Moses

The days of the good life in Egypt ended for the children of Israel. Joseph had died long ago. A new pharaoh, who knew nothing of Joseph, came into power. He felt threatened by the Israelites who were growing in numbers and prosperity. 

Pharaoh made slaves of the once-welcomed family of Joseph, the beloved son of Jacob whom God named Israel, who was the son of Isaac, who was the son of Abraham, who was blessed of God. (Exodus 1)

Egyptian taskmasters made the lives of the children of Israel burdensome and harsh.

When the children of Israel continued to grow in numbers, Pharaoh ordered that all boy babies of Hebrew women were to be drowned in the river.

Thus, Moses, the son of Amram and Jochebed, both descendants of Abraham’s son Levi, was born under a sentence of death. Determined to save her newborn son, Jochebed made an ark-like basket, put him in it, and placed him among the reeds that grew along the brink of the river. She sent Moses’ sister Miriam to watch over him. 

When Pharaoh’s daughter, who bathed in the river, found baby Moses in the basket, she decided to raise the Hebrew infant as her own. Big sister Miriam was eager to help find a nursemaid, and Pharaoh’s daughter paid Moses’ mother to nurse her own child.

After his weaning, Moses was returned to Pharaoh’s daughter and he was raised in Pharaoh’s palace. Egypt was in the beginning of a highly developed civilization, and writing and formal education were indispensable. Formal education was mostly for Egyptian young men of privilege. Subjects included science, mathematics, medicine, architecture, engineering and sculpture. As the recognized son of Pharaoh’s daughter, Moses would be highly educated. 

For more information see https://www.britannica.com/topic/education/Education-in-the-earliest-civilizations)

Comment: In the New Testament, Stephen, the first Christian martyr, would assert, “Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action” (Acts 7:22). Thus God prepared Moses to become His tool to write of the creation of earth, the creation of man; to deliver God’s commandments and laws.

Moses Kills Egyptian

An adult Moses saw his own people suffering under the forced labor of the Egyptians. When he saw a Hebrew slave being beaten by an Egyptian, Moses beat the Egyptian to death and hid his body in the sand. The next day, he came across two Hebrew men fighting. He stopped the fight, and the Hebrew who started the fight asked, “Who made you our ruler and judge: Are you going to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

Knowing his crime of murder had been witnessed, Moses was afraid. Pharaoh learned of Moses’ crime and tried to have him killed (Exodus 2:11-15).

Moses fled to the land of Midian, a desert land named after Midian, a son of Abraham and wife Keturah, whom Abraham married after the death of his wife Sarah. Children of Keturah were not part of God’s covenant with Abraham.

God Speaks To Moses

In Midian, Moses married Zipporah, one of the seven daughters of Jethro, the priest of Midian. Moses kept the flock of his father-in-law. He led the flock to the backside of the desert and there he saw a bush that was flaming with fire, but the bush was not consumed by fire. Moses was intrigued. Then he heard his name being called from the burning bush: “Moses. Moses.”

And Moses replied, “Here am I.”

God revealed himself to Moses as the God of his father, God of Abraham, God of Isaac, God of Jacob, whom He renamed Israel. Moses hid his face, for he feared to look upon God.

The Lord said to Moses:

“I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;” –Exodus 3:7 

God told Moses that He had come to deliver the children of Israel out of the hands of the Egyptians, and bring them to a “land flowing with milk and honey.” God told Moses that he, Moses, was chosen to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt.

Moses protested. “Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

God assured Moses that He would be with him. Moses asked what name should he give when the children of Israel asked who sent Moses to them?

“And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.” — Exodus 3:14-15

God warned Moses that the Egyptian king would not let the children of Israel leave Egypt. God would then smite Egypt, and after that, God said, “he will let you go.” God added that the Hebrew children would not leave empty handed; that they would take “spoil” of the Egyptians.

Moses protested that the children of Israel would not believe he would lead them out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. So God showed Moses some of the miraculous powers He would give him. God told Moses to cast his rod on the ground, and when Moses did so, the rod became a serpent. A frightened Moses fled. Then God told Moses to take the snake by the tail. Moses did so and the snake became a rod again. 

God then had Moses put his hand into his bosom. When Moses removed his hand, it was leprous. God had Moses put his hand back into his bosom, and when Moses plucked his hand from his bosom, the leprosy was gone.

Such were the signs to help the people believe Moses. God said if the people still did not believe God sent Moses to them, Moses was to take water from the river, pour it upon dry land, and the water would become blood.

Moses protested that he wasn’t eloquent enough to speak for God. The Lord assured Moses that He would teach him what to say. When Moses protested again, God became angry. God told Moses his brother Aaron would be his spokesman.

