EXPLANATIONS. no water-the elevation of the place left them destitute of the stream which had followed them from Horeb. Les. 21. against Moses-every privation to which the people were subject, instead of leading them to look to God, only afforded them an excuse for base and unprovoked rebellion against the patient and selfdenying Moses. speak, &c.-to show more distinctly that the miracle was the work of God. water-called" the waters of strife"; hence the place was called "Meribah." smote, &c.-Moses' faith in the efficacy of merely speaking to the rock seems to have failed, while his confidence in "the rod of God" was unwavering. Because ye, &c.-their unbelief led them to rebel against God's command, and God was justly displeased because they had dishonoured Him before those to whom they should have been examples. drink, &c.-not without payment; it is not uncommon for travellers to purchase water in tropical countries. king's high way-or military road which extended from Mount Hor through the kingdom of Edom. sword-the Edomites were remarkable for their warlike character; being aware of the destination of the Israelites, they did not obstruct their progress through the wilderness of Zin, which extended along the western side of Mount Seir, but they were afraid to trust so large a company within their borders. then journeyed, &c.-they were not permitted to force a passage through Edom, for God had directly excluded Mount Seir, the possession of Esau, from the inheritance promised to Israel. Aaron-called by David, "the saint of the LORD." Ps. cvi. 16. rebelled-they now complained of the manna as light, i.e., unsatisfying, bread. looked, &c.-this mode of cure was emblematical of the spiritual healing which those experience who look to Christ by faith. John iii. 14,15. his land-the territory of Sihon formed the southern portion of the Moabitish kingdom, but that warlike chieftain had driven out the Moabites, and they did not regain it till after the captivity of the ten tribes. took possession, &c.-by the victories over Sihon and Og the countries east of Jordan fell into the hands of the Israelites. CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS. ELEAZAR-one of the younger sons of Aaron, he became high priest after Aaron's death, and held that office till after the death of Joshua, when he was succeeded by his son Phinehas. Les. 28. ITHAMAR-the youngest son of Aaron; the high priesthood came into his family in the person of Eli. Les. 39. SIHON-the warlike king of the most powerful of the Canaanitish nations; the victory obtained by the Israelites over him, is often spoken of as one of their great successes, OG-this word means giant'; he was an Amorite, and was probably chosen king from his immense size and strength. QUESTIONS. Where did Miriam die? At what place did Moses and Aaron incur the divine displeasure? Explain the circumstances connected with How were they to be punished? [their error. What request did Moses make of the king of Edom? Why did he not enforce his request? Who succeeded him in his office? How were they punished? PRECEPTIVE LESSONS. We must not entertain too high an opinion of ourselves, though we may be permitted to do much for the benefit of others; even Moses, in a moment of temptation, forgot to honour God before the people, by perfect obedience. If we can show kindness to others, let us do so, lest we be like the Edomites, and sin against those whom God regards with his favour. The death of Aaron reminds us of the authority by which he was instituted a priest; his authority was of divine origin, and typified "a more excellent ministry," even that of Jesus, "the mediator of the new testament." The appointed means of cure for those who were bitten by the fiery serpents must always remind us of Him who was "lifted up" on the cross for our salvation. Whenever we have conflicts, difficulties, or foes to encounter, let us think of the days of old, how God delivered his people when they trusted in him. And from the conquest of the Amorites and their kings we may see that giants are but worms before God's power. 28. Balak sends for Balaam. Idolatry in Moab. Numbers xxii.-xxxi. When the people of Moab saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites27 they were 'sore afraid. Balak, the king of Moab, 'sent for Balaam to curse the Israelites. At first God would not permit Balaam to go. Balak sent again, and Balaam was permitted to go, but he was to speak only that which God told him. On his way to Moab, the angel of the Lord met him, and he was again told not to curse the Israelites. When Balak heard that Balaam was come, he went out to meet him ; and Balak brought Balaam up into the high places of Baal, that thence he might see the utmost part of the people; there, instead of cursing the Israelites, he was forced to bless them, and to foretel their greatness. He desired to die the death of the righteous. Balak said to Balaam, "What hast thou done unto me? I took thee to curse mine enemies, and, behold, thou hast blessed them altogether." And Balaam answered, “Must I not take heed to speak that which the LORD hath put in my mouth? . 