Bible Commentary: Numbers 1-15

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THE BOOK OF NUMBERS

Bible Commentary for Numbers 1-15

Numbers Chapter 1

In the second month of the second year after the Israelites had come out of Egypt, Jehovah commanded Moses and Aaron to number the male Israelites from 20 years of age and upward by their tribes, those who are able to serve in the army. Jehovah selected the leading member of each tribe to help them. Moses called the entire community together and the names of the men twenty years of age and up were listed. The number of men counted for each tribe is as follows: From Rueben, 46,500 men were listed; from Simeon, 59,300 men; from Gad, 45,650 men; from Judah, 74,600 men; from Issachar, 54,400 men; from Zebulun, 57,400 men; from Ephraim, 40,500 men; from Manasseh, 32,300 men; from Benjamin, 35,400 men; from Dan, 62,700 men; from Asher, 41,500 men; and from Naphtali, 53,400 men. The total for the twelve tribes of men able to go out with the army was 603,550.

The tribe of Levi was not counted, as they would not serve in the army they were to be in charge of the Tabernacle along with all of its furnishings. They were to carry the Tabernacle when the camp was to move. They were to set up their tents around the Tabernacle when the nation was encamped to shield it so that no unauthorized person would go near it lest they die.

Number Chapter 2

The Israelites were to set up their tents around the Tent of Meeting some distance from it. Each tribe would camp under their standard and family banner. The twelve tribes were assigned to move and encamp in four groups with each group being comprised of three tribes. Each group had a standard and each tribe had individual banners. These groups would encamp around the tabernacle on all four sides. Judah, Issachar and Zebulun camped on the east in front of the tabernacle. They would lead the march when the nation was to move. Reuben, Simeon and Gad camped on the south would be the second group to move. The Tent of Meeting and the camp of the Levites and the priests, set in the middle of the camps, would move next. Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin camped on the west would then move. Dan, Asher and Naphtali camped on the north would be the last group to move. The Israelites did exactly as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

Number Chapter 3

The family line of Levi is given here beginning with Aaron’s family. His sons were Nadab, the firstborn, then Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar, who were ordained to serve as priests. Nadab and Abihu were put to death because they made an offering before Jehovah using unauthorized fire. They had no children. Only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priest during Aaron’s lifetime.

Jehovah told Moses to bring the tribe of Levi and present them to Aaron to assist him. They are to perform duties for him and for the whole nation at the Tabernacle by doing the work of the Tabernacle. They are "given" wholly to Aaron, meaning they work completely under the supervision and direction of the family of Aaron. Thus, they are to replace the first male born in every family since Jehovah had set apart every firstborn in Israel to himself when he struck down all the firstborn in Egypt. Moses was told to count every male from one month of age and up of the families of the Levi.

The names of the sons of Levi were Gershom, Kohath and Merari. The number of the male members of Gershom was 7,500. They were to camp to the west of the Tabernacle, behind it. They were responsible for the care of the coverings of the Tabernacle, the curtains at the entrance to the Tabernacle, the curtains that surrounded the Tabernacle and the altar and the ropes for the curtains and the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard.

The number of all males from one month of age and up of the Kohathites was 8,600 (some manuscripts have 8,300). They were to camp on the south side of the Tabernacle and were responsible for the care of the sacred things. They were to carry the ark, the table, the lampstand, the altars, the articles of the sanctuary used in ministering, the curtain that separated the Holy from the Most Holy and everything related to their use. Eleazar, as a member of the Aaronic Family, was automatically in charge of the Kohathites. If the number for the Kohathites is correct, then the total number for the Levites will be 22, 300. Some scholars have suggested that the extra 300 men may have been firstborns themselves.

The number of all males from one month of age and up of the Merarite clan was 6,200. They were to camp on the north side of the Tabernacle. They were assigned to take care of the frames, the crossbars, posts, and bases for the Tabernacle and everything related to their use. They also had charge of the posts and their bases, tent pegs and ropes for the curtains that enclosed the courtyard.

Moses, Aaron and his sons were to camp in front of the Tabernacle towards the sunrising. They had the overall responsible for the care of the sanctuary on behalf of the Israelites.