Moses returned to his father-in-law, and told him he needed to return to Egypt.

God told Moses that in Egypt, all the men who had sought his life were dead.

Aaron, who had been guided by God, met his brother Moses, and Moses told Aaron of the words of the Lord, and of the signs given. The two brothers gathered the elders of the children of Israel together. Aaron spoke the words of the Lord to them; Moses showed them the signs God had given.

The people believed. They bowed their heads and worshipped.

Moses, Aaron Go Before Pharaoh 

Moses and Aaron then went to Pharaoh, saying, “Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.” –Exodus 5:5

Moses was 80 years old, and Aaron 83 when they went before Pharaoh (Exodus 7:7).

Pharaoh would not let the people go. He made their brick-making work even more harsh, forcing them to also gather the straw used in the brick-making.

Moses asked God why the people had been treated with evil?

God sent Moses and Aaron back to Pharaoh. To show Pharaoh the power of the Lord, Aaron cast down his rod and it became a snake. Pharaoh called upon his Egyptian wise men, sorcerers, and magicians. They cast down their rods and their rods became serpents. Aaron’s rod, however, swallowed up the Egyptians’ rods.

Pharaoh still would not let the people go. As God had said, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened.

Through the power of God, Moses and Aaron brought 10 plagues of misery and devastation to the Egyptians. First, the waters of the river turned to blood. Next came plagues of frogs; lice; flies; deaths of livestock; boils; hail; locusts; darkness; and deaths of firstborn. Pharaoh hardened his heart after each of the first nine plagues and would not let the children of Israel go.

The tenth plague — the killing of the first born — crushed Pharaoh.

The children of Israel were warned of this plague. They were given preparation instructions for their journey to the promised land. They were to take the blood of a lamb without blemish and strike the blood on the two side posts and upper post of their doors. They were to roast the lamb and eat it along with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. They were to eat with their loins girded and their shoes on their feet and staffs in their hands. They were to eat in haste, for this was the Lord’s passover. The Lord would pass through the land of Egypt and death would come to the first born of both Egyptian man and beast. God would pass over the houses of the children of Israel that were marked with blood on their door posts.

The children of Israel did as the Lord had commanded, and at midnight, “the Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in the dungeon; and all the firstborn of cattle.” –Exodus 12:29

There was a great cry in Egypt. Death came to all their houses. Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron and told them to leave Egypt, to take their flocks and herds and go.

The Journey Begins

The children of Israel numbered about 600,000 men, along with the children and a mixed multitude. Bible scholars put the total numbers escaping from Egypt between two and three million people.  

The Israelites left Egypt with jewels of silver and gold and clothing borrowed from the Egyptians as God had instructed. They took their flocks and herds and cattle. They took baked unleavened cakes of dough.

And after dwelling in Egypt for 430 years, the children of Israel departed from the land of their enslavement. God instructed the congregation of Israel on the ordinance of the passover as a remembrance of the day the Lord brought them out of Egypt.

God led the people through the wilderness by way of the Red Sea. And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud; and by night in a pillar of fire (Exodus 13:21).

A vengeful Pharaoh gathered his army and pursued the children of Israel. The Israelites saw the Egyptians and were afraid. They cried out to the Lord and blamed Moses for their plight. It would have been better, they said, to stay and serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

Red Sea Crossing

As the fearful Hebrews were crossing the Red sea, God told Moses to lift his rod and divide the sea; “and the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea” (Exodus 13:16). This Moses did. The Egyptians followed the children of Israel. When the children of Israel were safe, Moses stretched out his hand and the sea returned, bringing death to the Egyptian pursuers.

“And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians; and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses.” –Exodus 14:31

Moses and the children of Israel sang a song praising the Lord. And Miriam, prophetess and sister to Aaron, took a timbrel in hand, and all the women followed her with timbrels and dances.

After three days in the wilderness, the Israelites were without water to drink because the waters of Marah were bitter. They murmured against Moses.

Moses cried unto God, and the Lord showed him a tree and told him to cast the tree into the bitter waters of Marah. The waters were made sweet and drinkable.

The children of Israel then journeyed onward into the Wilderness of Sin between Elim and Sinai. Again, they murmured against Moses and Aaron. In Egypt, they lamented, they sat by the flesh pot and had plenty of bread. Now, they hungered.

And so, the Lord rained bread in the form of manna from heaven. (Exodus 16:4)

The people moved on from the Wilderness of Sin to Rephidim, a stopping place between the Wilderness of Sin and the Wilderness of Sinai. There was no water there, and this caused more grumbling and murmuring against Moses. 

