9. Conquering the Transjordan and Moses' Death (Numbers 20-27; Deuteronomy 32, 34)
by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson
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James J. Tissot, "Moses Strikes the Rock" (1896-1900), watercolor,
Jewish Museum, New York.
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image. |
Nearly 40 years have elapsed since Moses had sent out
the spies from Kadesh and the ten had come back with a bad report. Now the
Israelites are at Kadesh again at the end of many years of desert wanderings
following the Lord's judgment that the entire unbelieving generation would
die in the wilderness. At Kadesh they began their wandering, and at Kadesh
they will conclude it, for their next stop is at Mount Hor in the plains of
Moab in the fortieth year after leaving Egypt (Numbers 33:36-38).
1 Here in Kadesh, Miriam herself dies (Numbers 20:1), one of the last of the
old generation.
Before at Kadesh, there had been plenty of water due to
the strong springs there.2 But this time when they arrive, the water has dried up. This precipitates a
now-familiar crisis, this time with the children of those who had crossed
the Red Sea some 40 years previously.
"2 Now there was no water for the
community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3
They quarreled with Moses and said, 'If only we had died when our
brothers fell dead before the LORD! 4 Why did you bring the
LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die
here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible
place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no
water to drink!'" (Numbers 20:2-5)
The glory of the Lord appears to Moses and Aaron, a
sign of the Lord's anger as before (Numbers 12:5; 14:10; 16:19, 42). The
Lord gives Moses very clear instructions.
"8 Take the staff, and you and your
brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before
their eyes and it will pour out its water." (Numbers 20:8a)
Early in the Exodus, Moses had brought water from a
rock before by striking it in the presence of the elders (Exodus 17:6). But
this time, the Lord tells him to speak to it, rod in hand. Normally,
Moses is careful to do exactly what the Lord tells him, but this time he is
angry at the people gathered to watch.
"10 He and Aaron gathered the
assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, 'Listen, you
rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?'11 Then Moses
raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out,
and the community and their livestock drank." (Numbers 20:10-11)
The Lord doesn't shame Moses and Aaron before the
people; he honors their leadership publicly. Privately, however, the Lord
rebukes them:
"Because you did not trust in me enough
to honor me as holy3 in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the
land I give them." (Numbers 20:12)
Later in Numbers we read:
"Both of you rebelled against (mārâ)
my command at the waters of Meribah." (Numbers 20:24)
"Both of you disobeyed (mārâ) my
command to honor me as holy before their eyes." (Numbers 27:14)
"Disobeyed" (NIV), "rebelled" (KJV, NRSV) is
mārâ, "be rebellious against, disobedient towards."4 The psalmist wrote about this incident, as well:
"By the waters of Meribah they angered
the LORD,
and trouble came to Moses because of them;
for they rebelled against the Spirit of God,
and rash words5 came from Moses' lips." (Psalm 106:32-33)
What did Moses and Aaron do so wrong that they were
denied entrance to the Promised Land? The nature of Moses' and Aaron's sin
is two-fold:
- Disobedience. They disobeyed God's instructions to speak to
the rock. Instead they struck the rock and spoke to the people,
as though they possessed the power to produce water from the rock.
- Not sanctifying God. When Moses and Aaron used the word "we" (Numbers 20:10), rather than giving God glory by declaring God's act of
power, it had the effect of compromising divine holiness, which was an
unpardonable act of insubordination.6
How did this disobedience count as unbelief?
Certainly, Moses' striking the rock was an act of faith in God's power on
his behalf, even though it was arrogant. Nevertheless, while obedience shows
faith and trust, disobedience shows disregard for God's word and is an act
of rebellion, of breaking faith with God. We are so quick to justify our own
rebellion against God's commands that it is hard to understand Moses' sins.
The leadership lesson is that if we are to lead God's
people, we must learn to obey exactly what God says -- no more and no less.
We are not independent leaders, but lead on God's behalf. When we err, we
must immediately repent and seek God's forgiveness and mercy -- something
that we don't read that Moses or Aaron did. When we leaders walk in
arrogance, we are on shaky ground with God!