The number of Levite males from the age of one month and up was 22,000. Moses was then told to count all the firstborn Israelite males and make a list of their names. Their total number was 22,273. Then Jehovah told Moses to take the Levites in place of the firstborn males of the Israelites. Since the Israelite firstborn outnumbered the Levite males by 273, Moses was told that to redeem these 273 Israelites, a payment of five shekels per person would be assessed. The amount collected for the redemption was 1,365 shekels according to the sanctuary shekel and this was given to Aaron and his sons. Moses was also told to take the firstborn of the animals belonging to the Levites in place of the firstborn of the animals belonging to the Israelites. Jehovah stated that he had set apart the firstborn of the animals of the Israelites when he struck the firstborn of the animals belonging to the Egyptians.

Numbers Chapter 4

Moses is now told to count the Kohathite men between the ages of thirty and fifty who will do the work of the sanctuary. They numbered 2,750 men. They have the responsibility to care for the most holy things. When the camp is ready to move, Aaron and his sons are to take down the curtain that separates the Most Holy from the Holy compartment, place it over the ark of the Testimony. Then they are to cover this with hides of sea cows and spread a solid blue cloth over this and put the poles in place. They will spread a blue cloth over the table of Presence on which will still have the loaves on it. They will put the plates, dishes, bowls and the jars for the drink offering on this table, spread a scarlet cloth over these and then a cover of hides of sea cows. They will put the poles in place. They will spread a blue cloth over the lampstand and it implements. They will then wrap this in a covering of hides of sea cows and put these in a carrying frame. They will spread a blue cloth over the golden altar and then a cover of hides of sea cows and put the poles in place. All the articles used for ministering in the sanctuary are to be wrapped in a blue cloth then covered with hides of sea cows and put on a carrying frame.

They are then to remove the ashes from the copper altar and spread a purple cloth over it, and to place all the utensils used for ministering on this altar on top of the purple cloth. Over this they will spread a covering of hides of sea cows and put its poles in place. Eleazar, son of Aaron is to be in charge of preparing these holy items to be transported. He is to assign each man what he is to carry. These items have to be covered and ready for transport before the Kohathites could carry out their assignment. They could not go into the sanctuary and see the sacred items uncovered lest they die.

The Gershonites and Merarites between the ages thirty and fifty were also counted. The Gershonites numbered 2,630 men and the Merarites numbered 3,200 men. They worked under the direction of Ithamar, son of Aaron who would give them their assignments. Their work included transporting all of the items belonging to the Tabernacle other than the sacred items.

The total number of the Levites who came to do the work of the sanctuary was 8,580. Moses, Aaron and the tribal leaders counted them. At Jehovah’s command ‘each was assigned his work and told what to carry.’

Numbers Chapter 5

Jehovah commands Moses to quarantine any person who had an infectious skin disease or any discharge of any kind, whether menstrual or seminal, or who was unclean because of a dead body. They were to be sent outside the camp so that they would not defile the camp because Jehovah dwells among them.

If a person wrongs another in any way that makes him unfaithful to God he is guilty and he must confess the sin he has committed. He must make full restitution and add one-fifth to it and give it to the person he has wronged. If the wronged person is no longer alive and if he has no relatives to whom restitution can be made, then the restitution will belong to Jehovah. It will be given to the priest when the person brings the ram to the priest to atone for his sin. All voluntary gifts brought to the priest will belong to the priest.

If a wife is unfaithful to her husband and it has been kept a secret but the husband becomes suspicious of her, he is to take her to the priest. He must bring a tenth of an ephah of barley flour on her behalf but he must not put oil or incense on it as it is a grain offering for jealousy, a reminder offering to draw attention to guilt. Even if his wife has not been unfaithful to him yet he becomes jealous, he would follow this procedure. If the woman is guilty of adultery then it is a serious sin against Jehovah. The matter must be decided in order to keep the camp from becoming defiled.