Again, Moses cried out to God. And again, God provided water. He told Moses to strike at a certain rock and water would come out of it. Thus, the people had water.

The children of Israel then faced an enemy – Amalek. The Jewish Virtual Library (https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-amalekites) describes Amalek as a son of Esau’s son Eliphaz, and the Amalekites as an enemy of Israel.

Moses called upon Joshua, the son of Nun, to choose men to fight, and Exodus records, “… Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword.” –Exodus 17

Now, word of the great escape from Egypt had reached Moses’ father-in-law Jethro in Midian, and Jethro, Moses’ wife Zipporah, and their two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, made their way to Moses in the wilderness. 

Moses told his father-in-law all the Lord had done to Pharaoh and the Egyptians for Israel’s sake. And when Jethro saw Moses sitting alone as judge for the children of Israel, he counseled Moses to select and teach leaders to assume leadership duties.

“And thou shalt teach them ordinances and laws, and shalt shew them the way wherein they must walk, and the work that they must do,” advised Jethro.” — Exodus 18:20

Jethro then returned to his own land.

God Speaks To Israelites

In the third month of their departure from Egypt, the Israelites camped in the wilderness of Sinai. God called to Moses out of the mountain. He told Moses to tell the children of Israel: “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation.” — Exodus 19:4-6

Moses delivered God’s words to the people, and the people said they would do as the Lord had spoken. Moses relayed the people’s words to the Lord. God told Moses that He would come to him as a thick cloud, and the people would hear the words He spoke to Moses.

Moses was to have the people use “today and tomorrow” to prepare for God, and on the third day, God would come down in the sight of all the people upon mount Sinai. Moses was to warn the people not to go up into the mount or touch the border of it.

The third day Moses brought the people to the lowest part of the mount to meet with God. Mount Sinai smoked because the Lord descended upon it in fire. The mount quaked. The trumpet sounded. Moses spoke. God answered him by voice. God called Moses to the top of the mount and then He had Moses go back down the mount and warn the people not to come up the mount to be near Him lest they perish.

God Gives Commandments

God spoke: “I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

•  Thou shalt have no other gods before me.

•  Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;

•  Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them; for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

•  Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

•  Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work; But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

•  Honor thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.

•  Thou shalt not kill.

•  Thou shalt not commit adultery.

•  Thou shalt not steal.

•  Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

•  Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbour’s.”  –Exodus 20

The words of God, the thunder, the lightning, the trumpets, the smoking mount struck fear in the children of Israel. They asked Moses to hear the Lord and then tell them the words of the Lord.

God instructed Moses on the laws the Israelites should live by. These dealt with the buying and selling of Hebrew servants that required freeing them in the seventh year of service. There were judgments regarding the killing of others; injury to others; judgment for stealing; judgment for cursing parents; judgment pertaining to people’s oxen and other animals; judgment pertaining to borrowing and debt. Judgments also were given regarding forbidden sexual unions, witches, sacrifices to other gods. Strangers, widows and orphans were not to be vexed or harmed. Rulers of the people were not to be cursed. There were judgments regarding the offering of first fruits, of liquors, of the firstborn sons. There were commandments regarding the eating of meat.

God’s people were not to follow a multitude bent on doing evil. They were to return a neighbor’s straying ox or ass, and if an ass was overburdened, they were to lend a helping hand.

God’s people were to accept no gift, “for the gift blinders the wise and perverteth the words of the righteous.” –Exodus 23:8

The people were to sow their land for six years and let the land rest the seventh year “that the poor of thy people may eat: and what they leave the beasts of the field shall eat. In like manner thou shalt deal with thy vineyard, and with thy olive yard.”  –Exodus 23:11

God also set three feast days in a year’s time: the feast of the unleavened bread, the feast of the harvest, and the feast of the ingathering.

God Sends Guiding Angel

God said He would send an angel to guide the children of Israel to the place He had prepared, and He would protect them. The people were to obey His angel’s voice, and His angel would protect them from enemies in the lands they traveled through. The children of Israel were not to bow down to the gods of their enemies; they were to break down their images. The children of Israel were to serve God, and the Lord would bless their bread and water; sickness would be taken away from them. Their enemies would not prevail. (Exodus, chapter 23)

“By little and little I will drive them out from before thee, until thou be increased, and inherit the land. And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river: for I will deliver thee. Thou shalt make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in thy land, lest they make thee sin against me: for if thou serve their gods, it will surely be a snare unto thee.” —Exodus 23:30-33

God again told Moses to come before Him. Aaron, the priest, and his sons Nadab and Abihu, and 70 elders were also to come and worship from afar. Only Moses was to come near the Lord. Moses spoke the words of the Lord to the people, the Lord’s judgments also, and the people said they would do as the Lord required.

