PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
The Expositor's Bible: The Book of Numbers
Watson, Robert A. (Robert Alexander) · 122,879 words · 175 reading sections
_The Strain Of The Desert Journey_
The reply of Moses to Joshua's request anticipates, in no small degree, the doctrine of liberty. "Art thou jealous for my sake? Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put His Spirit upon them." His answer is that of a broad and magnanimous toleration. Moses cannot indeed have believ…
421 wordsSECTION 62_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
NUMBERS xii It may be confidently said that no representative writer of the post-exilic age would have invented or even cared to revive the episode of this chapter. From the point of view of Ezra and his fellow-reformers, it would certainly appear a blot on the character of Moses that he passed by the women of his own…
726 wordsSECTION 63_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
Miriam was the spokeswoman. She it was, as the Hebrew implies, who "spake against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married." It would seem that hitherto in right of her prophetical gift she was to some extent an adviser of her brother, or had otherwise a measure of influence. It appeared to her not only a…
855 wordsSECTION 64_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
The little knowledge, the small gifts, appear great to those who have them, so great as often to eclipse those of nobler men. We magnify what we have,--our power of vision, though we cannot see far; our spiritual intelligence, though we have learned the first principles only of Divine faith. In the religious controvers…
938 wordsSECTION 65_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
Now, returning to the oracle, we find that Moses is not a prophet or _nabi_ in this sense. The words that relate to him carefully distinguish between his illumination and that of the _nabi_. "My servant Moses is not so; he is faithful in all Mine house: with him will I speak mouth to mouth, even manifestly, and not in …
876 wordsSECTION 66_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
When the oracle had spoken, there was a movement of the cloud from the door of the tent of meeting, and apparently from the tabernacle--a sign of the displeasure of God. Following the idea that the cloud was connected with the altar, this withdrawal has been interpreted by Lange as a rebuke to Aaron. "He was inwardly c…
753 wordsSECTION 67_The Jealousy Of Miriam And Aaron_
The offence of Miriam was only jealousy and presumption. She may scarcely seem so great a sinner that an attack of leprosy should have been her punishment, though it lasted for no more than seven days. We make so much of bodily maladies, so little of diseases of the soul, that we would think it strange if any one for h…
413 wordsSECTION 68_The Spies And Their Report_
NUMBERS xiii.; xiv. 1-10 Two narratives at least appear to be united in the thirteenth and fourteenth chapters. From xiii. 17, 22, 23, we learn that the spies were despatched by way of the south, and that they went to Hebron and a little beyond, as far as the valley of Eshcol. But ver. 21 states that they spied out th…
784 wordsSECTION 69_The Spies And Their Report_
The spies were to climb the heights visible in the north, and look forth towards the Great Sea and away to Moriah and Carmel. They were also to make their way cautiously into the land itself and examine it. Moses anticipates that all he has said in praise of Canaan will be made good by the report, and the people will b…
679 wordsSECTION 70_The Spies And Their Report_
The spies were to climb the hills which commanded a view of the promised land. And there are heights which must be scaled if we are to have previsions of the heavenly life. Men undertake to forecast the future of the human race who have never sought those heights. They may have gone out from camp a few miles or even so…
728 wordsSECTION 71_The Spies And Their Report_
The report of the majority of the spies was one of exaggeration and a certain untruthfulness. They must have spoken altogether without knowledge, or else allowed themselves to magnify what they saw, when they said of the children of Anak, "We were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." Possib…
712 wordsSECTION 72_The Spies And Their Report_
Who are the Calebs and Joshuas of our time? Not those who, forecasting the movements of society, see what they think shall be for their people a region of comfort and earthly prosperity, to be maintained by shutting out as far as possible the agitation of other lands; but those who realise that a nation, especially a C…
683 wordsSECTION 73_The Spies And Their Report_
We must not indeed deny that this conviction was liable to challenge and revision. It must always be so when a man speaks for God, represents God. Doubt of the wisdom of any command meant doubt whether God had really given it by Moses. And when it seemed that the tribes had been unwisely brought to Canaan, the reflecti…
651 wordsSECTION 74_The Spies And Their Report_
So the faithless generations fall back still into panic, fatuity, and crime. Trusting in their resources, men say, "No change need trouble us; we have courage, wisdom, power, sufficient for our needs." But have they unity, have they any scheme of life for which it is worth while to be courageous? The hope of bare conti…
475 wordsSECTION 75_The Doom Of The Unbelieving_
NUMBERS xiv The spirit of revolt which came to a head in the proposal to put Joshua and Caleb to death was quelled by the fiery splendour that flashed out at the tent of meeting; but disaffection continued, and Moses realised with horror that immediate destruction threatened the tribes. Jehovah would smite them with p…