The priest will have her to stand before Jehovah. He would then put some water that is to be used in such cases in a clay jar and put some dust from the Tabernacle floor into the water. He will then loosen her hair and place the grain offering for jealousy in her hand. He then puts the woman under oath saying to her, “If no other man has slept with you and you have not gone astray and become impure while married to your husband, may this bitter water that brings a curse not harm you. But if you have gone astray while married to your husband and you have defiled yourself by sleeping with a man other than your husband, may the LORD [Jehovah] cause your people to curse and denounce you when he causes your thigh to waste away and your abdomen to swell. May this water that brings a curse enter your body so that your abdomen swells and your thigh wastes away.” The woman will say 'Amen' or So be it. The priest will then write the curses on a scroll and wash them into the water in the jar. He then takes the grain offering from her hand and waves it before Jehovah. He brings it to the altar and takes a handful of it and burns it on the altar. He then gives the water to the woman to drink. If she has been unfaithful, the water will cause her abdomen to swell and her thigh to waste away and she will be accursed among her people. If she has not defiled herself, then the water will have no effect on her. She will be able to have children. No guilt is attached to the husband even if his wife is innocent.

A comment from a footnote on verse 21 in the NIV Study Bible on the curse ‘your thigh will waste away and your abdomen will swell’ says this: “The figurative language here speaks of the loss of the capacity for childbearing (and if pregnant, the miscarriage of the child). This is demonstrated by the determination of the fate of a woman wrongly charged (v.28). For a woman in the ancient Near East to be denied the ability to bear children was a personal loss of inestimable proportions. Since it was in the bearing of children that a woman’s worth was realized in the ancient world, this was a grievous punishment indeed.”

Numbers Chapter 6

If a person makes a special vow to consecrate himself to Jehovah as a Nazirite, he must refrain from drinking wine, vinegar or any other fermented drink. He must not eat grapes or raisins nor drink grape juice. As long as he is a Nazirite, he must not eat anything from the grapevine. He must not cut his hair as the symbol of his consecration is on his head. He cannot go near a dead body even if it is a close family member. If someone dies suddenly in his presence, his hair is defiled and he is unclean. On the seventh day of his cleansing he must shave his head. (See Leviticus 14:9) and on the eighth day, he must bring two doves or two pigeons to the priest. The priest will offer one as a sin offering and the other as a burnt offering to make atonement for him. He will then have to consecrate himself again to Jehovah for the original specified time as the time that he had served as a Nazirite was canceled by the defilement. At that time he would bring a year-old lamb to the priest as a guilt offering.

When his service is over, he must present an offering to Jehovah. He will bring to the priest a year-old male lamb for a burnt offering, a year-old ewe lamb for a sin offering, a ram for a fellowship offering along with its grain and drink offerings, and a basket of bread made without yeast; cakes made of fine flour mixed with oil and wafers spread with oil, to announce the termination of his Nazirite vows. When the fellowship offering is being made, he is to shave his hair that has been dedicated and put it in the fire under the fellowship offering. The priest will then place in his hands a boiled shoulder of the ram, a cake and a wafer from the basket and wave them as a wave offering before Jehovah. The Nazirite is now free to drink wine.

Verses 22-26 states the priestly blessings with which they will bless the nation. Verse 27 clearly shows that this is how they would put Jehovah’s name upon the people.

Numbers Chapter 7

After Moses finished setting up the Tabernacle and consecrating it, the tribal leaders brought offerings to be used in the service of the Tabernacle. According to Exodus 40:17, the Tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month of the second year. Together they brought six carts and twelve oxen. Jehovah told Moses to give these to the Levites for the work they had to do in transporting the Tabernacle. He gave two carts and four oxen to the Gershonites and four carts and eight oxen to the Merarites. The Kohathites did not need carts as they carried the holy things on their shoulders.

They then brought offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed. Each day for twelve days a tribal leader brought an offering. These gifts were likely presented beginning on the first day of the first month and commenced on the 12th day. They came in the order of their encampment around the Tabernacle, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Reuben, Simeon, and Gad; Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin; Dan, Asher, and Naphtali. Each leader brought the following: one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing 70 shekels, both filled with fine flour mixed with oil for the grain offering; one gold dish weighing ten shekels filled with incense; one young bull, one ram and one male lamb for the burnt offering; one male goat for a sin offering; and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old for the fellowship offering.