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Q1. (Numbers 20:1-13) What did God tell
Moses to do to bring water out of the rock? What did Moses actually
do? In what way did he sin? What emotions and attitudes were behind
his sin, do you think? What must leaders do when they sin in these
ways?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1066
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Now it is time to leave Kadesh, which has served as a
base for the Israelites for many years in their desert wanderings. They are
now moving to position themselves to enter the Promised Land. But the
kingdom of Edom lies in their path along the King's Highway, the main
north-south road east of the Dead Sea and the Jordan River.
"14 Moses sent messengers from
Kadesh to the king of Edom, saying: 'This is what your brother Israel says:
You know about all the hardships that have come upon us.… Now we are here at
Kadesh, a town on the edge of your territory. 17 Please let us
pass through your country. We will not go through any field or vineyard,
or drink water from any well. We will travel along the king's highway and
not turn to the right or to the left until we have passed through your
territory." (Numbers 20:14-17)
But the king of Edom refuses them permission and sends his army to
challenge them. Moses decides it prudent not to take this route.
Nevertheless, the Israelites leave Kadesh and move to Mount Hor,7 very close to Edom. Here Aaron dies and Eleazar his son takes his place as
high priest (Numbers 20:22-29).
From Mount Hor, the Israelites continue east where they
are attacked by the king of Arad, an ancient Canaanite city identified with
Tell Arad. The Israelites destroy Arad's army and their towns (Numbers
21:1-3).
The journey continues as the Israelites swing to the
south to avoid entering Edomite territory. But as they encounter
difficulties, they begin to complain, sounding just like their fathers
before them. The problem is familiar: lack of water and manna, which they've
grown to hate (as in Numbers 11:6):
"4b But the people grew impatient8 on the way; 5 they spoke against God and against Moses, and said,
'Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no
bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable9 food!'" (Numbers 21:4b-5)
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James J. Tissot, detail of "The Brazen Serpent" (1896-1900),
watercolor, The Jewish Museum, New York City.
Larger image. |
This time, however, they complain openly about
God and criticize his provision of food, rather than blame their problems on
Moses only. Moses doesn't answer them. But God punishes their rebelliousness
with poisonous snakes that strike terror into the multitude.
"6 Then the LORD sent venomous
snakes10 among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died. 7 The
people came to Moses and said, 'We sinned when we spoke against the LORD and
against you. Pray that the LORD will take the snakes away from us.' So Moses
prayed for the people." (Numbers 21:6-7)
The people complain against both Moses and the Lord,
but when they're in trouble, they confess their sins and they turn to Moses
to intercede with the Lord on their behalf.11 God gives Moses a curious instruction to stimulate the people's faith.12
"8 The LORD said to Moses, 'Make a
snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and
live.'9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it up on a pole.13 Then when anyone was bitten by a snake and looked at the bronze snake, he
lived. (Numbers 21:8-9)
Keil comments,
"The Lord helped them, in such a way, however,
that the reception of help was made to depend on the faith of the people....
Whoever then of the persons bitten by the poisonous serpents looked at the
brazen serpent with faith in the promise of God, lived, that is, recovered
from the serpent's bite.... It was ... intended as a figurative
representation of the poisonous serpents, rendered harmless by the mercy of
God."14
Jesus compared the snake lifted up in the
wilderness to himself being lifted up on the cross -- that those who look on
him with faith live.
"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the
desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal life." (John 3:14-15)
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Q2. (Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-15) What
precipitated the plague of snakes? Is being impatient with God's
provision a sin? Why or why not? What are the points of comparison
between the bronze snake in the desert and Christ on the cross?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1067
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Conquering Kingdoms East of the Jordan (Numbers 21:10-35)
Now the Israelites travelled east of the King's Highway
in order to avoid a conflict with Edom, then headed north into Moabite
territory. Moses sends messengers to Sihon, king of the Amorites, to assure
him of their peaceful intentions, but Sihon musters his army against Israel
and fights them at Jahez. Israel is victorious.
"24 Israel, however, put him to the
sword and took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok.… 25
Israel captured all the cities of the Amorites and occupied them, including
Heshbon and all its surrounding settlements. 26 Heshbon was the
city of Sihon king of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king
of Moab and had taken from him all his land as far as the Arnon…. 31
So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites." (Numbers 20:24-25, 31)
Next the Israelite army travels north towards Bashan,
the present-day Golan Heights area, east of the Sea of Galilee. Og, king of
Bashan, meets them for battle at Edrei. They, too, are defeated, leaving the
Israelites in control of all the land north of the Arnon River, east of the
Jordan. The Israelites now camp at the plains of Moab along the Jordan
River, across from Jericho.