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." And Balak said to Balaam, "Neither curse them at all, nor bless them at all;" but he answered, "All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do." Balak then took Balaam to the top of Mount Peor, and there also he blessed Israel. And Balak's anger was kindled, and he smote his hands together, and said. 'Flee thou to thy place; I thought to promote thee unto great honour; but, lo, the LORD hath kept thee back from honour." Balaam replied," If Balak would give me his house full of silver and gold, I cannot go beyond the commandment of the LORD, to do either good or bad of mine own mind; but what the LORD saith, that will I speak." At Shittim, the Israelites were ensnared into idolatry with the Midianites. This was done by the advice of the wicked prophet, Balaam. For this sin God sent a plague on them, and 24,000 of the people died. During the plague, Zimri, an Israelite, sinned greatly in taking a Midianitish woman, named Cozbi, into his tent. Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the priest, slew them both. Then the 'plague stopped, and God confirmed the priesthood to the family of Phinehas for future generations, because he was zealous for his God. The Israelites were numbered in the plains of Moab. Many directions were given to them about the dividing of the land, its inheritance, and about their offerings, feasts, &c. To punish the Midianites,14 God 'commanded Moses to take 12,000 men, and make war with them. The Israelites slew all the men of Midian, with their kings, but spared the women. 'Balaam was slain in this battle. GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Moab-the part of Arabia Petrea on the east of the Dead Sea; it was inhabited, after the gigantic race of the Emim were conquered, by the descendants of Moab. Mount Peor-one of the heights of the Abarim mountains. Shittim-the place in the plains of Moab where the Israelites were ensnared into idolatry by the Midianites, and the idolaters were slain. EXPLANATIONS. the people, &c.-the Moabites were the first people, not of Canaanitish descent, who offered to molest Israel. Balak invited his neighbours, the Midianites, to join the Moabites against the Israelites. sore afraid-the Lord had forbidden the Israelites to use hostility against them, for they should not receive their land for a possession because God had assigned it to the children of Lot; not knowing this the Moabites regarded the Israelites with dread, though they saw the defeat of their old enemies with pleasure. See 'his land,' Les. 27. sent for Balaam-the eminent character which Balaam bore as a diviner may be inferred from the fact that his fame not only reached from Mesopotamia (Les.10) to Moab, but was greater than that of all the other magicians in the idolatrous nations of the East. curse-Balak knew that he could not contend successfully with such a numerous body of fighting men; he therefore engaged the maledictory services of one who had the reputation of being in favour with the gods. not permit, &c.-Balaam, being desirous of securing the royal reward, was anxious to go with the princes of Moab; he "loved the wages of unrighteousness." the Lord-while none of the heathen nations denied that Jehovah was the God of the Israelites, they all rejected His universal claim as the Only True God. kept thee back, &c.-Balak had hoped that the diviner could employ such influence with the God of Israel as to cause Him to become their enemy; failing in this Balak declared that the God of Israel had prevented his promotion. advice, &c.-what he could not do by incantations, he endeavoured to effect by causing the people to sin against God. plague stopped-when the plague of immorality and idolatry was stayed by the stern act of justice executed by Phinehas then the disease was removed. commanded, &c.