
Moses was clearly determined not to antagonise a related tribe. He possibly recognised how sensible it would be to maintain good relations with those who lived on the borders of Canaan. They would not want them interfering during the invasion. Furthermore he was under Yahweh’s strict instructions (Deuteronomy 2.4-6). And he had learned at Meribah that he must not misuse the rod of Yahweh. War would be a waste of time as Israel were forbidden to occupy the land of a brother tribe, a tribe who themselves had received the land from Yahweh. By this the point was got over to the people that the land that Yahweh did wish them to occupy was specific and fixed. They were there on Yahweh’s business. They should therefore receive a certain amount of assurance from the fact that Yahweh had previously given land in the area, whose inhabitants were still in safe occupation of it, and were protected by Him.
Thus Moses was recognising (and being made to recognise) that they were not there as aggressors to take into possession any land they liked, but were there under the command of God to take only the land that He had given them.
However, the blunt statement in verse 21 contains a double entendre. Had Edom been more helpful it might have made a great difference to relations in the future. As it was Israel ‘turned away from Edom’. The opportunity of a lasting friendship had been lost so that later Israel would have no hesitation in invading Edom (24.18). But in the context the main point was that they did not seek to force their way through. They took another route. Note how the historicity of this whole incident is confirmed in Judges 11.16-18.
3). The Death of Aaron (20.22-29).
This advance forward was evidence of a new beginning. This was confirmed by the fact that as a result of his sins over the Cushite wife of Moses (12.11) and at Meribah (20.12) Aaron was to die and be replaced by his son who would introduce the new era (35.25, 28). Note that apart from the final verse the incident is not described in terms of being a sad occasion, although it was for Aaron for he had failed to achieve the final goal, but simply as a solemn moving forward of God’s purposes. However, God would still achieve His final goal, but He would do it without Aaron. We must beware of ever thinking that we are indispensable, with the result that we grow careless. For God can soon strip us down.
Analysis.
Aaron Was to Die and Not Enter The Land (20.22-29).
20.22 ‘And they journeyed from Kadesh: and the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, came to mount Hor.’
They journeyed from the place where Yahweh had been revealed as holy in their eyes, and skirting round Edom came to Mount Hor, whose whereabouts is unknown. Edom was in mountainous country. Mount Hor was ‘on the way of Atharim’ (21.1). We do not have enough information to know which route round Edom Israel took, but this may suggest the western border in view of the forthcoming clash with the Canaanites (assuming the order to be chronological, which it may not be. It may be more in theological order. But see 33.40 which also supports the chronological order).
20.23 ‘And Yahweh spoke to Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the border of the land of Edom, saying,’
This would be the last time that Yahweh spoke to ‘Moses and Aaron’. Soon Aaron would be no more. We are simply told that Mount Hor was by the border of the land of Edom. Elsewhere we learn that it was near Moserah (Deuteronomy 10.6), but that is also unidentifiable. This is not surprising. Different names would be given to places by different peoples, and this was not settled land. But both were clearly identifiable at the time of writing. Moserah (chastisement) was not necessarily the same place as Moseroth (plural of Moserah - strong chastisement) (33.30-31). See commentary on Deuteronomy 10.6. Indeed it would seem that Moses (or the people) liked to give duplicate names (as with Meribah) in order to back up Yahweh’s repeated lessons. The giving of the name would bring to mind what had happened preciously. It was a wise teaching technique.
20.24 “Aaron shall be gathered to his people; for he shall not enter into the land which I have given to the children of Israel, because you (ye) rebelled against my word at the waters of Meribah.’
The time had come for the death of Aaron as chastisement (moserah) for his failures. After the failure of Moses and Aaron at ‘the waters of Meribah’ there had to be a new beginning, although even now it was not yet time for Moses to be replaced. But it was now time for Aaron’s replacement to take over. It was the next step in the new beginning.
However, it should be noted that neither Moses nor Aaron were ‘struck down’. Both died with dignity. God did not overlook their years of faithful service. Being ‘gathered to his fathers’ indicated proper burial, and that he was not dying under God’s judgment. He was joining the faithful who had gone before (Genesis 25.8, 17; 35.29; 49.33).
Yet in all this it was made clear that what was happening was within the will of Yahweh. It was not to be seen as a disaster but as Yahweh’s next step forward.
Aaron Was To Be Stripped of His Garments on Mount Hor and Eliezer, His Son, Appointed (20.25-26).
It is apparent from what is described that Aaron had ascended the mountain in his High Priestly regalia. For this was a solemn ceremonial in which one High Priest was replaced by another.
20.25-26 “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up to mount Hor, and strip Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people, and shall die there.”
Moses was therefore commanded to take Aaron and Eleazar up into Mount Hor, where Aaron was to be stripped of his High Priestly garments which were then to put on his son Eleazar who was to be the new High Priest. Such a lofty place was seen as bringing men nearer to God, but had the advantage of not being too public. Aaron was to be allowed to be replaced in quiet and private dignity. And it was to be the place where he would die and be buried. It was a reminder that the High Priesthood did not pass at the will of man but at the will of Yahweh.
20.27 ‘And Moses did as Yahweh commanded: and they went up to mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.’
So in accordance with Yahweh’s commandment (a constant stress throughout the Pentateuch) Moses took Aaron and Eleazar into the mountain.
Yet to some extent the people were being made aware that some change was taking place for they were aware of their entry into the mountain. It was not something done in secret. However, they were used to the fact that when Moses took men into a mountain they would have a special revelation of God (Exodus 24.1-2, 9-11) and that it was not a place for them to be, and they waited patiently for their return.
20.28 ‘And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them on Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there on the top of the mount, and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.’
And there in the mountain Moses took off from Aaron his High Priestly garments and put them on his son. Provision would undoubtedly have been made for this to happen with all decency. Indeed the likelihood is that both were wearing a similar priestly undergarment and that it was only the top garments that were exchanged. But the change signified to both that Eleazar was now taking Aaron’s place as High Priest of the whole of Israel. A new epoch was beginning (35.25, 28). And there Aaron died after a long and useful life and there he joined his fathers.
Verses 35.25, 28, 32 make clear that the death of the High Priest in some way counters the defilement of the land by the innocent shedding of blood. The High Priest represented the whole people. Thus his death may have been seen as having an atoning significance for innocent failure. Through it the land may have been seen as being cleansed from the shedding of innocent blood through the necessary death of a representative. It may suggest that in the High Priest Israel as it were died and was reborn. But this idea is not specifically stated, is never suggested and does not appear elsewhere. So it may rather be that it was seen as a carrying out of the principle of a life for a life. That was why until a death of his representative had take place the slayer had to remain in the city of refuge. Until there had been a balancing death the man in the city of refuge could not be free. This seems to be the main principle in mind (see 35; Exodus 21.12-14; Deuteronomy 19.2-13). Compare how when a slaying was discovered where the killer was unknown, an animal’s slaughter had to take place (Deuteronomy 21.4). And then there was no suggestion of sacrifice, it was not offered sacrificially, although legal forgiveness did ensue (Deuteronomy 21.8-9). What was, however, certain was that the High Priest’s death was seen as the end of an epoch.