The total amount of the gifts was 12 silver plates and 12 silver bowls, all filled with fine flour mixed with oil, and 12 gold dishes filled with incense. These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar when it was anointed. The number of animals for the burnt offering was 12 bulls, 12 rams and 12 male lambs along with their grain offering. For the sin offering there were 12 male goats. The total number of animals brought for the fellowship offering was 24 oxen, 60 rams, 60 male goats and 60 male lambs. These were the offerings for the dedication of the altar after it was anointed.

When Moses entered the Tabernacle to speak to Jehovah, he heard the voice speaking to him from between the two cherubim above the ark of the Testimony.

Numbers Chapter 8

Moses is to remind Aaron that when he sets up the seven lights on the lampstand, they should be facing forward so that they will light the area in front of the lampstand. Jehovah had already given this instruction to Moses but this is the first time that he communicates it to Aaron. (See Exodus 25:37)

The ceremony for setting the Levites apart for their service to the priests is now described. Moses is told to purify them by sprinkling the water of cleansing on them and have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes. They are to take two young bulls, one for a sin offering and one for a burnt offering to make atonement for themselves. They are to be brought before the assembly and they are to lay their hands on them. This may have been done physically by the leading members of each tribe rather than each and every Israelite. They are then to stand in front of Aaron and his sons and Aaron is to present them as a wave offering to Jehovah from the Israelites. The Levites are then to lay their hands on the heads of the bulls, one of which is to be offered for a sin offering and the other for a burnt offering. After atonement has been made for them, they will be ready to do the work at the Tabernacle. The Levites are to act as a shield around the Tabernacle to keep the Israelite from inadvertently coming too close to it so that they will not be struck down.

Jehovah further tells Moses this: Men twenty-five years old or more qualify to take part in the work at the Tabernacle, but they must retire at the age of fifty. After they retire, they may assist their brothers in the work, but they must not do the work. Some scholars have suggested that the reason for the difference in the age at which a Levite could begin his work mentioned above and at Numbers 4:3 (25 versus 30) is that there may have been a five year period of apprenticeship before a Levite actually began the work.

Numbers Chapter 9

Jehovah told Moses to have the Israelites celebrate the Passover, at twilight on the fourteenth day of the first month in the second year, which they did. But there were some among them who had become ceremonially unclean by means of a dead body. They came to Moses to find out why they should be kept from presenting this offering along with their fellow Israelites. Moses went to Jehovah to find out what they should do. Jehovah told Moses that if an Israelite was unclean because of a dead body or if he were away on a journey, they could still celebrate the Passover. They would celebrate it on the fourteenth day of the second month exactly as they would have done in the first month. They were not to change any of the regulations concerning it. But if an Israelite did not celebrate the Passover at its appointed time and there was nothing hindering him from doing so, then he was to be cut off from his people. Additionally, if an alien wanted to celebrate the Passover, he would have to do so in accordance with its rules and regulations.

On the day the Tabernacle was set up the cloud covered it. It was like fire from evening to morning. Whenever Jehovah wanted the people to move the cloud would lift from above the Tabernacle and they would set out. When it settled again on the Tabernacle, they would encamp. The nation moved or encamped in accordance with this divine direction. (See also Exodus 40:34-38)

Numbers Chapter 10

Jehovah told Moses to have two trumpets of hammered silver made for use in calling the people together and for having the camp to set out. If the entire nation were to assemble, Moses would have both trumpets sounded. If just the tribal leaders were to assemble, then only one trumpet would sound. Trumpets blasts would also be used to announce the time for the nation to set out. The sons of Aaron were to be responsible for blowing the trumpets. The trumpets were to be used in later times when they were in the land and their enemy was oppressing them in battle, they were to sound a blast on it and Jehovah would remember them and rescue them. They were also to be used during their appointed festivals over the burnt offering and fellowship offerings.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary of the Old Testament, page 225, says of verse 10 this: “This use of the trumpets was not so much to announce these various festivals as to invoke and celebrate the presence of God among His people on those special occasions. They would each be a memorial for the people before God, a kind of reminder of His guidance and blessings in the past, particularly in the wilderness.”