-the Lord had before said, "Vex the Midianites, and smite them; for they vex you with their wiles. Balaam was slain-thus did this wicked man fall by his own wickedness. It does not appear that he was under any necessity to engage in personal conflict against Israel; his hostility therefore to the people of God may be easily inferred. CONTEMPORARY CHARACTERS. BALAK-this idolatrous king supposed that the God of the Israelites was like his own idols, ready to curse or bless, according to the desire of their votaries. BALAAM-though a heathen, and an immoral man, he was a true prophet, and a worshipper of the true God. His prophecies were the language of the Spirit of prophecy, not his own words. He lived and died a wicked man, and an enemy to God and his people. ZIMRI-a prince of the tribe of Simeon, whose odious crime was perpetrated with a woman of Midian, in the presence of all Israel, and at a time of mourning and judgment. PHINEHAS-the third high priest, which office he filled nearly twenty years. Except during the interval from Eli to Zadok, the priesthood continued in the family of Phinehas as long as it lasted. Thus his zeal was rewarded, and the blessings promised him were fulfilled. ZUR-a Midianitish prince, and the father of Cozbi, the woman who caused Zimri to sin. QUESTIONS. Why were the Moabites afraid of Israel? For what purpose did Balak hire Balaam? What sort of eminence did Baalam possess? Was he willing or unwilling to obey Balak's invitation? When God permitted him to go what restraint was laid upon him? How did he afterwards show his animosity against Israel? In what way did the heathen nations admit the existence and power of Jehovah? What caused the displeasure of God to fall on Israel at this time? What event led to the cessation of the plague? How was Phinehas rewarded for his zeal? What took place in the plains of Moab? How many were sent against the Midianites to punish them? PRECEPTIVE LESSONS. We learn from the history of Balaam the importance attached in early times to prophetic curses as well as blessings, hence we see in the superstitions of the heathen an indirect testimony to the facts of the Bible. If we maintain an upright course of conduct we need not fear the maledictions of the wicked, "the curse causeless shall not come." The criminality and punishmeut of evasion of casting a stumbling block before others, are also shown in Baltam's wicked advice and premature death; while the necessity of stopping our ears against encouragements to sin, of shutting our eyes against forbidden objects is seen in the case of Israel. 29. Inheritance of the Reubenites. The Death of Moses. Numbers xxxii.-xxxvi. Deuteronomy. The tribes of Reuben and Gad had a very great multitude of cattle; and when they saw that the lands of **Jazer and Gilead,14 which had been taken from Sihon and Og, were good for pasturage, they asked Moses to give them those lands for their possession. Moses told them that Canaans must be first conquered; these tribes then proposed to leave their wives and children in possession of the country, while they went fully armed before their brethren, to conquer Canaan; and then they would return and possess their land. The Lord 'appointed 'forty-eight cities to be given to the Levites. Six of them were to be cities of refuge, for those who had slain others by accident; three of them--"Bezer, Ramoth, and "Golan, were on the east, and the other three-Kedesh, 'Hebron, and **Shechem,13 on the west of the Jordan.30 The 'man-slayer who had slain another unawares, might flee to a city of refuge, and remain there 'safe from the avenger of blood, until the death of the high priest, when he might go abroad without fear of punishment. God made it known that he had appointed Joshua to succeed Moses. Moses wished to go into Canaan, and he besought the Lord, saying, "I pray thee, let me go over, and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon." But the Lord said unto him, "Get thee up into the top of "Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan." Before Moses died, he 'repeated the law to the Israelites; exhorted them to obedience; 'forbade idolatry; and prophesied of Christ. He foretold that Israel would worship idols after they entered Canaan; that they would be taken as slaves into a strange country; and after that be scattered over all the world. Moses again exhorted the Israelites to obedience; he blessed them, and then ascended Mount Nebo; thence he beheld the promised land, and died. He was buried in a valley of Moab.28 His age was onehundred-and-twenty years. The people mourned for him thirty days. "And there arose not a prophet since in Israel like unto Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face, in all the signs and the wonders, which the LORD sent him to do in the land of Egypts to Pharaoh, and to all his servants, and to all his land, and in all that mighty hand, and in all the 'great terror which Moses showed in the sight of all Israel." GEOGRAPHICAL NOTES. Jazer he that helps;' a city at the foot of the mountains of Gilead, near a small river of the same name, which falls into the Jordan. Bezer, Ramoth, and Golan-Bezer was in the south of Reuben, towards the border of the desert; Ramoth was in the middle portion, in Gad; and Golan was in Eastern Manasseh. Kedesh, Hebron, and Shechem-Kedesh was in the north, in Naphtali; Hebron in the south, in Judah; and Shechem near the centre of the land, in Ephraim. Lebanon-white;' so called from its snow-capped summits; an extensive mountain range of Palestine; it was celebrated for its cedars. Pisgah-ihe summit probably of Mount Nebo, whence Moses surveyed Canaan. Mount Nebo-one of the mountains in the Abarim range; it was near the Jordan opposite Jericho, and commanded an extensive view of the promised land. EXPLANATIONS. to leave, &c.