838 wordsSECTION 76_The Doom Of The Unbelieving_
In the report of Moses' intercession words are quoted which were part of the revelation of the Divine character at Sinai: "Jehovah slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, upon the thi…
761 wordsSECTION 77_The Doom Of The Unbelieving_
And there was a limitation of the judgment. Only those from twenty years old and upward were included. The young men and young women, presumably because they had not bewailed their lot and cried against Moses and God, having too much of the hopeful spirit of youth, were not condemned to die in the wilderness. A differe…
770 wordsSECTION 78_The Doom Of The Unbelieving_
It is not enough when men have discovered an evil heart of unbelief, and turned again in repentance, that they take up the thread of life which has become ravelled. Perverse faithlessness cannot be cured by a sudden decision to resume the duty which was abandoned in fear. The refusal was no superficial thing, but had i…
661 wordsSECTION 79_The Doom Of The Unbelieving_
It was no general advance of the tribes that on this occasion ended in defeat. The solid, resolute march of the whole people was a very different thing from the half-hearted sally of some hundreds of fighting men. When the host of the Israelites, men, women, and children, moved together, the men of war had support in t…
445 wordsSECTION 80_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
NUMBERS xv The enactments of this chapter regarding meal offerings and drink offerings, the heave offerings of the first dough, and the atonement for unwitting errors belong to the cultus of Canaan. Nothing generic distinguishes the first and third of these statutes from some that were presumably to be observed in the…
782 wordsSECTION 81_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
In connection with this ordinance of meal and drink offerings, and that of atonement for unintentional failures in duty (ver. 22 ff.), it is very carefully enacted that the law shall be the same for the "homeborn" and the "stranger." "For the assembly there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger that sojourn…
841 wordsSECTION 82_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
Passing now to the law of atonement for unintentional omissions of duty, we notice that the introductory sentences (vv. 22, 23) have a peculiar retrospective cast. They seem to point back to the time when the Lord gave commandment by the hand of Moses. It would appear that in course of years discovery was made that por…
678 wordsSECTION 83_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
It may be asked, Why, since defiant rejection of Christian law is more blasphemous than high-handed breach of the old Hebrew law, the providence of God does not punish it? If any one with Christ and His cross in view is guilty of injustice, or of hatred which is murder, does he not prove himself unworthy to live in God…
660 wordsSECTION 84_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
The law which had been broken was one specially connected with duty to God. Sabbath-keeping might indeed seem to belong to worship rather than to social morality. The seventh day was the Sabbath of Jehovah. It was to be kept holy to Him, made a delight for His sake. The statute regarding it belonged to the first table …
893 wordsSECTION 85_Offerings: Sabbath-Keeping: Dress_
3. THE MEMORIAL TASSELS.--The unique sumptuary law with which the chapter closes may be regarded as a sequence of the Sabbath-breaker's conviction. That Israelites might never be without a reminder of their duty, and of the Divine laws they were scrupulously to observe, these tassels with a band of blue were to be cons…
624 wordsSECTION 86_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
[6] Sayce, "The Higher Criticism and the Verdict of the Monuments," p. 359. [7] See Keil and Delitzsch _in loco_. NUMBERS xvi., xvii Behind what appears in the history, there must have been many movements of thought and causes of discontent which gradually led to the events we now consider. Of the revolts against Mo…
822 wordsSECTION 87_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
On the morrow the whole congregation, even more disaffected than before, is in a state of tumult. The cry is raised that Moses and Aaron "have killed the people of Jehovah." Forthwith a plague, the sign of Divine anger, breaks out. Atonement is made by Aaron, who runs quickly with his burning censer "into the midst of …
676 wordsSECTION 88_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
We have seen that according to the narrative of Numbers seventy elders of the tribes were appointed to aid Moses in bearing the heavy burden of administration, and were endowed with the gift of prophecy that they might the more impressively wield authority in the host. In the first instance, these men might be zealous …
822 wordsSECTION 89_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
It has been supposed that we have in this rebellion of Korah the first example of ecclesiastical dissension, and that the punishment is a warning to all who presumptuously intrude into the priestly office. Laymen take the censer; and the fire of the Lord burns them up. So, let not laymen, at any time in the Church's hi…
744 wordsSECTION 90_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
With the Reubenites Moses deals in the next place, taking their cause of discontent by itself. Already one of the three Reubenite chiefs had withdrawn, and Dathan and Abiram stood by themselves. Refusing to obey the call of Moses to a conference, they stated their grievance roughly by the mouth of a messenger; and Mose…