On the twentieth day of the second month, the cloud lifted from above the Tabernacle. It was time for them to leave the Desert of Sinai where they had stayed for more than a year. They set out as they had been organized to do. The three-tribe division of Judah set out first. Then the tabernacle was taken down and the Gershonites and Merarites carrying it set out. The three-tribe division of Reuben set out and following them was the Kohathites carrying the holy things. This separating of the Levites was done in this manner in order that the Tabernacle would be set up by the time the Kohathites arrived at the location where they would encamp. Then the three-tribe division of Ephraim moved out followed by the three-tribe division of Dan.

Moses encourages his brother-in-law, Hobab, to travel with them and so share in the good things that Jehovah will provide. Hobab was obviously very familiar with the areas in the desert through which the Israelites would travel. Although Hobab initially refuses Moses’ offer he does go with them. (See Judges 1:16) The nation traveled for three day with the ark and the cloud leading them. Whenever the ark would set out Moses said, “Rise up O Lord [Jehovah]! May your enemies be scattered; may your foes flee before you.” Whenever it came to rest, he said, “Return, O LORD [Jehovah], to the countless thousands of Israel.”

Numbers Chapter 11

The people began to complain about the hardships they were experiencing and Jehovah heard them. He sent fire among them and consumed a portion of them on the outskirts of the camp. The people implored Moses to pray in their behalf and he did. This event probably occurred after the three-day journey from Mount Sinai.

Then the mixed crowd that came out of Egypt with them began to crave other food. They incited the Israelites to cry, “If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost- also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now we have lost out appetite; we never see anything but this manna!” Jehovah was exceedingly angry that they had rejected the manna, His provision for them by which He said that He would test them. (See Exodus 16:4) They had failed the test this soon. Moses himself became very troubled. He asked Jehovah why had He put such a burden upon him. This nation of ungrateful people was truly a burden. He needed some help, as the burden was too heavy for him to carry alone. Jehovah now made provisions for Moses to get some help. He was to bring seventy elders, who were known as leaders and officials among the people, to the Tabernacle and there Jehovah would appear to them. Jehovah would take some of the spirit that was on Moses and distribute it among these seventy men and they would help Moses.

Jehovah now tells Moses to prepare the people for the next day when he would give them the meat that they crave. It would not be enough for only one day, but for as many as thirty days. They would eat meat until it ‘came out of the nostrils.’ They would eat it until they began to loathe it because of their rejecting Jehovah’s provisions. However Moses is doubtful that so much meat can be provided for the six hundred thousand or so men plus women and children, possibly 2, 000,000 people. Jehovah’s question to him, “Is my arm too short?” suggests that there is nothing that Jehovah cannot provide as Moses will soon see.

Moses went out to tell the people what Jehovah has said and he brought together the seventy elders and had them stand around the Tabernacle, at least all except two of them. When Jehovah appeared to them and put his spirit upon them, they began to prophesy even the two who had remained in the camp. This was the one and only time that they prophesied. The reason for this one-time prophesying was to show the people that these men had been authorized by Jehovah to judge them along with Moses. Although Joshua was concerned about the two men in the camp prophesying, Moses told him that he wished all of the people were prophets and that God would put his spirit on all or them. It certainly would make his job a lot easier, in my opinion. (See 1 Samuel 10:6)

Jehovah caused a wind to blow quail all around the camp to a depth of three feet above the ground as far as a days walk in any direction. The people went out to gather the quail and no one gathered less than ten homers, probably about 60 bushels, which they spread out around the camp. Because of their unbridled gluttony, Jehovah sent a severe plague and struck them down. The place where the people were buried was called Kibroth Hattaavah, which means “graves of craving.”