In the same way the death of our Great High Priest, our Lord Jesus Christ, brings legal forgiveness for the sin of all who are His (compare Galatians 3.10-13). As our representative He died where we should have died. He was both dying priest and dying sacrifice (see Hebrews 1.3; 2.17-18; 4.14-16; 5.5-10; 6.20; 7.26-28; 8.6; 9.11-12, 15, 24; 10.12-14, 21; 12.24, where the High Priesthood is again and again seen as finding perfect fulfilment in Him).
20.29 ‘And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they wept for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.’
When Moses and Eleazar descended from the mountain the people would recognise from the way that Eleazar was dressed that Aaron was dead. And their hearts were moved and they wept. And for Israel there was thirty days of weeping, which would seem to have been standard on the passing of a great chieftain (Deuteronomy 34.8). In Israelite terms thirty days was a complete period (3 x 10). In Egypt it was seventy days (Genesis 50.3) but that may simply have been because of the exalted position of Joseph, and therefore of his father.
While mourning was a requirement at all such occasions we can be sure that in this case much of it was genuine. At such a time they would remember the great debt that they owed him, and old enmities would be forgotten.
But the most important thing of all was that the High Priesthood continued on unbroken. God’s purposes did not come to a halt. It was simply that there was a different Aaronide in the clothing. Yahweh went on for ever.
Chapter 21 From Victory Through Chastening To Further Victory.
The death of Aaron did indicate a new era. In this chapter we cover the first defeat of ‘the Canaanites’, the dire warning and chastisement of the fiery serpents, the provision of abundant water, and the defeat of the Amorites under Sihon.
4). The Canaanites Under the King of Arad Defeated (21.1-3).
Another attempt to interfere with Israel right of passage now followed, but this time it resulted in a glorious victory. Those who made the attempt were Canaanites. With them there could be no compromise. Here were the firstfruits of what Yahweh intended for the whole of Canaan. All Canaanites must be destroyed. It was His judgment on their sins for which He had waited for hundreds of years (Genesis 15.16). The new beginning was continuing. And it would give Israel their first taste of victory over Canaanites and a new certainty that Yahweh was with them for the future.
So while on the one side of Aaron’s death there was a kind of failure in their being turned aside by Edom, even though it taught them an important lesson, on the other side of his death was glorious victory. His death had not weakened Israel, it had rather made them strong. Whether this lesson is in chronological order or simply in theological order is disputed, for it is apparent throughout that the book is constructed to teach its lessons within a given pattern rather than to be a chronological history. It is what happened rather than when it happened that is considered important. The answer to the whole question partly depends on what route we see Israel as having taken. For we may probably assume that the king of Arad, which was seemingly in the northern Negeb, attacked before they rounded the bottom end of the Dead Sea. The message is, however, quite clear.
It is a reminder that at times of sorrow our Adversary will seek to attack our hearts and minds. We too must then take our stand and do battle using the weapons of our warfare, the word of God and the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 6.10-18). Then victory will be ours, but he may take captives first.
Analysis.
21.1 ‘And the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who dwelt in the South, heard tell that Israel came by the way of Atharim, and he fought against Israel, and took some of them captive.’
The news of Israel’s approach naturally spread. The movement of such a large body of people could hardly be kept secret. And it reached the ears of the king of Arad, a city and region in the northern Negeb (see 33.40). Later Pharaoh Shishak would mention two Arad’s captured during his invasion of Israel. This was probably Arad the Great. Learning that they were using ‘the way of Atharim’ he attacked their column and took prisoners. The way of Atharim may have led past Edom on the western side. As with Edom this massing of his troops may have been intended as a warning, warning them off his territory, but the taking of prisoners was a mistake. It demanded response and retaliation in order to obtain their fellow-countrymen back.
21.2 ‘And Israel vowed a vow to Yahweh, and said, “If you will indeed deliver this people into my hand, then I will utterly destroy their cities.” ’
The people of Israel were angry and called on Yahweh. But they knew that these people were Canaanites and thus under Yahweh’s ban. So they promised Him that if He would deliver them into their hand they would utterly destroy their cities.
21.3 ‘And Yahweh listened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities, and the name of the place was called Hormah.’
And Yahweh heard their cry. He delivered up the Canaanites to them and they utterly destroyed them with their cities devoting them to destruction. The name Hormah means ‘devoted to destruction’. Either that was a coincidence accompanied by the fact that thirty eight years earlier the Israelites had been driven back to this very place (14.45), or more likely the name was given to the smouldering mound left after the destruction, a mound left as a testimony to what the future held for Canaanites, as it had been given to other mounds.
The lesson we can learn from this incident is that when there are major changes which affect our lives (like the death of Aaron) God is quite able to follow it with important victories which reveal that He is still in control.
5). The Brazen Serpent (21.4-10).
Having defeated the king of Arad Israel continued its journey from Mount Hor by ‘the way to the Reed Sea’, skirting the land of Edom. As they had been hoping to take the much easier King’s Highway they were greatly discouraged at the hardship of the way, for it led through difficult territory where there was no water and no means of obtaining bread, and they only had the despised manna (compare 11.5-6). It was like being back in the wilderness again. This again caused them to hanker after Egypt (compare 20.3-5). Forgetting the glory of their recent victory they fell back into their old ways.
So Yahweh gave them a reminder of their time in the wilderness, by sending ‘fiery serpents’ among them. Compare Deuteronomy 8.15 where fiery serpents were symbolic of the hardships of the wilderness. It was a reminder that if they wanted to go back to the trials of the wilderness period they could do so.
They were possibly called fiery serpents because their bite caused men’s bodies to be ‘set on fire’, or it may have been because they basked in the sun which shone on them and was seen as reflected in them.
In the Christian life victories are often followed by meeting up with ‘biting serpents’. The secret then is to look to Jesus as the crucified One. It is a continual lesson to us of how we must be continually dependent on Him.
Analysis.
21.4 ‘And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way to the Reed Sea, to compass the land of Edom, and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way.’
Their journey now took them through a parched region where they again had to depend totally on the manna, and this caused great discouragement. They themselves were parched and they were sick of the manna, ‘this light bread’. If only they could have used the King’s Highway instead of this harsh and dreary route round the border of Edom. Did Yahweh not care?
21.5 ‘And the people spoke against God, and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no bread, and there is no water, and our soul loathes this light bread.” ’
So in their usual vein they turned against God and against Moses. Why had Moses dragged them away from Egypt to die in the wilderness? Why did they have to put up with this pretended bread? Why had they no proper bread and water to satisfy them?
21.6 ‘And Yahweh sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and many people of Israel died.’
And the result was that they found themselves in a place seemingly filled with snakes. Many of the people were bitten, and many died. Yahweh was reminding them of what it had been like to travel through the wilderness (compare Deuteronomy 8.15). But they had never come across snakes as bad and as numerous as this before. It quickly brought them to their senses. Did it also remind them of the time when the rod of God had turned into a serpent before their eyes? (Exodus 4.3, 30;7.7). That also had happened at a new beginning. But here were many rods of God come to chastise His people.
Or it may well be that this incident would take their minds back to Genesis 3.15. The serpent was bruising their heels. Yahweh had warned of what the serpent might do in the future, and here it was. It was a clear judgment from God.
21.7 ‘And the people came to Moses, and said, “We have sinned, because we have spoken against Yahweh, and against you. Pray to Yahweh, that he take away the serpents from us.” And Moses prayed for the people.’