826 wordsSECTION 91_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
The whole circumstances, and the closing cry of the people, leave the impression of a grave difficulty found in establishing the hierarchy and centralising the worship. It was a necessity--shall we call it a sad necessity?--that the men of the tribes should be deprived of direct access to the sanctuary and the oracle. …
731 wordsSECTION 92_Korah, Dathan, And Abiram_
The Divine choice of Aaron, his confirmation in high religious office by the budding of the almond twig as well as by the acceptance of his intercession, have their parallels now. The realities of one age become symbols for another. Like the whole ritual of Israel, these particular incidents may be turned to Christian …
309 wordsSECTION 93_Tithes And Cleansings_
[8] Prolegomena to the "History of Israel," p. 354. NUMBERS xviii., xix 1. DUTIES AND SUPPORT OF THE MINISTRY.--The statutes of chap. xviii. are related to the rebellion of Korah by a clause in ver. 9, "Ye shall keep the charge of the sanctuary and the charge of the altar: that there be wrath no more upon the childre…
793 wordsSECTION 94_Tithes And Cleansings_
To the heavenly muse the poet can but reply:-- "I am not worthy even to speak Of Thy prevailing mysteries; For I am but an earthly muse ... And darken sanctities with song." With regard to the Levites whom Aaron is to bring near "that they may be joined unto him," it is singular that their duties and the restricti…
668 wordsSECTION 95_Tithes And Cleansings_
2. WATER OF PURIFICATION.--The statute of xix. 1-22 is peculiar, and the rites it enjoins are full of symbolism. It is implied that water alone was unable to remove the defilement caused by touching a dead body; but at the same time the taint was so common and might be incurred so far from the sanctuary that sacrifice …
703 wordsSECTION 96_Tithes And Cleansings_
The idea here is in a sense directly opposite to that which we associate with the sacred word, by which Divine will is communicated and souls are begotten anew. To use that word, to make it known abroad is the duty of every one who has heard and believed. He diffuses blessing and is himself blessed. There is no strict …
686 wordsSECTION 97_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
NUMBERS xx There is a mustering at Kadesh of the scattered tribes, for now the end of the period of wandering approaches, and the generation that has been disciplined in the wilderness must prepare for a new advance. The spies who searched Canaan were sent from Kadesh (xiii. 26), to which, in the second year from the …
729 wordsSECTION 98_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
* * * * * Spread through a diversified and not altogether barren region, over many square miles, the tribes have been able during the thirty-seven years to provide themselves with water. Gathered more closely now, when the dry season begins they are in want. And at once complaints are renewed. Nor can we wonder much. …
724 wordsSECTION 99_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
For the moment, forgetting Jehovah the merciful, Moses will himself act God; and he misrepresents God, dishonours God, as every one who forgets Him is sure to do. Is he confident in the power of his wonder-working rod? Does he wish to show that its old virtue remains? He will use it as if he were smiting the people as …
689 wordsSECTION 100_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
But how could the brothers who had yielded to this dictatorial hierarchical temper be men of God again, fit for another stroke of work for Him, unless, coming forth into action, their pride had disclosed itself, and with whatever bad result shown its real nature? We deplore the pride; we almost weep to see its manifest…
744 wordsSECTION 101_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
We can easily understand the objection of the King of Edom. Many of the defiles through which the main road wound were not adapted for the march of a great multitude. The Israelites could scarcely have gone through Edom without injuring the fields and vineyards; and though the undertaking was given in good faith by Mos…
725 wordsSECTION 102_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
* * * * * We have assumed that Kadesh was on the western side of the Arabah, and it is necessary to take ver. 20 as referring to an incident that occurred after the Israelites had crossed the valley. Not otherwise can we explain how they came to encamp among the mountains on the eastern side. The repulse must have bee…
939 wordsSECTION 103_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
The mind of Aaron as he went to his death was darkened by the consciousness of a great failure. Kadesh lay westward across the valley, and the thought of what took place there was with the brothers as they climbed Mount Hor and stood upon its summit. They had repented, but they had not yet forgiven themselves. How coul…
708 wordsSECTION 104_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
Perhaps the circumstances that attended the death of Aaron were to him the finest discipline of life. Climbing the steep slope at the command of God, would he not feel himself brought into a closer relation with the Eternal Will? Would he not feel himself separated from the world and gathered up into the quiet massiven…
706 wordsSECTION 105_Sorrow And Failure At Kadesh_
Eleazar followed Aaron and took up the work of the priesthood, not less ably, let us believe, yet not precisely with the same spirit, the same endowments. And indeed to have one in all respects like Aaron would not have served. The new generation, in new circumstances, needs a new minister. Office remains; but, as hist…