Psalms 78:26-31 describes the situation this way. It says: “He let loose the east wind from the heavens and led forth the south wind by his power. He rained meat down on them like dust, flying birds like sand on the seashore. He made them come down inside their camp, all around their tents. They ate till they had more than enough, for he had given them what they craved. But before they turned from the food they craved, even while it was still in their mouths, God's anger rose against them; he put to death the sturdiest among them, cutting down the young men of Israel.” (See also Psalms 106:13-15)

Numbers Chapter 12

Israel had traveled to Hazeroth and settled there when Miriam and Aaron began to speak against Moses because Moses had taken a Cushite for his wife. The NIV Study Bible’s comment on this verse says this: “The attack on the woman was a pretext; its focus was the prophetic gift of Moses and his special relationship with the LORD.” They asked, “Has the LORD [Jehovah] spoken only through Moses? Hasn’t he also spoken through us? Jehovah was listening. The question might arise, What would Moses’ new wife have to do with whether Jehovah had used them as prophets or not? What was their real motive? The NIV continues: “The prophetic gifting of the 70 elders (11:24-30) seems to have been the immediate provocation for the attack of Miriam and Aaron on their brother.” Other sources do agree that envy was involved in this incident. Verse 3 seems to indicate that this envy was uncalled for as Moses was not an arrogant man, but was a very humble one. He would not take upon himself anything other than what had been bestowed upon him.

Jehovah speaks immediately and tells the three of them to go to the Tent of Meeting. There he appeared to them in a cloud and had Miriam and Aaron step forward. He said to them that ‘when a prophet of His was in their midst, He spoke to him in visions and dreams. But not so with Moses, He spoke face to face with him (Moses did not need a mediator to act for him) clearly and not in riddles. Moses saw the form of Jehovah so why were they not afraid to speak against Moses?’ His anger burned against them and when Aaron looked at Miriam, he saw that she had been struck with leprosy. He then pleaded with Moses to forgive them of the sin that they had committed and to intercede on her behalf with Jehovah. Moses then cried out to Jehovah to heal her. Jehovah said that Miriam situation was the same as if her father had spit in her face. She was in disgrace and she was to be confined outside the camp for seven day and then she could return. The assembly did not move on to the desert of Paran until Miriam had been brought back into the assembly.

Numbers Chapter 13

When in the Desert of Paran, the southernmost region of the Promised Land, Jehovah told Moses to choose men to explore the land of Canaan, one from each tribe. Deuteronomy 1:22 says that the people were the first to suggest sending spies ahead of them and obviously Jehovah acquiesced. Twelve men were chosen and Joshua represented the tribe of Ephraim. Verse 16 tells us that Moses changed Joshua’s name, from Hoshea to Joshua.

The spies were to go through the Negev into the hill country and taking note of the strength and weakness of the people, whether they had fortified cities or not, whether the soil was fertile or not, the kind of trees that grew in the land. They were also to bring back samples of the fruit of the land. They began their exploration in the Desert of Zin, the southernmost extremity of the land, and on through to the northernmost point, Rehob. On their way back they passed through Hebron and saw the descendants of Anak who lived there. When they reached a valley near Hebron, they cut off a single cluster of grapes that took two men to carry, along with some pomegranates and figs. This place they called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes that they got there. They returned at the end of forty days.

They reported that the land literally ‘flowed with milk and honey,’ and they showed them the fruit that they had brought with them. But they gave a bad report about the people who lived in the land. They said that the people were very powerful and had large fortified cities. They even reported that they had seen the descendants of Anak, a tribe of giants. Caleb attempted to encourage the people by saying that they would be able to take possession of it. But the other men continued to discourage the people saying that the ‘land devours those living in it and that all of its inhabitants were so tall that they seemed like grasshoppers next to them.’

Numbers Chapter 14

The assembly began to grumble against Moses and Aaron. They would prefer to have died in Egypt or even in the desert rather than be killed by sword and their children and wives taken as plunder. It would be better if they chose another leader and went back to Egypt. Moses and Aaron fell prostrate before the entire assembly and Joshua and Caleb tore their clothes and tried reasoning with them. They urged them not to rebel against Jehovah as He was with them and the people would fall before them as they had no protection. But the assembly talked about stoning them.