Moses wrote the words of the Lord. He rose early in the morning and built an altar under the hill. Twelve pillars, according to the 12 tribes of Israel also were placed. Sacrifice was made and Moses took the book of the covenant and read to the people. Again, the people promised obedience.

Then, Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and the 70 elders went up to the Lord.

“And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” —Exodus 24:10

Moses Called To Mount 

God told Moses to come to Him into the mount. There, God said he would give Moses the commandments He had written. Moses was to use these to teach the children of Israel.

Moses left with his minister Joshua, and went up into the mount of God. He told the elders to wait for his return. He left Aaron and Hur of the tribe of Judah in charge.

Moses went up into the mount, and a cloud covered it for six days. On the seventh day, God called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.

“And the sight of the glory of the Lord was like devouring fire on the top of the mount in the eyes of the children of Israel.” –– Exodus 24:17

The Lord’s Sanctuary

The Lord told Moses the children of Israel with willing hearts were to bring offerings of gold and silver and brass; offerings of fine linen and ram and badger skins; offerings of shittim wood, and oil, and spices, and other specified offerings.

“And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.” — Exodus 25:8

God told Moses precisely how His sanctuary should be built. Aaron and his sons would serve as priests. Instructions were given on the garments they would wear, the duties and rituals they were to perform. (Exodus, chapters 25 through 31)

God said there should be a continual burnt offering at the door of the tabernacle.

“And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest’s office. And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. And they shall know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.” –– Exodus 29:42-46

God named Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah as a master craftsman for the building of the sanctuary.

And when the Lord ended His commuting with Moses upon mount Sinai, He gave Moses two tables of testimony, tables of stone, “written with the finger of God.” — Exodus 31:18

Golden Calf Worship

While Moses was receiving instructions from God, the children of Israel grew tired of waiting for Moses to return. They decided to make their own gods. They took off their golden earrings (part of the spoils they borrowed from the Egyptians) and brought the gold to Aaron.

Aaron fashioned a molten calf, and the people said, “These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.” — Exodus 32:4

Aaron built an altar and proclaimed that tomorrow would be a feast day.

The next day the people brought offerings, they ate and drank and played.

God told Moses to go down from the mount. He said the people had corrupted themselves. He called the children of Israel “a stiff-necked people.”

“Let me alone, that my wrath may wax hot against time, and  that I may consume them … ,” God said to Moses.” — Exodus 32:10 

Moses pleaded for the children of Israel. And God “repented of the evil which he thought to do unto his people.”

When Moses drew near the camp and saw the calf and the dancing, “his anger waxed hot, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and brake them beneath the mount.” — Exodus 32:19

Moses took the calf god, burned it in the fire, ground it to powder, strewed it upon the water, and made the children of Israel drink of it.

Comment: How terribly sad! God made man in His image, breathed His own breath into man to make man a living soul, yet the people He had led out of Egypt were making their god in the image of a golden calf.

Consequences Of Sin

The sons of Levi, the designated priests, under order of Moses, killed about 3,000 men who had forsaken God, and worshipped the golden calf god they had made.

Moses sought forgiveness for the people. God told Moses that whosoever had sinned would be blotted out of His book, and that punishment for the people’s sin was still due.

Face To Face With God

Moses pitched the tabernacle far from the camp. When Moses entered the tabernacle, the Lord spoke to Moses face to face, as a man speaks unto his friend. (Exodus 33:11)

The Lord told Moses to hew two tables of stone like the first ones and on the next morning Moses was to come to the top of mount Sinai. Moses was to come alone. And God said He would write upon the tables Moses was to bring the words that were in the first tables.

Moses did as the Lord had instructed, and the next morning he took the hewn tables and went up into the mount. God made Himself known to Moses.

“And he was there with the Lord 40 days and 40 nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. An he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the 10 commandments.”
— Exodus 34:28

When Moses came down from the mount, Aaron and the Israelites feared to come near him, because the skin of his face shone. Moses covered his face with a veil. He gathered the children of Israel together and told them what God commanded. He gave the instructions for the tabernacle and the people brought the materials and the craftsmen built the tabernacle as God had instructed.

When the work was finished, Moses inspected it and found the people had done as the Lord had commanded. Moses blessed them.

A cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. When the cloud was taken up, the children of Israel went onward in their journeys. 

When the cloud was not taken up, they journeyed not.

The Lord also gave instructions for sacrifices. Animals that were safe to eat and those not safe to eat were listed. Instructions were given on dealing with illness and disease. 