The Moabites who live east of the Dead Sea are
terrified of such a huge number of people. They say to their Midianite
allies,
"This horde is going to lick up everything
around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field." (Numbers 22:4)
To curse the Israelites, Balak, king of Moab, summons a prophet-for-hire named Balaam, who lives near the Euphrates River. Balaam hears from
God, from Yahweh, though he is not obedient from the heart. Though God has
told him that he must not curse them, eventually he goes to Moab to see if
he can earn a handsome fee.
As he goes, Balaam's ass sees the angel of the Lord
standing in the road with a drawn sword, but Balaam is so spiritually blind
that he cannot see it himself, and beats his donkey. Finally that ass speaks to him;
only then can Balaam see the danger.
When he finally arrives in Moab, Balak takes him to
various vista points where he can see the Israelite camp and curse them. But
each time, instead of cursing, Balaam blesses the Israelites. Balaam finally
returns home.
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Map of Israelite camp at Shittim near the Moabites
living at Baal-Peor.
Larger image. |
Though he would not curse Israel, however, Balaam's
counsel brings its own kind of curse to God's people. We read in the Book of
Revelation:
"You have people there who hold to the
teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin by
eating food sacrificed to idols and by committing sexual immorality." (Revelation 2:14)
Peor is a town near to Shittim on the plain of
Moab where the Israelites are encamped.
1 While Israel was staying in
Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women,
2 who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people
ate and bowed down before these gods. 3 So Israel joined in
worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them." (Numbers 25:1-3)
A plague from the Lord strikes Israel. But the
sinners act so brazenly that an Israelite brings a Midianite woman into his
tent in full sight of Moses.
"7 When Phinehas son of Eleazar,
the son of Aaron, the priest, saw this, he left the assembly, took a spear
in his hand 8 and followed the Israelite into the tent. He drove
the spear through both of them -- through the Israelite and into the woman's
body. Then the plague against the Israelites was stopped; 9 but
those who died in the plague numbered 24,000." (Numbers 25:7-9)
Phinehas is rewarded for his zeal to honor the Lord by
"a covenant of a lasting priesthood" (Numbers 25:13). Psalm 106 commemorates
this act to defend Yahweh's honor.
"They yoked themselves to the Baal of
Peor
and ate sacrifices offered to lifeless gods;
They provoked the LORD to anger by their wicked deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
But Phinehas stood up and intervened,
and the plague was checked.
This was credited to him as righteousness
for endless generations to come." (Psalm 106:28-30)
Israel then goes to war against the Midianites
who "deceived you in the affair of Peor" (Numbers 25:18).
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Q3. (Numbers 25; Revelation 2:14) Though
Balaam wouldn't prophesy evil against Israel, he was willing to
counsel the Moabites how to hurt Israel. How did Balaam's counsel
lead Israel into sin? Why was Aaron's grandson Phinheas so honored
for his action? What was his reward? Why are we so often zealous to
defend the rights of God's enemies and so slow to defend God's
honor?
http://www.joyfulheart.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=1068
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Now Moses and Eleazar, Aaron's son and successor as
high priest, take a census of the nation (except for the Levites), counting
601,730 males over 20. The Scripture records the evaluation.
"64 Not one of them was among those
counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in
the Desert of Sinai. 65 For the LORD had told those Israelites
they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except
Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun." (Numbers 26:64-65)
God's prophecy at Kadesh has been fulfilled. Now
the people are ready to enter the Promised Land -- all except Moses. His
final acts are to commission his successor and to remind the people about the
Covenant.
Moses says to the Lord,
16 "May the LORD, the God of the
spirits of all mankind, appoint a man over this community 17 to
go out and come in before them, one who will lead them out and bring them
in, so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd." (Numbers 27:16)
So the Lord directs him to publicly lay his hands
on and commission his longtime aide, Joshua, "a man in whom is the Spirit" (Numbers 27:18).
Now Moses recounts before the assembled people the
Covenant and its laws, which comprises most of the book of Deuteronomy.