Then Jehovah’s glory appeared at the Tent of Meeting and Jehovah said to Moses “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them?” It was His decision to completely destroy them and make a nation out of Moses. But Moses pleaded with Jehovah not to do that because the nations would certainly reproach Jehovah saying that because He was unable to bring the people into the land He slaughtered them. They were all most certainly aware of how Jehovah had been leading this people since their leaving Egypt. But Jehovah should act in harmony with his qualities. He was slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet the guilty were not allowed to go unpunished. So Moses said, “In accordance with your great love, forgive these people just as You have done since the time they left Egypt.” (Verse 19)

Jehovah responded that He had forgiven them but without a doubt not one of the men who saw His glory and the miraculous signs He performed in Egypt and who had disobeyed and tested Him ten times, would ever see the land He promised on oath to their forefathers. Caleb and Joshua had shown a different spirit and so will be allowed to go into the land. But as far the rest of the men twenty years old and up, who were counted in the census, they would die in the desert just as they said and their children who they believed would become plunder would inherit the land. But, in the meantime, these children would have to suffer because of the unfaithfulness of their fathers until the last one of them was dead. The judgement period was to be forty years, a year for each day that they had explored the land. They will now learn what it means to have Jehovah against them. This was Jehovah’s promise to those who had acted wickedly against Him.

Jehovah now told Moses to turn back and set out toward the desert along the route of the Red Sea. The Bible Knowledge Commentaryof the Old Testament, page 232, explains this command this way: “Then as part of the judgement, the Lord instructed Moses and Israel to resume the journey from Kadesh but not toward the valleys where the Amalekites and Canaanites lived. They now had to take the long and circuitous route toward the Red Sea, a route that eventually would end at the Plains of Moab, east of Jericho. The Red Sea here refers to the eastern arm of that sea, known today as the Gulf of Aqabah.”

The ten men who explored the land but brought back a bad report were to receive a special judgement from Jehovah. He struck them down with a plague that day and they died.

When Moses reported Jehovah’s words to the people they begin to mourn bitterly. The next morning they said that they that they would obey Jehovah and go up to take the land. But Moses warned them that they would be disobeying if they went ahead with their plan, as Jehovah was not with them. But they went ahead anyway and were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country.

Numbers Chapter 15

Jehovah gave Moses further instructions concerning the offering they were to bring to Him after they settled in the land. With their offerings from the herd or the flock for the burnt offering, they were to bring a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour (or two quarts) mixed with a quarter of a hin (or one quart) of oil. With a lamb for the burnt offering, they were to prepare a quarter of a hin of wine. An offering of a ram required a grain offering of two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour (or 4 quarts) mixed with a third of a hin of oil (or 1 ½ quarts) and a third of a hin of wine for a drink offering. An offering of a young bull required a grain offering of three-tenths of an ephah of fine flour (or 6 quarts) mixed with half a hin of oil (or 2 quarts) and half a hin of wine. This would be the regulation for anyone, native born or alien, who brought an offering made by fire as an aroma pleasing to Jehovah.

When they harvested their first crops they were to present an offering to Jehovah from this firstfruit. It was to be a cake made from the first of their ground meal.

The offerings needed to atone for unintentional sins; sins of omission rather than commission are given here. (See Leviticus chapter 4) If the assembly, as a whole, becomes guilty of failing to keep any of God’s commands unintentionally, they are to bring a young bull for a burnt offering along with its prescribed grain and drink offering and a male goat for a sin offering to the priest. He will make atonement for them and they will all be forgiven, even the alien living among them. They were all involved unintentionally in this sin. If an individual Israelite or alien resident sins unintentionally, he must bring a female goat as a sin offering. When the priest makes atonement for him, he will be forgiven. But if anyone sins defiantly or blasphemes Jehovah, he is to be cut off from the people. No sin offering will be made for him because he has despised Jehovah’s word and broken His commands knowingly and deliberately. His guilt remains on him.

While in the desert of Sinai, a case comes before Moses concerning the breaking of the Sabbath that is an example of a defiant sin. A man had been found gathering wood on the Sabbath. Those who found him took him before Moses, Aaron and the whole assembly. They put him in custody because they were unsure of what should be done to him. Jehovah said to Moses that the man must die and the whole assembly must stone him outside the camp. They did as Jehovah had commanded.

The Israelites are commanded to make tassels for the corners of their garments that would act as a reminder to them to remember all the commands of Jehovah and obey them. The tassels were to have a blue cord attached to them. It is thought that the tassel was in the form of a flower or a petal. (See Matthew 23:5)


***©2005 by YORWW Congregation