Punishment for sexual immorality also was addressed.

Laws were given regarding the treatment of neighbors.

“Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor honor the person of the mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbor.”  — Leviticus 19:15

The Book of Leviticus is filled with God’s commandments on living a moral and healthy and spiritual life.

Twelve Tribes Numbered

The Lord told Moses to number the children of Israel according to the 12 tribes, and with the exception of the tribe of Levi. The Levites were given the duties as keepers and bearers and ministers of the tabernacle.

On the day Moses had fully set up the tabernacle, the heads of the tribes brought their offerings of six covered wagons and 12 oxen before the Lord. Moses gave these to the Levites (Numbers 7:6).

Other offerings of silver, gold, animals for meat offerings, fine flour and oil were brought.

The children of Israel were in the wilderness of Sinai, in the first month of the second year after leaving Egypt, and as God instructed, they kept the passover on the 14th day of the first month (Numbers 9:1-5).

On the 20th day of the second month, in the second year, the Israelites journeyed out of the wilderness of Sinai, and rested in the wilderness of Paran (Numbers 10:11-12).

The people complained, and the anger of the Lord was kindled. This time the fire of the Lord consumed some of them. The people cried to Moses; Moses prayed, and the fire was quenched. (Numbers 11:1-2)

Next, the people complained about the manna. They recalled days in Egypt when they ate cucumbers, melons, and had leeks and onions and garlic. Moses heard their weeping, and he was displeased. Moses talked to God, saying, “I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me.” — Numbers 11:14

God told Moses to gather 70 men of the elders and bring them to the tabernacle. There, God would ensure that the 70 would “bear the burden of the people” with Moses. (Numbers 11:17) 

God also told Moses that tomorrow, the people would eat flesh. They would eat it until it became loathsome to them. Moses asked if the flocks and herds should be slain, but the Lord said, “Thou shalt see now whether my word shall come to pass unto thee or not.” — Numbers 11:23

God caused a wind that brought quails from the sea and let them fall by the camp. The people stood all the day, all the night, and all the next day, and they gathered the quails. 

“And while the flesh was between their teeth and before it was chewed, the wrath of the Lord was kindled against the people, and He smote the people with a very great plague.” —Numbers 11:33

And the people who lusted for the days in Egypt were buried.

The survivors journeyed on, and abode at Hazeroth.

Miriam Struck With Leprosy

Miriam and Aaron plotted against Moses because he married an Ethiopian woman. Miriam and Aaron also grumbled that the Lord had spoken not only to Moses, but to them as well. God called the three to the tabernacle and said:

“Hear now my words: if there be a prophet among you, I the Lord will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the Lord shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” — Numbers 12: 6-8

An angry God departed and Miriam was suddenly leprous.

Aaron turned to Moses for help, and Moses asked God to heal Miriam. God said Miriam should be shut out of the camp for seven days. After the seven days, she was healed. 

The people moved from Hazeroth to the wilderness of Paran.

Spies Sent Into Canaan

The Lord told Moses to send 12 men, representing the 12 tribes, into Canaan to check out the land and its people.

After 40 days the spies returned and reported their findings. Canaan indeed was a land flowing with milk and honey, said the spies who had brought back fruits of the land. However, they said, the people were strong and their cities walled. Caleb, of the tribe of Judah and one of the 12 spies, urged the people to go onward. “For we are well able to overcome it,” he said.

But his fellow spies, with the exception of Joshua (also called Osbea, son of Nun of the tribe of Ephraim), cautioned against going into Canaan. The people, they said, are stronger than we. The children of Israel cried and they murmured against Moses and Aaron. “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness.” They wanted to choose a new leader and return to Egypt.

Caleb, and Joshua, who were among the spies that had searched the land, urged the people not to rebel against the Lord. “The Lord is with us,” they said. “Fear them not.” — Numbers 13, 14

The people would not listen and “all the congregation bade stone them with stones.” At this, the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle. “How long will this people provoke me?” Moses was asked. Moses again pleaded on behalf of the people. “Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.” –Numbers 14:19

God pardoned. However, He said, “Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these 10 times, and have not hearkened to my voice; Surely they shall not see the land which I share unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it.”

God also said that Joshua, along with Caleb, would see the promised land. But the children of Israel would wander in the wilderness for 40 years. (Numbers 13 & 14)

Promised Land: So Close, Yet So Far

When Moses relayed God’s words to the Israelites, they moaned bitterly. They decided to go to the promised land, but Moses told them that God would not be with them. They would not listen. They went their own way. The Amalekites and the Canaanites, who lived in the hill country, attacked and beat them down all the way to Hormah (Numbers 14:45).

