Numbers
King James Version (KJV)
Numbers Chapter 21 Discussion
Viewing page: 1 of 2
1 2
Do you have a Bible comment or question?
Posting comments is currently unavailable due to high demand on the server.
Please check back in an hour or more. Thank you for your patience!
Cont...
The people sang a song, "Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it. "So apparently, they sang to the well to open up the springs. Then they traveled to Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, in the valley, then to the top of Pigsah, which looked towards Jeshimon. These places are all on the east side of the Jordan valley and river. They were traveling north ward. From there the leaders of Israel sent messengers to the king of the Amorites, Sihon, to ask to pass through their land, going along the king's highway until they leave the border of the Amorites. But Sihon would not allow them to do so and went against them with his armies at Jahaz. Israel overcame the Amorites and took possession of the king's land from the Arnon to the Jabbok rivers. They dwelled in the Ammonite cities, including the king's city of Heshbon. c
They continued to push out the peoples of the Amorites until they came to Bashan east of the sea of Galilee. Og, the king of Bashan, (was a giant-14 ft.) came against Israel at Edrei. The LORD told Moses not to fear because the people of King Og will be delivered to Israel just like the people of king Sihon. And so it happened and none of the people of Bashan were left alive. Israel took possession of this land.
God continued to be faithful to Israel and His promises despite the rebellion and unbelief of the people. When they repented, He blessed them, giving them victory after victory of the people along the east side of the Jordan valley. They possessed this land. But the Edomites were still in possession of their land. God must have had a reason for Edom remaining in control of their land. Perhaps it was due to them being close kinsmen, being descended from Esau, Jacob's twin brother, a descendant of Abraham, though not the lineage of the chosen nation of God, but nonetheless, blessed by God on account of Abraham, just like Ishmael was blessed by God because of Abraham, though not the people of the promise as Isaac was.
Continued...
They asked Moses to pray to the LORD and have Him remove these serpents. They must have been very prevalent and not just a few here and there. I would say they were overrun by the serpents, just as sin overruns those who are careless towards God. Perhaps the serpents just dropped out of the sky, since elsewhere in Scripture they are described as flying fiery serpents, (dragons)
Moses prayed and God instructed Moses to create a bonze serpent and place in on a pole. Those who followed his instructions to look upon the snake on the pole would be healed of their bite, but those who refused to look upon the snake would die from their bite. Interesting in that the serpents were sent upon them due to their sin. And the image on the pole was the object God used to punish them for their sin. They had to look upon the object that brought their punishment to be healed.
Jesus said compared Himself to the serpent on the pole in this chapter and that any who look to Him and believe on Him will not perish, but have eternal life. ( John 3:14-15) He became sin on the cross, he took our sin upon Himself, and took the punishment for our sin from the Father, and nailed our sin to the cross, so that we could have eternal life in Him.
After this episode with the serpents and God removing the serpents, the Israelites set out and camped in Oboth, then Ije-abarim, in the wilderness of Moab, east of Jordan. Then move on to the valley of Zared. From there they camped on the other side of the Arnon River, in the Amorite territory where it borders Moab. Verse 14-15 mentions a book of wars that tell of what the LORD did in these areas for the Israelites. This must have been a book scribed by another Israelite and was not preserved or discovered yet.
From the brooks of the Arnon River (Ar) they went to Beer, were there was a well without water. God promises to bring forth water from the well after the princes and nobles dug up the well at God's direction.
Since the king of Edom would allow the Israelites to passthrough their region to enter the promised land, the Israelites had to backtrack to the Red Sea at the Gulf of Aqaba and traverse around the region Edom controlled to then draw near to the Jordan River. It seems that Edom possessed the land south of the Dead Sea and somewhat westward from that since the Israelites were at the border of Edom at Kadesh/Mt. Hor. While at Mt. Hor where Aaron died, the king of Arad, which was north of them in Canaan,, heard that the Israelites were coming the way that the spies had come 40 years earlier. These Aradites occupied the southern portion of the promised land. They came against the Israelites, taking some prisoners. The Israelites vowed to the LORD that they would utterly destroy these Aradites if the LORD would deliver them into their hands. And so it happened that God gave them the Aradites and this people were utterly destroyed by the Israelites along with the destruction of their cities. The Israelites name the place Hormah meaning destruction or broken rock.
From this area in the wilderness of Zin near Mt. Hor, the Israelites then set out by way of the Red sea, going around Edom to the East. This was a circuitous route and the Israelites soon became weary and began to grumble once again against Moses and the manna and wishing to have stayed in Egypt. All of their "go-to" complaints revived.
So, again, the LORD brings judgment upon them by way of sending fiery serpents who bit them and many died. It is unclear if these were truly natural poisonous snakes that inhabited that area or if these were seraphs since the word seraph translates to fiery serpent. Either way, the serpents were real and the bites real, and the deadliness was real. Sin is deadly! Soon after this serious punishment, the Israelites came to Moses and confessed that they had sinned with their grumbling against the LORD and Moses.
Joel 2 - 28
Acts 2 -17
We now see a 'converted' Balaam, one who goes to the Lord to receive His Word & then speaks it with boldness, even to a king who has the power to take his life in an instant. When once he thought he could make gain by getting God to change His Mind, Balaam now learned to heed every Word of God & to declare it without fear or shame.