320 wordsSECTION 106_The Last March And The First Campaign_
NUMBERS xxi It has been suggested in a previous chapter that the repulse of the Israelites by the King of Arad took place on the occasion when, after the return of the spies, a portion of the army endeavoured to force its way into Canaan. If that explanation of the passage with which chap. xxi. opens cannot be accepte…
845 wordsSECTION 107_The Last March And The First Campaign_
The only recorded episode belonging to the period of this march is that of the fiery serpents. In the Arabah and the whole North Arabian region the cobra, or _naja haie_, is common, and is superstitiously dreaded. Other serpents are so innocuous by comparison that this chiefly receives the attention of travellers. One …
865 wordsSECTION 108_The Last March And The First Campaign_
And when our Lord recalled the episode of the healing of Israel by means of the brazen serpent, He certainly did not mean that the image in itself was in any sense a type or even symbol of Him. It was lifted up; He was to be lifted up: it was to be looked upon with the gaze of repentance and faith; He is to be regarded…
780 wordsSECTION 109_The Last March And The First Campaign_
At this point the history incorporates, why we cannot tell, part of an old song from the "Book of the Wars of Jehovah." "Vaheb in Suphah, And the valleys of Arnon, And the slope of the valleys That inclineth toward the dwelling of Ar, And leaneth upon the border of Moab." The picturesque topography of this chant,…
736 wordsSECTION 110_The Last March And The First Campaign_
The presence of the Amorites on the eastern side of Jordan is accounted for in a passage extending from vv. 26-30. Moab had apparently, as at a later time referred to by one of the prophets, been at ease, resting securely behind her mountain rampart. Suddenly the Amorite warriors, crossing the ford of Jordan and pressi…
680 wordsSECTION 111_The Last March And The First Campaign_
The army had passed into the north, but the main body of the people descended from the neighbourhood of Heshbon by a pass leading to the Jordan Valley. The return of the victorious troops after a few months gave them the assurance that at last they could safely prepare for the long expected entrance into the Land of Pr…
773 wordsSECTION 112_Balaam Invoked_
Wherefore, that the earthly temper may be taken out of us, we have to cross desert after desert, to make long circuits through the hot and thirsty wilderness even when we think our faith complete and our hope nigh its fulfilment. It is as those who overcome we are to enter the kingdom. Not as "the world's poor routed l…
937 wordsSECTION 113_Balaam Invoked_
It may be further said with regard to Mr. Sayce's valuable work, that he does not attempt to deal particularly with the prophecies of Balaam. "They must," he says, "be explained by Hebrew philology before the records of the monuments can be called upon to illustrate them. It may be that the text is corrupt; it may be t…
754 wordsSECTION 114_Balaam Invoked_
Three of the New Testament writers, the Apostles Peter, John, and Jude, refer to Balaam in terms of reprobation. He is "Balaam the son of Beor who loved the hire of wrongdoing"; he "taught Balak to cast a stumbling-block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication"; he is…
1,062 wordsSECTION 115_Balaam Invoked_
Reaching Pethor the messengers of Balak state their request. Instead of going with them at once, as a false man might be expected to do, Balaam declares that he must consult Jehovah; and the result of his consultation is that he declines. In the morning he says to the princes of Moab, "Get you into your land, for Jehov…
716 wordsSECTION 116_Balaam Invoked_
The conduct of Balaam when he is appealed to the second time confirms the judgment it has been found necessary to pronounce on his character. He behaves like a man who has been expecting, and yet, with what conscience he has, dreading, the renewed invitation. He appears indeed to be emphatic in declaring his superiorit…
732 wordsSECTION 117_Balaam Invoked_
The fault of Balaam, a fault of which he could not fail to be conscious, was that of tampering with his inspiration. The insight he possessed--and which he valued--had come through his sincere estimate of things and men apart from any pressure brought to bear on him to take a side either for money or for fame. His mind…
729 wordsSECTION 118_Balaam On The Way_
[10] "The Higher Criticism and the Monuments," p. 274. NUMBERS xxii. 20-38 The history is moving towards a great vindication of Israel and prediction of its coming power, all the more impressive that they are to be wrung from an unwilling witness, a man who would pronounce a curse rather than a blessing; all the more…
840 wordsSECTION 119_Balaam On The Way_
Like Balaam, one who thus extorts from conscience, that is from God, permission to go where he himself desires, knowing it to be a wrong way, is quite aware, may indeed be eager to acknowledge to himself, that he is still held by a Divine command extending over a part of his conduct. He will not speak a word that shall…
791 wordsSECTION 120_Balaam On The Way_
The narrative here is confessedly difficult. One of the most reverent commentators on the passage declares that he feels too deeply the essential veracity of the story to be troubled with minute questions about its details. "I would not," he says, "force them upon any one's belief merely by uttering the coarse sentence…
863 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
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Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.