There were more murmurings and rebellions against Moses as he presented the Lord’s laws and judgments. While they encamped at Kadesh, Miriam died and was buried.

There was no water for them. Again they blamed Moses and Aaron. God told Moses to take the staff, gather the assembly, and “speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.” — Numbers 20: 8

Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly before the rock. However, instead of speaking to the rock, Moses said, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” Then he struck the rock twice with his staff, and water gushed out. But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” — Numbers 20:12

When Moses sought passage through the territory of the king of Edom, his request was denied. The Israelites then set out from Kadesh and came to Mount Hor, where Aaron died and was mourned for 30 days. His son Eleazar received Aaron’s priestly garments.

As the Israelites traveled along the road to Atharim, they were attacked by the Canaanite king of Arad. Some Israelites were captured. Then the Israelites sought help from the Lord, and the Lord gave them victory over the Canaanites.

Next, they traveled from Mount Hor along the route to the Red Sea. The people grew impatient and spoke against God and against Moses.

“Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!” — Numbers 21:5-6

The Lord sent venomous snakes among them. Many died. Then the people called upon Moses and acknowledged they had sinned. They asked Moses to pray that the Lord take away the snakes. Moses prayed, and the Lord told Moses to make a serpent of brass, put it on a pole. Those bitten could look at the snake and live. (Numbers 21:8)

The Israelites moved on. When they reached the valley in Moab where the top of Pishah overlooks the wasteland, Israel sent messengers to the king of the Amorites requesting passage. The king sent his army against the Israelites. He was put to the sword and Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. The king of Gashan also sent his army against the Israelites. He and his army were struck down. There were no survivors. Israel took possession of this land also. (Numbers 21)

The Angel and Balaam’s Talking Ass

The Israelites traveled to the plains of Moab and camped along the Jordan across from Jericho. The Moabites were terrified. Balak, who was king of Moab, sent messengers to Balaam, a diviner. Balak wanted Balaam to put a curse on the Israelites. Balaam told the messengers to stay overnight, and he would report back to them the words of the Lord. God told Balaam not to put a curse on the Israelites because “they are blessed.” So Balaam sent his refusal to Balak.

Balak sent other officials and promised to “handsomely” reward Balaam.

Balaam answered and said to Balak’s servants, “If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the word of the Lord my God, to do less or more.” —Numbers 22:18

God then told Balaam to go with the men, “but do only what I tell you.”

Come morning, Balaam got up, saddled his ass and went with the Moabite officials. But God was angry when he went, and the Lord’s angel stood in the road to oppose him. Balaam was riding on his ass, and his two servants were with him.

When the ass saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, it turned off the road into a field. Balaam beat it to get it back on the road. Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path through the vineyards, with walls on both sides. When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it pressed close to the wall, crushing Balaam’s foot against it. So he beat the donkey again. Then the angel of the Lord moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place where there was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.  When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam, and he was angry and beat it with his staff.

Then the Lord opened the animal’s mouth, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?”  Balaam answered, “You have made a fool of me! If only I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

The ass said to Balaam, “Am I not your own ass, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you?” 

“No,” Balaam replied.

Then the Lord opened Balaam’s eyes, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road with his sword drawn. So he bowed low and fell facedown. The angel of the Lord asked him, “Why have you beaten your ass these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one. The ass saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away, I would certainly have killed you by now, but I would have spared it.”

Balak met Balaam at the Moabite town on the Arnon border. Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send you an urgent summons? Why didn’t you come to me? Am I really not able to reward you?”

“Well, I have come to you now,” Balaam replied. “But I can’t say whatever I please. I must speak only what God puts in my mouth.”  

Then Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth. Balak sacrificed cattle and sheep, and gave some to Balaam and the officials who were with him.

God Uses Balaam To Bless Israel

The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal, and from there he could see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.  Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”

Balak did as Balaam said, and the two of them offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Then Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I go aside. Perhaps the Lord will come to meet with me. Whatever he reveals to me I will tell you.”

God met with Balaam, who said, “I have prepared seven altars, and on each altar I have offered a bull and a ram.”

The Lord told Balaam, “Go back to Balak and give him this word.”

So he went back to him and found him standing beside his offering, with all the Moabite officials. Then Balaam spoke his message: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘curse Jacob for me; come, denounce Israel.’ How can I curse those whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce those whom the Lord has not denounced? From the rocky peaks I see them, from the heights I view them. I see a people who live apart and do not consider themselves one of the nations. Who can count the dust of Jacob or number even a fourth of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my final end be like theirs!”