Either way this faced them up with what they were doing. They recognised their folly and admitted that they had sinned both against Yahweh and against Moses. Then they begged Moses to intercede on their behalf, and ask Yahweh to take the serpents away. And Moses did pray as they requested.
21.8 ‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Make you a fiery serpent, and set it on a standard, and it shall come about, that every one who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” ’
Yahweh responded mercifully. Not only would He remove the snakes but He would cause many of those bitten to be healed. So He commanded Moses to set up an image of a fiery serpent and set it up on a pole. Then He promised that whoever then looked to that image would live.
Remarkable examples of bronze and copper serpents have been discovered in Canaan. At Timna, south of Hebron, where copper was mined, a gilded copper snake has been found. At Hazor a serpent standard has been discovered. And a bronze serpent was found at Gezer. Thus there are parallels to the fiery serpent of bronze (or copper). The thought here was that they were to look away from the serpents who crawled in the dust to the serpent provided by Yahweh, lifted up high before them. The serpents slithering in the dust spelled death. Yahweh offered life. But they had to look. Unless they looked to Yahweh’s provision they would die. Some have seen the redness of the copper as symbolising the blood of sacrifice. But the lesson may more have been that in order to find life they must lift their eyes from the dust wherein death lies (compare Leviticus 11.20, 23, 31) and look to Yahweh the living God.
If the serpent into which Moses’ rod had turned in the time in Egypt was in mind, and it was not something easily forgotten, indeed may well have been proverbial among the Israelites, then this copper serpent ‘frozen’ on a pole might well have indicated how Yahweh could ‘freeze’ serpents whenever He would (Exodus 4.4). It would indicate to the people without words that their deliverance could only come through the rod of God and His power over serpents. They would possibly remember how Yahweh’s serpent had eaten up all the other serpents (Exodus 7.12). Thus it would enhance their faith and they would know from Whom their deliverance came.
21.9 ‘And Moses made a serpent of bronze (or copper), and set it on the standard, and it came about, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked to the serpent of bronze (copper), he lived.’
And Moses did as he was commanded. He made the serpent of bronze/copper, set it on a pole, and lifted it up. Then whoever of those who had been bitten, who looked to the serpent, lived. They had taken their minds from earthly things to seek the heavenly. They had looked to the rod and mighty authority of Yahweh.
Jesus used this example as a picture of His being lifted up on the cross, so that whoever looked to Him and believed on Him would live and have eternal life (John 3.14-15). Men had been bitten by sin and were doomed, but He had come to give them new life.
21.10 ‘And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in Oboth.’
Then the people continued their journey and encamped in Oboth. The name Oboth means ‘waterskins’. Perhaps there is a hint here of readiness for the plentiful water soon to come.
So we have here again the reminder that because God loves His people He chastens them. He will not allow us to permanently continue in known sins. If we murmur and complain against Him then we must expect ‘serpents’, troubles of some kind, to come among us. But in the final analysis His aim is to make us turn to Him so that we may have and enjoy eternal life.
6). Journey from Oboth to the Pisgah Looking Towards Jeshimon (21.11-20).
From this point on there is no shortage of water, as they move via the Wadi Zered to the River Arnon. And the abundance of water seemed to them like a dream fulfilled which they celebrated in song. The battle against the wilderness was won. But then they would have to move on to a different kind of battle. One difficulty after another would arise. In a sinful world life is ever such. But with Yahweh with them it would all turn out for the good.
Analysis.
Journey to the Arnon (21.11-13).
21.11 ‘And they journeyed from Oboth, and encamped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness which is before Moab, toward the sunrising.’
Compare here 33.44. Iye-abarim means ‘the ruins of Abarim’. It was by Moab, on the east (the sunrising).
21.12 ‘From there they journeyed, and encamped in the valley of Zered. From there they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, which comes out of the border of the Amorites.’
And from Iye-abarim they journeyed to the valley of Zered through which ran the Wadi Zered. The crossing of the Zered was seen as a major event in Deuteronomy 2.13-14. There we learn that at this point the old generation was seen as having all passed away. Yahweh’s work of pruning was completed.
21.13 ‘From there they journeyed, and encamped on the other side of the Arnon, which is in the wilderness, which comes out of the border of the Amorites. For the Arnon is the border of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites.’
They then moved along the eastern border of Moab in semi-desert and came to the River Arnon, Moab’s northern border. Note the continual stress on their being ‘in the wilderness’. They avoided the ‘built up areas’. They were seeking not to cause offence and to avoid aggression. But progress was now satisfactory.
A Song of Victory And Taking Of Water Sources and Land (21.14-15).
After the preliminary victory over Arad there now began a period of constant victory. The instatement of Eleazar had introduced a new era indeed.
21.14-15 ‘For this reason it is said in the book of the Wars of Yahweh:
The book of the Wars of Yahweh is mentioned only here. It probably contained the details of the battle at Rephidim (Exodus 17.8-16) and subsequent wars and skirmishes, including the battles fought here, written by Moses as God had instructed (Exodus 17.14).
The quotation was a reminder that their journey had been catalogued with this being an extract depicting this moment of the beginnings of their first major war, and it vividly pictured the victories which were to come. Vaheb was no doubt an Amorite fortress city, seemingly rapidly taken by Israel ‘in a whirlwind’, followed by the regions of the tributaries of the Arnon and the plains looking down on the Moabite border and the city of Ar, sources of water and land. Chronologically this would come in verse 24. But it is mentioned here as a reminder of their first permanent capture of water sources and fertile land which took place after reaching the Arnon, a firstfruit of what was to come. Together with what followed it stressed the abundance of water now made available to Israel. It was the commencement of the period of ‘milk and honey’, and with what follows it was the climax of the new beginning. Plentiful water was ever the picture of blessing, from Eden on to Revelation 22.
Yahweh Provides An Abundant Water Source (21.16-20).
21.16 ‘And from there they journeyed to Beer, that is the well of which Yahweh said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.”
Their next movement was to Beer (well). We are told that this was specifically a well revealed by Yahweh and made available to them, for He had said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” This well was so abundant that it resulted in a song of triumph. Note the song sandwich (see analysis above), a song before and a song afterwards. The water sources and well were the ultimate answer to all Israel’s periods of shortage of water as epitomised by the contention at Meribah. Only those who have known extreme water shortage can appreciate quite what this meant to Israel. The water sources were a symbol of life.
21.17-18a Then sang Israel this song,
Yahweh having revealed the whereabouts of the spring the well ‘sprang up’. The princes and nobles took the lead, digging it with their sceptre and staves. This would be the ceremonial element. Others would move in and do the hard work. But the song reveals the general rejoicing. They knew that their troubles with regard to water were behind them.
The wonder of the Christian life is that this overflowing water is always available in Christ. We can come to Him and drink, and the water we receive will then be in us a spring of water springing up to eternal life (John 4.14), and flowing out from us to a thirsty world round about (John 7.37-38).
21.18b-20 ‘And from the wilderness they journeyed to Mattanah, and from Mattanah to Nahaliel; and from Nahaliel to Bamoth; and from Bamoth to the valley that is in the field of Moab, to the top of Pisgah, which looks towards Jeshimon (or ‘down on the desert’).’
Now that they had abundant water advance was rapid. They moved quickly from one place to another until they came to the border of the promised land, and were able to look over at it from the Pisgah.