Finally, he recites for them a song, the Song of Moses, recounting their
past and future in measured Hebrew poetic form. It is a long psalm, but here
are a few excerpts, beginning with praise of Yahweh:
"3 I will proclaim the name of
the LORD.
Oh, praise the greatness of our God!
4 He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just.
A faithful God who does no wrong,
upright and just is he." (Deuteronomy 32:3-4)
Then Moses recounts Israel's apostasy.
"5 They have acted corruptly
toward him;
to their shame they are no longer his children,
but a warped and crooked generation.
6 Is this the way you repay the LORD,
O foolish and unwise people?
Is he not your Father, your Creator,
who made you and formed you?" (32:5-6)
He reminds them of his tender care for Israel.
"In a desert land he found him,
in a barren and howling waste.
He shielded him and cared for him;
he guarded him as the apple of his eye,
like an eagle that stirs up its nest
and hovers over its young,
that spreads its wings to catch them
and carries them on its pinions.
The LORD alone led him;
no foreign god was with him." (32:10-12)
Now he warns them prophetically of future
apostasy.
"Jeshurun grew fat and kicked;
filled with food, he became heavy and sleek.
He abandoned the God who made him
and rejected the Rock his Savior.
They made him jealous with their foreign gods
and angered him with their detestable idols.
They sacrificed to demons, which are not God--
gods they had not known,
gods that recently appeared,
gods your fathers did not fear." (32:15-17)
After a sad time of turning to other gods, the
Lord will again take them up and fight against their enemies.
"The LORD will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free." (32:36)
"See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand." (32:39)
"Rejoice, O nations, with his people,
for he will avenge the blood of his servants;
he will take vengeance on his enemies
and make atonement for his land and people." (32:43)
Jesus Christ, a descendent of the tribe of Judah,
is the one whom God sends to make this atonement!
Moses concludes with a charge to the people.
"Take to heart all the words I have solemnly
declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey
carefully all the words of this law. 47 They are not just idle
words for you -- they are your life. By them you will live long in the land
you are crossing the Jordan to possess." (32:46-48)
When Moses' speech and song before the people were
completed -- on the same day -- God tells him how he will die on Mount Nebo,
within sight of Canaan, but never to enter it,
"51 because … you broke faith with me in the
presence of the Israelites at the waters of Meribah Kadesh in the Desert of Zin and because you did not uphold my holiness among the Israelites. 52
Therefore, you will see the land only from a distance; you will not
enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel." (Deuteronomy 32:51-52)
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James J. Tissot, "Moses Sees the Promised Land from Afar" (1896-1900), watercolor, Jewish Museum, New York.
Larger image. |
So Moses climbs Mount Nebo, to the top of the Pisgah
range. The Lord shows him the whole land and says:
"This is the land I promised on oath to
Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when I said, 'I will give it to your descendants.' I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it."
(Deuteronomy 35:4)
God shows Moses the promise of the land that he has had
a part in fulfilling for God. Moses has done his part in God's great plan,
and then he dies. And that, dear friends, concludes the story of Moses, the
reluctant leader. The scripture records:
"And Moses the servant of the LORD died
there in Moab, as the LORD had said. He buried him in Moab, in the valley
opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7
Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes
were not weak nor his strength gone." (Deuteronomy 34:5-6)
Moses didn't want to lead Israel, but God chose him.
Moses wasn't a perfect man. His anger got him in trouble more than once. But
God selected him to serve, because God chooses imperfect men and women to
serve him. He gives them his strength as they lean on him. He gives them his
direction as they listen for his voice. And they make a difference in the
lives of countless of God's children, because, though perhaps they are
reluctant, yet they are obedient to serve.
May Moses' simple epitaph be ours when we die and are
taken on to glory:
Moses,
the servant of the Lord!
Prayer
Thank you, Lord, for the privilege of studying Moses,
your reluctant leader. I've been reluctant at times. Forgive me, Lord.
Sometimes I've gone ahead in my own "wisdom" and "strength" and fallen on my
face. Teach me, Lord. May my ears hunger to hear your voice. May I be
patient enough to wait upon you until you show me the way you are leading me
and your people. Glorify yourself through me and my brothers and sisters who
have been studying with me. In Jesus' name, I pray. Amen.
References
Abbreviations
Moses Bible Study - Discipleship and Leadership Lessons
Copyright © 1985-2012, Ralph F. Wilson. <pastor
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