Balak said to Balaam, “What have you done to me? I brought you to curse my enemies, but you have done nothing but bless them!”

Balaam answered, “Must I not speak what the Lord puts in my mouth?”

Then Balak said to him, “Come with me to another place where you can see them; you will not see them all but only the outskirts of their camp. And from there, curse them for me.”  So he took him to the field of Zophim on the top of Pisgah, and there he built seven altars and offered a bull and a ram on each altar. Balaam said to Balak, “Stay here beside your offering while I meet with him over there.”

The Lord met Balaam, and put a word in his mouth. Balak asked what had the Lord spoken?

Balaam said, Rise up, Balak, and hear; hearken unto me, thou son of Zippor:

“God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?
“Behold, I have received commandment to bless: and he hath blessed; and I cannot reverse it. He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath he seen perverseness in Israel: the Lord his God is with him, and the shout of a king is among them. God brought them out of Egypt; he hath as it were the strength of a unicorn. Surely there is no enchantment against Jacob, neither is there any divination against Israel: according to this time it shall be said of Jacob and of Israel, What hath God wrought! Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: he shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, and drink the blood of the slain.” — Numbers 23:16-24

Then Balak said to Balaam, “Neither curse them at all nor bless them at all!”

Balaam answered, “Did I not tell you I must do whatever the Lord says?” Then Balak said to Balaam, “Come, let me take you to another place. Perhaps it will please God to let you curse them for me from there.

Balak took Balaam to the top of Peor, overlooking the wasteland. Balaam said, “Build me seven altars here, and prepare seven bulls and seven rams for me.”  Balak did as Balaam had said, and offered a bull and a ram on each altar.

Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to divination as at other times, but turned his face toward the wilderness. When Balaam looked out and saw Israel encamped tribe by tribe, the Spirit of God came on him and he spoke his message:

“The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened: “How beautiful are your tents, Jacob, your dwelling places, Israel! Like valleys they spread out, like gardens beside a river, like aloes planted by the Lord, like cedars beside the waters. Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out of Egypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them. Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness — who dares to rouse them? “May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”

Then Balak’s anger burned against Balaam. He struck his hands together and said to him, “I summoned you to curse my enemies, but you have blessed them these three times. Now leave at once and go home! I said I would reward you handsomely, but the Lord has kept you from being rewarded.”

Balaam answered Balak, “Did I not tell the messengers you sent me, ‘Even if Balak gave me all the silver and gold in his palace, I could not do anything of my own accord, good or bad, to go beyond the command of the Lord — and I must say only what the Lord says’?  Now I am going back to my people, but come, let me warn you of what this people will do to your people in days to come.”

Then he spoke his message: “The prophecy of Balaam son of Beor, the prophecy of one whose eye sees clearly, the prophecy of one who hears the words of God, who has knowledge from the Most High, who sees a vision from the Almighty, who falls prostrate, and whose eyes are opened:  “I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the people of Sheth. Edom will be conquered; Seir, his enemy, will be conquered, but Israel will grow strong. A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city.”

Then Balaam saw Amalek and spoke his message: “Amalek was first among the nations, but their end will be utter destruction.” Then he saw the Kenites and spoke his message: “Your dwelling place is secure, your nest is set in a rock; yet you Kenites will be destroyed when Ashur takes you captive.”

Then he spoke his message: “Alas! Who can live when God does this? Ships will come from the shores of Cyprus; they will subdue Ashur and Eber, but they too will come to ruin.”

Then Balaam got up and returned home, and Balak went his own way. (Numbers 22-24, New International Version)

Later, Moses would write, “…the Lord your God would not listen to Balaam but turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.” — Deuteronomy 23:5

In the Book of Joshua, we learn that Balaam was killed in battle. (Joshua 13:22)

And in Revelation, it is written: “Nevertheless, I have a few things against you: There are some among you who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality (Revelation: 2:14).”

Comment: How incredulous! In the story of Balaam we have a diviner, whose occupation is an affront to God, but a man who also acknowledges and fears God. We have an ill-treated, but faithful donkey who sees an angel, who speaks. We have a glimpse of God whose Angel tells Balaam that he would save the donkey and take Balaam’s life instead.

In the story of Balaam and his ass who spoke, we learn that God cares also about the animals He created, and humans who mistreat them will eventually pay for mistreating them. Did not Jesus say, “Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.” —Matthew 10:29

Peter would write:

“With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Bezer, who loved the wages of wickedness. But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—an animal without speech—who spoke with a human voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.” —2 Peter 2:14-16 New International Version

More Sin; More Consequences

While the Israelites were living in Shittim, they engaged in whoredom with the daughters of Moab. They bowed down to the gods of Moab. They ate of the sacrifices made to the gods of Moab. And God’s anger was kindled against Israel.