Bamoth (heights, high places) is probably identical with the Bamoth Baal, ‘the heights of Baal’ of Numbers 22.4. The purpose in these names here is to indicate the speed of travel until they came to the Pisgah (precipice) from which they could view the promised land across the Jordan valley. Thus the movement is seen as going from place to place almost without stopping until they reached the valley in the field of Moab and the top of the Pisgah which looks over the bleak desert over the Jordan at that point (compare for the description 23.28). This last area would be synonymous with ‘Abarim which is before Nebo’. These were not encampments, they were landmarks.
Compare here 33.45-47. But there it is the encampments which were recorded, where they set up the Dwellingplace, identified by the names of cities by which they encamped, while here those were deliberately ignored in order to give the impression of haste. Dibon-gad (Dibon of Gad), Almon-diblathaim and Abarim which is before Nebo (33.45-47) would be camp sites near cities, where the Dwellingplace was set up.
(II). Victory In The Wars of Yahweh (21.21-25.18).
Having tasted victory against the king of Arad, and come to the land of plenty, Yahweh now provided them with a series of victories forced on them by belligerent enemies. These would give them possession of the land of plenty on that side of Jordan, continuing the theme of the new beginning. These victories were important. Through their being forced on Israel they had to face them without thinking too hard, so that by the time that they had triumphed they were adequately prepared for ventures ahead. Had they had time to think they might well have decided that Sihon and Og were too powerful for them, but they had no time to think, and Yahweh reversed the defeat of their fathers by the Canaanites/Amorites (14.45 compare Deuteronomy 1.44) by giving glorious victories.
Analysis.
The territory that Israel were now operating in was in the land of the Moabites, although it was a section under the control of the Amorites who had seized it from Moab. Moses in fact wished to pass amicably by the land of Sihon, king of the Amorites but Sihon sought to prevent it. That was why he felt able to invade it and take possession of it. These were Amorites, akin to the Canaanites, and thus fair game. Nor had their land been given to them by Yahweh. They were trespassers. Yet they would have been left alone had they been cooperative, for they were not strictly people of ‘the land’. But Deuteronomy 2.30 confirms that it was Yahweh’s intention that the attack and defeat took place.
This would then be followed by a campaign against Og, king of Bashan and a ‘battle’ of another kind between Yahweh and the prophet Balaam who was recruited by Moab to curse Israel. They were moving on from victory to victory. It would only be their own lustful desires that would drag them down and bring God’s chastening on them (25). This was a reminder of the fact that the enemy we must most beware of is our own selves.
The term Amorite has various meanings in the Old Testament. It can refer to all the people of Canaan, (e.g. Genesis 15.16), to tribes living in the hill country of Canaan (Joshua 5.1; 10.5; Judges 1.34), to inhabitants of the Negeb and the region to the southeast of the Dead Sea (Genesis 14.7), and very often, as here, to the inhabitants east of the Jordan under the rule of Sihon and Og.
Battles with the Amorites (21.21-35).
Now commenced the epoch-making battles with the two kings of the Amorites on the east side of the Jordan which would provide Israel with its first conquered land.
1). The Defeat of Sihon, King of the Amorites (21.21-31).
While what is now described passes in a few verses we must not overlook what was involved. The taking of the land of the Amorites and of their fortified cities would not have been easy and would have taken considerable time and effort. But as the poem above made clear, Yahweh was with Israel and thus progress was rapid. It was Israel’s first period of sustained warfare.
Analysis.
A Plea to Sihon to Be Allowed to Pass Unscathed Through The Land of the Amorites (21.21-22).
21.21 ‘And Israel sent messengers to Sihon king of the Amorites, saying,’
In accordance with practise messengers were sent requesting safe passage without interference. They brought Moses’ words to the king.
21.22 “Let me pass through your land. We will not turn aside into field, or into vineyard. We will not drink of the water of the wells. We will go by the king’s highway, until we have passed your border.”
The request was from ‘king’ to king. ‘Let me pass through your land.’ It was then promised that if he did so they would use only the highway and not trespass on their fields or drink their water. This was referring to the continuation of ‘the Kings Highway’, the trade route to Damascus, which would make travel easier.
Sihon Refuses and Faces Up to Israel (21.23).
21.23 ‘And Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his border, but Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel into the wilderness, and came to Jahaz, and he fought against Israel.’
But Sihon was determined to prevent their passage. It may have been that he recognised that they were proceeding to an invasion on fellow-Amorites, or it may have been because he did not trust Israel and what they might do once they were in the midst of the land, or it may simply have been because he enjoyed fighting and saw the possibility of much booty. But whichever way it was he went out with his army to where Israel were ‘in the wilderness’, outside the fertile land, and coming to Jahaz, he fought against Israel.
Jahaz would shortly become a Reubenite city, and a levitical city (Joshua 13.18; 21.34, 36), but it would later be in conflict with Mesha, king of Moab, who, according to the Moabite stone, would eventually seize it. It would still be in Moabite hands in the days of Isaiah 15.4 and Jeremiah 48.21, 34.
Sihon Is Defeated and His Land Possessed Up to The Borders of Ammon (21.24).
21.24 ‘And Israel smote him with the edge of the sword, and possessed his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, even to the children of Ammon. For the border of the children of Ammon was strong.’
Israel defeated Sihon, and possessed his land. There would first be the initial battle and then the progressive taking of cities and seizure of the land which is described in summary. This is then followed by the history of Heshbon in poetic form.
‘From the Arnon to the Jabbok.’ The Arnon was the southern border of Sihon’s land and formed the border with Moab. The River Jabbok was to the north and then curved round southward to form a border with Ammon.
Once Sihon determined to resist Israelite progress battle was inevitable. The border of Ammon, the only other possible route, was strong, guarded by a ring of fortresses to which archaeology bears witness. Thus it was defeat Sihon or retreat. And once the victory had been won the rest followed. Deuteronomy tells us that in fact all this was because Yahweh intended this land for Israel and therefore hardened Sihon’s spirit in order to make him behave in the way in which he did (Deuteronomy 2.30). There the credit for the victory goes to Yahweh. And as the Amorites were basically ‘Canaanites’ (related to inhabitants of Canaan) they were all to be put to the sword.
The Possession of the Cities of Sihon (21.25-26).
21.25 ‘And Israel took all these cities. And Israel dwelt in all the cities of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its towns.’
Having defeated Sihon Israel took his cities, including Heshbon the capital city, one by one until all were in their possession. And subsequently they set up residence there, and throughout the whole country.
21.26 ‘For Heshbon was the city of Sihon the king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab, and taken all his land out of his hand, even to the Arnon.’
Then it is explained that in fact Heshbon was the royal city where Sihon dwelt, and that he and the Amorites had captured it from Moab, a description of these events then being provided in a celebration ode.
The Triumph Song of the Amorites (21.27-29).
21.27-29 ‘That is the reason that they who speak in proverbs say,
In vivid language the defeat of Moab by Sihon is described. First he captured Heshbon, which would become his royal city, and fortified it (established it’). Then he moved down like a flame and a fire as far as ‘Ar, a city of Moab and defeated the border lords, seizing a number of captive slaves. And although Chemosh was the god of Moab he was able to do nothing about it. Indeed he surrendered them to the opposing forces.
The point behind the song was not only to display Sihon’s belligerency, but also to expose Chemosh’s helplessness. But now Israel had defeated Sihon. That proved that Yahweh was Lord over all. And as Chemosh had surrendered the land, Moab no longer had a claim on it.