-a noble instance of trust in the care of God; based upon the divine promise of protection to those who should remain behind when all the able men of Israel from the remotest borders appeared before God in the place which the Lord should choose. This promise, "Neither shall any man desire thy land, when thou shalt go up to appear before the LORD thy God thrice in the year," was delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai when the tables of the testimony were renewed. Les. 23. appointed, &c.-the Levites were not to receive any distinct inheritance-"The LORD God of Israel was their inheritance." Being the chosen instructors of the people, they were dispersed among all the tribes. forty-eight cities-instead of having a portion of territory assigned to them; the suburbs of the cities were to extend 3000 cubits on every side beyond the walls of the cities; thirteen of these cities and a tenth of the tithe were for the support of the priests. of refuge-asylums of this nature have been established in other nationsheathen and Christian; but the laws by which they were regulated showed but little of the wisdom, justice and kind ness of the laws of Moses. min-slayer-in the earliest times it was left to the nearest relative of a murdered person to execute punishment; and according to the prevailing sentiment, it was not only his right but his duty to do so. This course was calculated to cherish, and even make honourable the feelings of bitterness and revenge, which being transferred from father to son, one murder became the cause of many. safe, &c.-by this wise arrangement the most serious disadvantages of the custom of blood-revenge were corrected. repeated, &c.-the book containing the recapitulation of Moses is called Deuteronomy-the second delivery of the law. exhorted, &c.-"Keep therefore & do them: (the commandments of the Lord) for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations." forbade, &c.-"take ye therefore good heed lest ye corrupt yourselves, and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure,. and lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them and serve them." prophesied, &c.-" a prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; him shall ye hear." scattered, &c.-" and the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number." was buried-the Lord concealed the body of Moses from the Israelites, that it might not be an occasion of superstition great terror, &c.-the miracles of Moses and idolatry to them. -notwithstanding the rebelliousness of the Israelites-struck them with awe. QUESTIONS. What lands did two of the tribes ask Moses to give them? Did they desire to settle down without further delay? Upon what promise did they trust when leaving their families behind? How many cities were to be given to the Levites-and why? How many of these were for the priests? For what purpose were the cities of refuge appointed! Why was such a method of affording protection to the man who had killed another unwittingly necessary? What was Joshua chosen to be? Did God refuse to grant Moses any request? What did Moses do before his death? Where was he buried? PRECEPTIVE LESSONS. The duty of providing for those who teach us the truths of religion is here plainly set forth, and the Lord has ordained "that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel." The ministry of God's servants has ever been a ministry of reconciliation, but more especially that of the Christian dispensation, for God is "in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself." We are also taught in this lesson the value that is set on human life, and the care that should be exercised by those in authority lest the innocent suffer as the guilty. The punishment of Moses, tempered by the permission to see the land he was not allowed to enter, teaches us that God gratifies his servants so far as is consistent with his determination to punish their transgressions. The notice of the death of Moses reminds us of these words of the Psalinist, "Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints." |