A plague struck the children of Israel. Twenty-four thousand died. The plague was stayed, however, when Phinehas, grandson of Aaron the priest, thrust a javelin through the Israelite man and Midianitish woman who were copulating in the sight of Moses and the congregation. His javelin killed both, going through the Israeli man and the belly of the woman. (Numbers 25)

After the plague, God told Moses and Aaron’s son Eleazar to number those of the congregation who were 20-years-old and older, and able to go to war. When this was done, Israel’s army numbered 601,730. (Numbers 26:51) 

Then God told Moses to allot the lands of Canaan as an inheritance based on the numbers of each tribe, with the larger group receiving the larger inheritance, and the smaller ones the smaller inheritance. Each inheritance would be distributed by lot (Numbers 26:52-56). The Levites received no land inheritance. Among those numbered, only Caleb and Joshua remained of the first count taken in the Desert of Sinai soon after the children of Israel escaped slavery in Egypt.

Daughters Of Zelophehad

The tribes were numbered and given their land allotments for the time they would enter the promised land. Lands were allowed to the sons. However, Zelophehad the son of Hepher and descendant of Joseph had no sons. His daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah, stood before Moses, and Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation. They said, “Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons. Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.” —Numbers 27:3-4

Moses brought their cause before the Lord. 

And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, “The daughters of Zelophehad speak right: thou shalt surely give them a possession of an inheritance among their father’s brethren; and thou shalt cause the inheritance of their father to pass unto them. “And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a man die, and have no son, then ye shall cause his inheritance to pass unto his daughter.” —Numbers 27:1-8

The laws regarding inheritance were fully laid out.

God told Moses to go up into mount Abarim “and see the land which I have given unto the children of Israel. And when thou hast seen it, thou also shalt be gathered unto thy people, as Aaron thy brother was gathered. For ye rebelled against my commandment in the desert of Zin, in the strife of the congregation, to sanctify me at the water before their eyes: that is the water of Meribah in Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.”

Moses then asked the Lord to appoint a leader to replace him. The Lord chose Joshua the son of Nun. (Numbers 27:12-23)

God then told Moses to instruct the children of Israel regarding offerings and sacrifices to Him. Days were set for the observances of sacrifices. God also gave instructions regarding vows. (Numbers 28, 29 & 30)

God told Moses to avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites. Moses sent the Israelites to war. In the war, the Israelites killed all the Midianite males, and took the women and children captive. They also took spoils: cattle, flocks, and goods. Midianite cities were burnt. The captives, prey, and spoil were brought before Moses and Eleazar, and into the camp at the plains of Moab by Jordan, near Jericho (Numbers 31).

God set the borders for Canaan. These were Edom, the Great Sea, Mount Hor and the Jordan. The priest Eleazar and Joshua were to divide the land. (Numbers 34)

The Levites were to be given cities. Six cities were to be designated as refuge cities where killers who “killeth any person unawares may flee thither.” — Numbers 35:15

Refugee cities, however, were not for the murderer who purposely killed. Murderers were to be put to death. However, a death judgment required two or three or more witnesses. One witness would not suffice. More instructions were given on laws, and on obligations of the people to the Levites, who had been appointed to serve the Lord as priests.

The Book of Numbers ends with additional instructions on inheritances.

In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses prepares the children of Israel for a good life in the promised land, a land flowing with milk and honey — if they will obey the Lord’s laws and worship Him only.

In the 40th year, in the eleventh month, on the first day of the month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel (Deuteronomy 1:3). He reviewed the history of their journey, and reminded them of the victories God had given them, and of their rebellions against God.

He told them to live according to the Lord’s statutes and judgments, and to teach them to their children.

“Hear, O Israel,” said Moses: “The Lord our God is one. Love the Lord with all your heart, soul and strength.” —Deuteronomy 1: 6

Moses again reviewed the Lord’s commandments and judgments. He told the children of Israel the blessings they would receive if they lived according to those commandments and judgments, and the curses that would befall them if they chose to follow false gods.

“I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” —Deuteronomy 30:19-20

Death of Moses (Deuteronomy 34)

Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against Jericho. And the Lord said unto him, “This is the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying, I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither.” –Deuteronomy 34:4

So Moses died in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Bethpeor: “but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.”

Moses was 120 years old when he died. “his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated.” —Deuteronomy 34:7

The children of Israel wept for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days.

Joshua the son of Nun would now lead the children of Israel.