‘Ar was to the south of the Arnon but may simply be named as the nearest city to the border, being wasted but not retained. However, in early Hebrew ‘r could probably also signify ‘are (‘cities’) and that may be the rendering here.
Israel’s Taunt Song Against the Amorites (21.30).
In an addition to the poem, which does not compare as literature with the original, Israel then taunt Sihon and the Amorites with their loss. Israel had in turn shot at them and captured all their cities and territory. Apart from Nophah the cites are all well testified to. It may be significant that Sihon’s gods are not mentioned. The Pentateuch appears to deliberately avoid any mention of Baal apart from Baalpeor (22.41; 25.3, 5; Deuteronomy 4.3) and in place names (32.38; 33.7; Exodus 14.2, 9), possibly because of the danger at this early stage of ‘baal’ (lord) being linked with Yahweh. In the early days in the land ‘baal’ was even included in Israelite names (e.g Ish-baal, Meri-baal, which were changed into Ish-bosheth, Mephi-bosheth where bosheth means ‘shame’). We too must beware of false terminology. By astute use of language what is displeasing to God can easily be presented as being the real thing. The only way to prevent ourselves from being ensnared is to avoid sin and test everything by the word of God.
Israel Settle In The Land of the Amorites (21.31).
21.31 ‘Thus Israel dwelt in the land of the Amorites.’
The passage ends triumphantly with the fact that Israel now dwelt in the land of the Amorites. The Amorite bogey (Deuteronomy 1.27, 44) had been laid once for all.
One lesson for us from this incident is that sometimes what appears to be a disappointment can be turned by God into a triumph. In this case He was working in His sovereignty with the blessing of His people in mind. Israel were no doubt disappointed that the Amorites refused them passage, but the final result was possession of lands which would be theirs permanently.
2). The Defeat of Og, King of Bashan (21.32-35).
The defeat of Sihon did not pass unnoticed and when Israel advanced even further northwards Og, king of Bashan decided that enough was enough. Gathering his forces he came down from the north, from northern Gilead and Bashan, and faced up to Israel. Og was probably a giant of a man, and connected with a race similar to the Anakim (Deuteronomy 3.11). But that made no difference to Yahweh. Og was defeated and Gilead and Bashan were both taken and occupied and their cities subdued. The description is brief but the actual carrying out of it would again take some time.
Analysis.
21.32 ‘ And Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they took its towns, and drove out the Amorites who were there.’
After the defeat of Sihon Moses sent scouts to spy out Jazer, an Amorite city in Sihon’s kingdom. It was taken with its towns and the Amorites were ‘driven out’, possibly fleeing across the Jordan. Or they may have gone as refugees to Bashan thus prompting Og’s subsequent action.
21.33 ‘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 battle at Edrei.’
The advance of the Israelite army then continued on ‘the way of Bashan’. It may be that they were pursuing the Amorites who had fled from Jazer. This prompted Og to bring his army to Edrei, possibly in response to pleas for help, and there they met in battle. Edrei is modern Dura.
21.34 ‘And Yahweh said to Moses, “Fear him not, for I have delivered him into your hand, and all his people, and his land, and you shall do to him as you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon.’
We are told that Yahweh had given Moses especial assurance of victory. This may have been because of the imposing stature of Og, who would be enough to frighten the Israelites, or it may simply have been an added encouragement on the way. In their enthusiasm over their victories it was important that they recognised that their victories came from Yahweh. Either way the promise was that Og and his people would be delivered into their hands, and would have done to them what had been done to Sihon and his Amorites.
21.35 ‘So they smote him, and his sons and all his people, until none were left remaining to him, and they possessed his land.’
The end result was total defeat for Og. He and his sons were slain, and all the people exterminated, according to God’s requirement for all ‘Canaanites’ and ‘Amorites’. And finally they possessed his land. Although described so briefly it would in fact be an extended campaign.
More details of this conquest are given in Deuteronomy 3.1-11. While the details are here only given in summary form we must not underestimate the significance of the victories. They comforted Israel with the fact that they were well able to meet formidable foes and capture fortified cities, and they confirmed the power of Yahweh. And once they were completed and the land settled they were able to rejoice in the fact that Yahweh had given them the firstfruits of the land of milk and honey.
So quite unexpectedly as far as Israel were concerned they found themselves potential possessors of a huge area of fertile land which had plenty of water. It would still have to be settled, and parts would have to be reconquered in the future as the defeated former residents moved back while Israel were busy elsewhere, but it was a glorious firstfruits of what the future held for them. The taking over of this land by Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh is described in chapter 32.
The clear lesson we learn from this is that it matters not how superior our antagonists may appear to be. If God is on our side we have nothing to fear. Nothing is too hard for Him.
22.1 ‘And the children of Israel journeyed, and encamped in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan at Jericho.’
Their warfare being in successful process of completion, the people of Israel encamped in the plains of Moab opposite Jericho in Beyond Jordan. The plains of Moab were a large relatively uninhabited region north of the Arnon, in former Amorite territory. Israel would remain there for some time and there Moses delivered his final exhortation and encouragement as revealed in Deuteronomy, prior to his death. Here they were on the verge of the territory known as ‘Beyond Jordan’ which extended on both sides of the Jordan. The Moabites in their land south of the Arnon could hardly be anything but worried. They did not like their seeming inactivity. The inevitable question on their minds was, who were these people going to attack next? So they decided to take the initiative in order to protect themselves.
Battles Against Evil Influence (22.2-25.18).
Having defeated the Amorites and being in process of possessing their land Israel are now faced with a more subtle threat. This commences with the approach of the Aramean prophet Balaam, and continues with the results of his later evil plan.
3). The Defeat of the Evil Influence of Balaam (22.2-24.25).
The follow-up war against the Amorites in Bashan may still have been in progress under different generals while what follows was going on. (‘They possessed his land’ - 21.35, and that would take time. See 32.39-42). But meanwhile Moab, watching Israel from behind their frontiers, wondered what they were going to do next, and decided to take their own initiative.
In those days warfare was conducted on a number of levels. The most obvious was the clash of armies. But behind the clash of armies could be a variety of other activities. These could include interchange of correspondence enforcing their case by citing the power of their gods (see Judges 11.12-28), both encouraging their own troops and dismaying the enemy. Preliminary ‘battles’ taking place between champions in order to determine whose god was the most powerful (see 1 Samuel 17). And so on. But nothing was more important than ensuring that the gods were on your side. And that was where certain men seen as possessing awesome powers came in. Such men, ‘prophets’, ‘soothsayers’ and ‘diviners’ were seen as having special influence with the gods, and operated through dreams, visions, trances, omens, enchantments and the occult. We can compare the execration texts from Egypt, written on pottery against Egypt’s enemies, pottery which was then broken in order to apply the curse. (Amalek probably saw Moses with his hands held up in the same light - Exodus 17.11). One such ‘diviner’ in those days was the mighty Bala‘-‘am (‘the nation swallower’), held in awe throughout the Ancient Near East. It was to him that Moab were to turn.
Thus in these chapters we have revealed in the tactics of Balak, king of Moab, a different approach to the challenging of Israel from those before him. For while Israel had made no attempt to interfere with Moab, Balak was afraid. Here was a large and seemingly belligerent army on his frontiers and he wanted to get rid of them. But he seemingly did not feel up to taking them on in battle. Having probably heard of what Yahweh had done previously, and having seen them destroy the enemy that he himself had been unable to defeat, he decided that he needed ‘similar’ powers on his side, and he needed somehow to influence Yahweh.