The lesson: For us as well, when we know God's Word & what His Spirit directs us to do, we must not fail to heed it and do it. God will be pleased, we will be blessed, and those who stand in opposition against us will one day know the word brought to them is of the Lord & He will indeed bring it to pass. And they need to heed it & not be foolish & resistant like Balak.
In this chapter, we see a changed Balaam, one who confidently gave God's Word to Balak & brought it out in a series of parables (actually, poems). Balak tried hard to convince Balaam to bless Moab, but each time was given a clear Word from the Lord. As Balaam said, "All that the LORD speaketh, that I must do." ( Numbers 23:26); we see a very different Balaam now.
Kind Regards
Mukula
God bless your Ministry
Kind Regards
Mukula
We see two situations in this chapter:
a. Numbers 21:1-3. God heard the cry of those willing to do His will - and God then provided.
b. Numbers 21:4-35. God then heard the people's anger when they were unwilling to be content in His Plan for them - and God had to give them a harsh lesson. Sometimes we need such lessons to bring us back into correct position of trusting Him fully. When we really look to Him & not ourselves, then He opens the way ahead, so that even the enemy will be overcome. Here we see a typical lesson: we allow Discontentment or anger - leads to our Complaining - leads to Pain through God's correction - leads to Lesson Learned with repentance. And God is always faithful: He forgives & renews us - we can enjoy His victory in life & against the enemy.
I hope this outline will be useful in your studies.
doesn't do anything haphazardly specifically making a living submarine for Jonah and like you said right place right time. The same in our lives as we believe and walk, God will deliver right place and time. Thanks phillip
Of great interest, even though the term "fiery" reads like an adjective in the English, it actually translates from the Hebrew noun saraph (Eng. transliteration; pronounced "saw-RAWF").
The same Hebrew word translated here into "fiery" also translates into the word "seraphims" twice in Isaiah (note: the modern proper spelling of this plural noun is "seraphim").
In Isaiah, the term "seraphim" identifies a certain class of angelic entities of whom Prophet Isaiah witnessed as recorded in Isaiah Chapter Six. Other than having "six wings " ( Isa. 6:2), Isaiah provided no additional information regarding their personal appearance.
If Isaiah witnessed the holy seraphim honoring and praising JEHOVAH GOD, Bible students must also conclude a certain number of seraphim followed Satan in his rebellion and fall.
The very Hebrew word "saraph" literally means "the burning ones". If these angelic seraphim have a visual appearance of fire (cp. 2Ki. 6:17), then these "fiery serpents" may have been demonic in nature. It is not considered a stretch to wonder if GOD gave seraph demons permission to punitively torment the Israelites much like HE gave Satan permission to test Job ( Job 1:12; 2:6).
If this scenario were true, then the term "fiery" may describe their visual nature and appearance rather than the painful intensity of their bite.
Since GOD's Word contains no coincidences, and HIS Word communicates HIS earthly and Heavenly Designs, Purposes, and Will, then Bible students, expounders, hermeneutics, and commentarians simply cannot overlook and ignore the terminology of the word "fiery" in this context. It certainly demands deep examination and exploration while avoiding being overly dogmatic.
The bite of these "fiery serpents" typifies "the fiery darts of the wicked" ( Eph. 6:16).
The descriptive word "fiery" implies these "serpents" were far more sinister than the common venomous snake indigenous to the area. These were very out-of-the-ordinary serpents indeed.
Did The LORD especially prepare these "fiery serpents", much like when HE caused the "great fish" to swallow Jonah? Both events describe The LORD's punitive discipline.
Of note, the great fish did not swallow Jonah out of mere opportunity simply because it was in Jonah's immediate proximity. Rather, "The LORD prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah" ( Jon. 1:17). The "great fish" and Jonah were put there together by DIVINE Appointment because GOD put them there in precisely the same vicinity, and at precisely the same time.
In like manner, these "fiery serpents" did not invade the camp of the Israelites by happenstance of their own accord, for "The LORD sent [them] among the people" (v.6).
If the word "fiery" qualifies the bite of these serpents as exceedingly severe beyond the norm, then these were out-of-the-ordinary serpents indeed. This implies these serpents were not of the type the Israelites would have ordinarily encountered during their trek across the wilderness.
Moreover, the "fiery serpent of brass" which Moses manufactured and erected upon a pole (v.8) more likely represented their fiery visual appearance rather than the severity of their bite.
Genesis 35:10. And God said unto him, Thy name shall not be called ANYMORE Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name: and He called his name Israel.
You'll want to read all of that about the inheritance.
This speaks to me that there could have been some there who despised God & Moses to such an extent, that even though they got bitten, they would have refused to look upon the snake on the pole, as if to say, "I don't believe in this God of Israel or His servant Moses, so I would rather die than submit". This is the same stubbornness that grips the unsaved: they hear of God's love, they hear of the Sacrifice of His Son for sin, but refuse to look upon Him in faith for spiritual healing, simply because they don't believe in His Plan & would rather perish in hell than submit to the Holy One.
Yes, their are books in heaven, and one on all of us. Pray and fast, and ask God to reveal his will for your life. Books, courts, Wow!