So he sent for Bala‘am (the ‘nation-swallower’), the famous prophet-diviner, requesting that he come to him so that he might curse Israel. Balaam, the prophet-diviner, was a man of great reputation who apparently lived in northern Syria. Such people professed to be able to influence events by use of various occult methods. They would often enter into drug induced trances in which they could see and hear almost anything. They hired themselves out for gold, and their fees were high. The subsequent story in fact reveals what an enigmatic figure he was. For while he was certainly wanting to oblige Balak by bringing divine powers to his rescue, at the same time he openly acknowledged that they were not fully under his control. He acknowledged that unless the ‘gods’ were cooperative he could not achieve his ends. Indeed in seeking to exercise his gifts with Yahweh he was revealed as being limited in what he could achieve right from the beginning, by the response that came when he commenced his sorceries.
However, while not approving of his methods, the account does suggest a certain genuineness in what he sought to do, so much so that God was willing to have dealings with him and reveal things to him on behalf of His own people. Yet it is quite obvious that Balaam involved himself in the occult. He clearly considered that he did get in touch with other world beings, and did expect to receive messages from them. He was thus seen as engaging in spiritism and divination. Using Moses’ terms, he contacted devils (Deuteronomy 32.17). But as with the medium of Endor later (1 Samuel 28.6-25), where confronted with such, God was willing to use them in order to bring home His own message.
Bala‘am was not a worshipper of Yahweh, but that he was willing to listen to Him and respond to Him the account makes clear. It would seem that at first he mistakenly thought that he could treat Yahweh like any of his other other-world ‘contacts’. But he soon learned that he was dealing with something outside his previous experience. What harm he could actually have done to Israel we do not know, but certainly at the time everyone thought that he could do great harm.
The account is clearly a unity for it is based on a number of sections which follow a basically chiastic pattern in four instalments, 22.2-14; 22.15-38; 22.39-24.13; 24.14-25. But they also inter-relate. Balaam is the man whose eyes are open in 24.3 and 15. In 24.4, 16 he is the one who has ‘heard the words of God and saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance (or ‘falling down’) but having his eyes open’. (This certainly sounds like drug use). He ‘took up his parable (incantation)’ five times in 24.3, 15, 20, 21, 23. His extra prophecies are fourfold (24.15-19, 20, 21-22, 23-24) which with his threefold prophecies/blessings in 23.7-10, 18-24; 24.3-9 make up a sevenfold series of prophecies.
The whole account is also notable for the emphasis put on threefold action. The ass avoided the angel of Yahweh three times (22.28, 32; see verses 23, 25, 27). Balaam had three major encounters with Yahweh (22.9-12, 20, 32-35). Balaam offered three sets of sacrifices (22.39-24.13). Yahweh gives His word to Balaam three times (23.5, 16; 24.2 compare 22.38). Three times things happen ‘in the morning’ (22.13, 21, 41). We can note also that to Yahweh the messengers are but ‘men’ (’anoshim) three times (22.9, 20, 35).
But we may ask, ‘why is so much space given in Scripture to this rather strange history when seemingly larger affairs are dealt with in a few sentences?’ The answer lies mainly in the words which God put in Balaam’s mouth. Three times he spoke, followed by further prophecy, and in doing so he confirmed the promises of God to His people. That they were spoken by a non-Israelite prophet of the status of Balaam made them even more significant. The words of such a man as Balaam would be a major encouragement as Israel prepared to enter the land in order to take possession, for they would be seen as coming from an external prophetic source. It was only human nature among the weaker of them that while they might have some doubts about what Yahweh promised, the promises seemed much more certain when spoken by such a man as Balaam. And God graciously allowed it to be so for their sakes.
In his first prophecy Balaam would speak of Israel as being like the dust of the earth (compare Genesis 13.16), and as being innumerable (23.10 compare Genesis 12.2; 13.16), both recognised signs of blessing as promised by Yahweh. He would also describe them as a nation dwelling alone, different from all other nations (23.9), a holy nation (compare Exodus 19.5-6), thus further confirming the promises and revealing that they were blessed by their God.
In the second he would speak of their deliverance from Egypt and their being firmly established, with God among them as their King with, metaphorically speaking, the strength and horns of the wild ox (23.21), a fearsome Opponent indeed, who could dispense lions with the toss of his head. While Israel themselves were depicted as being, along with their God, dangerous and victorious like a pride of lions (23.24). In other words Israel had become a powerful people, with the even more powerful Yahweh living among them as their King and God.
In the third he saw them as being in a land of fruitfulness, with plenteous waters available to them (see 21.14-18), and spreading that fruitfulness around the world, with their God still being powerful and they still being like a victorious pride of lions.
And finally he saw the coming to them of a future ruler who would be victorious over all around him (compare Genesis 17.6). This remarkable series of prophecies, revealing the rise and triumph of Israel from early beginnings to its final triumph, will be considered in more detail in the commentary. But it explains the importance laid on these prophecies.
Then, secondly, God’s control of Balaam was probably seen as an example of the greatness of Yahweh. The mighty Balaam was feared throughout the Ancient Near East, but he was nothing before Yahweh. He was seen as subject to Yahweh’s will. The thought would be that if Yahweh could defeat Balaam, He could defeat anyone. For that Balaam was an awesome figure comes out in that his name has been found in an Aramaic text written on wall plaster at Tell Deir ‘Alla in the Jordan valley dating from around 700 BC in which he is seen as involved with a number of gods and goddesses whose will he conveys to a disobedient people. His reputation as a powerful contact person between men and the gods had passed into history, it had been immortalised.
Balak’s Entreaty to Balaam (22.2-14).
The story began with Balak sending important messengers to Balaam. These were ‘chieftains’ (sarim - ‘nobles’, ‘chieftains’, ‘princes’) who would seek to persuade him to come to Moab and curse Israel. This was to be the subject of the first fourteen verses.
Analysis.
The first fourteen verses relate to Balak’s first appeal to Balaam. These can be analysed chiastically.
Balak Is Afraid of the Children of Israel and Fears That They Will Spoil Moab (22.2-4)
22.2 ‘And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.’
Balak, king of Moab (verse 4), had received notice of all that Israel had done to the Amorites. This would especially relate to what he knew had happened in the adjacent kingdom. Whether Og had also been defeated at this time we do not know. We can, however, understand Balak’s fear when he saw all the Amorites slain and their cities taken, for he himself had not been able to withstand the Amorites who had possessed half his land. He was not aware of Yahweh’s word to Moses that Moab was not to be disturbed, or if he had received messages to that end he probably thought that he had cause not to believe them. He clearly did not lay as much stress on the family relationship as God did (Deuteronomy 2.9).
22.3 ‘And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many, and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.’
So Moab were dreadfully afraid of Israel, because of the size of their army. And as they saw them encamped seemingly permanently almost on their borders and heard what they were accomplishing elsewhere they were ‘distressed because of the children of Israel’. They waited pensively and apprehensively, wondering when the attack would be turned on them.
22.4a ‘And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “Now will this multitude lick up all that is round about us, as the ox licks up the grass of the field.’
In their dilemma they also consulted with their allies, a group of Midianites (probably including Amalekites and Kenites, both of whom were inter-related to the Midianites through Abraham - see 24.20-21; Genesis 25.2; 36.12; Exodus 18.1 with Judges 1.16; 4.11) who had been settled in the kingdom of Sihon (Joshua 13.21) and who had quite possibly escaped to Moab territory. They described to the ‘elders’ (chief men and advisers) of these Midianites how Israel were denuding their neighbours like a hungry ox denudes a field, as they had good cause to know. It would surely be their turn next. They suggested that they needed to act together to rid themselves of this menace.
Balak Sends Messengers to Balaam Describing ‘The People Who Have Come From Egypt’ Who Are In Large Numbers (22.5).
Having consulted with the Midianite elders, Balak, king of Moab, sent messengers to Balaam pleading with him to come and help them against Israel, emphasising the huge numbers that they were opposing.
22.4b ‘And Balak the son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time.’
This note is put in so as to explain why it was he who acted and responded to the people’s fears. It was because at that time he was the king of Moab. (His pre-eminence in the matter suggests that the Midianites in mind here were in Moabite territory and in treaty relations with him - compare Abraham with the king of Salem in Genesis 14)
22.5 ‘And he sent messengers to Balaam the son of Beor, to Pethor, which is by the River, to the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, “Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt. Behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me.’
Balak was aware that Moab could not defeat Israel unless somehow they were weakened and the power of their God neutralised. So he formulated a plan. He sent messengers to Balaam, the son of Beor, the great prophet of Pethor by the Euphrates, (probably the Pitru of Assyrian inscriptions), which was ‘the land of the children of his people’. This may mean simply his native land, or may indicate that it was a place where many such diviners and sorcerers had taken up residence. In Joshua 13.22 Balaam is called a ‘diviner’ (qasam). This clearly also involved him being in contact with the spirit world. Some see ‘his people’ (‘ammo) as referring rather to ‘the land of the ‘Amavites’ mentioned in a 13th century BC inscription from Alalakh.
For Balak to send to a stranger in so far off a place for assistance must have meant that the reputation of Balaam was awesome. Balaam had obviously built up an extensive reputation as being effective in cursing people, for the Midianites later called on him again in spite of his failure in this case, and it was then that Balaam was slain along with the Midianite leaders (31.8). This was because he who had advised the method of destroying the Israelites by causing them to offend Yahweh (31.16). This last incident warns us against seeing him as deserving of Yahweh’s approval.
22.6 ‘Come now therefore, I pray you, curse me this people, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall prevail, that we may smite them, and that I may drive them out of the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.’
Balak’s intention was that Balaam might weaken Israel by putting a curse on them so that Moab could then smite them. And he called for him to come and curse Israel, so weakening them that he and his armies could deal with them. For he knew that when Balaam cursed men, they were cursed, and conversely that when he blessed men they were blessed. If he could be blessed and Israel could be cursed, in his view this would give him a real advantage. This confirms the kind of reputation that Balaam had in this direction. Many an army would be unwilling to fight and would fight less well if they heard that they had been cursed by a man like Balaam. It would be enough to put them off fighting altogether. And many would fight better because he had blessed them.
The Elders Leave With Rewards In Their Hand To Persuade Balaam to Curse Israel (22.7).
22.7 ‘And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand, and they came to Balaam, and spoke to him the words of Balak.’
Certain Midianite princes, along with their tribes, who were now probably refugees in Moabite territory as a result of the defeat of Sihon in whose kingdom they had been settled (Joshua 13.21), were united with Moab in their evil intention against Israel (see also verse 4; 25.6, 17-18; 31.1-12). Their elders, chief men of the tribes, thus combined with the elders of Moab to seek out Balaam. And they took in their hands ‘the rewards of divination’. It may be that there was a recognised fee for such an action as Balaam was to be called on to perform. Or it may simply have been a large bribe. Then, when they arrived where Balaam was, they told him the words of Balak, which presumably included the fact that he wanted him to neutralise Yahweh’s power.
Balaam Tells Them to Wait While He Obtains Words From Yahweh. (22.8).
22.8 ‘And he said to them, “Lodge here this night, and I will bring you word again, as Yahweh shall speak to me,” and the chieftains of Moab abode with Balaam.’
Balaam clearly had a fairly large establishment as he was able to put up all the elders who had arrived with their servants. And he invited them to lodge with him that night while he received a word from Yahweh and found out what he would say. It seems from what follows that the purpose in bringing in Balaam lay in the belief that he could persuade a nation’s own god/gods to turn against their people and remove their protection from them. Thus in this case, having been informed that Yahweh was Israel’s God, he recognised that he would have to deal with Yahweh on the matter. Meanwhile the ‘chieftains of Moab’, representatives from Moab and their allies, remained with Balaam.
Yahweh Comes with Words For Balaam (22.9).
Balaam wasted no time. That night he sought to make contact with Yahweh. We are not informed of what methods he used, but they were seemingly successful, for ‘God came to Balaam’. (Not just another god, but the only God).
22.9 ‘And God came to Balaam, and said, “What men are these who are with you?”
Starting by using his own methods of divination in order to ‘contact’ Yahweh, Balaam became aware that Someone was there and ready to speak to him. Then God came up with a question. ‘Who are these men who are with you and what is their status and purpose?’ (Balaam was used to ‘hearing voices’).
Note that Yahweh was now described in terms of ‘God’. It was important that it was recognised that He alone was God, not just one among a number of ‘gods’ contacted by Balaam. And that to Him, Yahweh, those who came to Balaam were but ‘men’ (see also verse 20, 35. Note the threefoldness). It was a conflict between ‘God’ and ‘man’. (See 23.19). So the writer makes clear that Balaam was not here just contacting his usual spiritual ‘contacts’. It was God Himself Who came to him.
Balaam Explains That Balak Has Sent Them, Wanting Israel To Be Cursed (22.10-11)
22.10-11 ‘And Balaam said to God, “Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent to me, saying, “Behold, the people which is come out of Egypt, it covers the face of the earth. Now, come curse me them, perhaps I shall be able to fight against them, and shall drive them out.”’
Balaam explained the situation. Balak, an important king, had sent to him telling him of a people who had come out of Egypt in great numbers and he wanted them to be cursed so that he would be able to drive them away from his country.
God Tells Him Not to Go and Not to Curse Israel (22.12)
22.12 ‘And God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” ’
Note again that the One Who spoke to him was called ‘God’ and not ‘Yahweh’. He was not to be seen as one of many gods whom Balaam contacted (which was how Balaam would have seen Yahweh). He was the living God, the only God. He sternly informed Balaam that he must not go, and that he was not to seek to curse this people, for they were blessed. In other words they had special protection over them and were strengthened and watched over by Him. So no one must touch them (compare Psalm 105.15).
Balaam Tells The Messengers To Return Home, And They Return (22.13-14)
22.13 ‘And Balaam rose up in the morning, and said to the nobles/chieftains of Balak, “Get you into your land, for Yahweh refuses to give me leave to go with you.” ’
Next morning therefore Balaam told ‘the nobles/chieftains of Balak’ to return to their land because he had been consulting Yahweh, (he recognised the One Who had come as Yahweh) and Yahweh had refused to permit him to go. The chieftains would be suitably impressed. Once they had told Balak this he would know that he was dealing with the right man for the job. Here was someone in touch with Yahweh, Israel’s God. They may well have thought inwardly that Balaam was simply delaying in order to seek a better price.
Note that ‘the elders’ who were sent were ‘nobles’ or ‘chieftains’ (the word sar can indicate princes, rulers, nobles, chieftains, or captains depending on context). A good impression had to be made on Balaam. He was not just anyone.
‘In the morning.’ This phrase is another feature of the narrative. It occurs here and in verses 21, 41. We can compare a similar idea (but not the same phrase) in the story in chapters 16-17. See 16.5, 7, 41; 17.8.
22.14 ‘And the chieftains of Moab rose up, and they went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
So the chieftains rose and returned to Balak, and informed him that Balaam refused to come with them.
Balak’s Second Entreaty to Balaam Followed By The Threefold Activity of Balaam’s Ass (22.15-40).
No doubt feeling that the reason why Balaam had not come was because he was not satisfied with the price offered, ‘the rewards of divination’ (verse 7) that he had previously sent, Balak sent even more important messengers to Balaam, offering him even greater rewards. He could not see why Balaam, the manipulator of gods, could not manipulate this one for him.
While what follows might seem strange to most of us, it would not seem so strange to those who are involved in spiritism and the occult. Evil spirits are still open to being contacted by humans, and although more modern ‘diviners’ might talk with their cat rather than their ass, they would in many cases tell you that their cat spoke back to them. They are used to hearing what they consider to be voices from ‘the other side’. (How it is to be interpreted is another matter. Scripture indicates that such activities are connected with devilry - Deuteronomy 32.17; 1 Corinthians 10.20).
But the description of Balaam’s dealings with his ass are not just a matter of that, nor are they as trivial as they might appear. They are intended to bring out the extremely important point that while Balaam was mighty in dreams and visions of the night, in the broad light of day he was blinder than his ass. For in what next occurred it was not Balaam who took the central stage, but his ass. This put Balaam right into perspective. His powers were limited. At times even his ass saw more than he did.
Analysis of the passage.
Note the threefold consecutive pattern in the middle which is also repeated in the next series. There could have been no more emphatic way than this to indicate that Balaam was behaving like his noble ass when he three times sought to use his powers against Israel. To retain the perfect chiastic pattern the threefold activity g h, g h, g h could be treated as one, (as one large g). The threefoldness is deliberately inserted for the purposes of emphasis and in order to indicate completeness.
Balak Sends Even More Important Messengers To Persuade Balaam To Come (22.15).
22.15 ‘And Balak sent yet again chieftains, more, and more honourable than they.’
Balak now set out to impress. In his next deputation he sent a more numerous delegation made up of even more powerful chieftains. The large party would have been an impressive sight, and that was Balak’s intention.
Balak Offers Balaam Great Reward For His Assistance (22.16-19).
22.16-17 ‘And they came to Balaam, and said to him, “Thus says Balak the son of Zippor, Let nothing, I pray you, hinder you from coming to me, for I will promote you to very great honour, and whatever you say to me I will do. Come therefore, I pray you, curse me this people.” ’
Balak was now desperate. Note the formal style of the diplomatic message. ‘Thus says’ (compare 20.14). Then the title of honour and identification, ‘Balak the son of Zippor’. Then the plea and offer of great reward. Then the statement of what was required.
Thus he courteously, but firmly, strongly expressed his desire for Balaam to come, with promises that he would promote him to very great honour. He assured him that he would fall in line with all his requirements. Nothing more could have been offered. He was at his wit’s end. He made it clear that all he wanted was that Balaam would come and curse ‘this people’, and that he was willing to pay any price to achieve it.
22.18 ‘And Balaam answered and said to the servants of Balak, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of Yahweh my God, to do less or more.” ’
Note the change of description, ‘the servants of Balak’. To Balaam this impressive deputation were but lackeys to a petty king. He had dealt with higher than these, and he was Balaam. He assured them loftily that wealth mattered nothing if the gods were not responsive. Balak could offer him all his treasure house, but it could not alter the situation. In this particular case where Yahweh was involved he could only act if Yahweh was responsive. He was not at the behest of kings, he was a servant of the gods.
‘Yahweh my God.’ This cannot mean that he was a worshipper of Yahweh for he was later found meddling again along with the Midianites (31.8) seeking to subvert the children of Israel. What he was doing was pointing out to Balak that while he was on reasonable terms with Yahweh he was not Yahweh’s master, but that Yahweh was his master. (To Babylonians he would have said, ‘Marduk my god’.) By ‘my elohim’ he also possibly had in mind one of the particular ‘contacts’ he would use through whom he expected Yahweh would speak to him. But either way he was stressing by it that he responded to gods, not simply made them do what he wanted. Like men gods had to be persuaded, and until they were persuaded he was powerless.
22.19 “Now therefore, I pray you, tarry you also here this night, that I may know what Yahweh will speak to me more.”
So he informed the delegation that they must once again stay overnight in order that he might consult Yahweh and learn more from Him.
The Words of God (22.20).
22.20 ‘And God came to Balaam at night, and said to him, “If the men are come to call you, rise up, go with them; but only the word which I speak to you, that shall you do.” ’
Once the deputation were settled down Balaam began his rites for contacting Yahweh through his spirit contacts. But the One Who came to Balaam that night was no spirit contact, it was ‘God’ Himself. And this time He informed him that he could go with the men, but that he must only speak whatever word God gave to him. Note again the derogatory reference to ‘men’ in contrast with ‘God’. God was not impressed with the size and importance of the deputation.
Balaam Therefore Goes with the Chieftains of Moab (22.21).
22.21 ‘And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass, and went with the chieftains of Moab.’
As God had bidden him Balaam rose, saddled his ass, and went with the chieftains of Moab. Note that he was now supposed to be under God’s orders. But it is clear that his thoughts were seemingly otherwise. He was all mixed up. For God knew that while he was obeying Him, he was still thinking in terms of helping the Moabites. He was measuring up how he could ‘persuade’ God to conform to what he wanted. Thus he needed to be taught a lesson.
The Angel of Yahweh Bars The Way Three Times (22.22-35).
22.22 ‘And God’s anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of Yahweh placed himself in the way for an adversary against him. Now he was riding on his ass, and his two servants were with him.’
This verse puzzles many people. Why, they ask, was God angry if Balaam was only doing what he had been told? The reply is that while God had sent Him, He was angry at the very fact that he was going, or even needed to go. He was angry at the whole situation. The whole affair had aroused His wrath. And now that Balaam was actually going His anger at the overall situation was even more aroused, especially as He recognised that Balaam’s submission was not complete.
For this affair was not something of which He approved. He had recognised that if Balaam did not go, someone else would be called and that Balaam’s refusal to go would not have ended the matter. That indeed was the only reason that He had allowed him to go. But He did not believe that Balaam was approaching the matter with the right attitude. So in order to demonstrate His anger in the situation, and so that Balaam might be fully aware of it, He now sent His Angel to act as an adversary and oppose him. It was important that Balaam did not get carried away. He must learn of the precariousness of his situation.
For He recognised that Balaam was not just going as a meek and willing instrument of Yahweh. He was going as his own man. He had his own agenda, and he still probably thought that in the end he could bring Yahweh round to his way of thinking. While God did not mind him going, as long as he was going for the right reason, He knew tha