9-26-15 (Updated with Roxie's Notes)

THE NEW GENERATION

Chapters 26-36 marks the emergence of a New Generation of Israelites.

In Chapter 26, we see a second census taking place, the primary purpose of which is to determine the size of each tribe to determine how much land each would get in the Promised Land.

52 The Lord said to Moses, 53 “The land is to be allotted to them as an inheritance based on the number of names. 54 To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one; each is to receive its inheritance according to the number of those listed. 55 Be sure that the land is distributed by lot. What each group inherits will be according to the names for its ancestral tribe. 56 Each inheritance is to be distributed by lot among the larger and smaller groups.”

Later, we see God's Judgement on the first generation has become complete. Only two people who were counted in the first census appear on the rolls of the second:  Joshua and Caleb

63 These are the ones counted by Moses and Eleazar the priest when they counted the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho. 64 Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaronthe priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

There is a tone of hope, fulfillment, and assurance that they will enter Canaan and take possession of it.

(Note:  In Numbers, it is said that the Isrealites were denied passage by the Edomites, but In Deuteronomy, it is said the Edomites allow passage.  There is no explanation for this conflict.)

In Chapter 27 we see the resolution of an inheritance of property dispute:

Zelophehad’s Daughters27 The daughters of Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, belonged to the clans of Manasseh son of Joseph. The names of the daughters were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah. They came forward 2 and stood before Moses, Eleazar the priest, the leaders and the whole assembly at the entrance to the tent of meeting and said, 3 “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among Korah’s followers, who banded together against the Lord, but he died for his own sin and left no sons. 4 Why should our father’s name disappear from his clan because he had no son? Give us property among our father’s relatives.”5 So Moses brought their case before the Lord, 6 and the Lord said to him, 7 “What Zelophehad’s daughters are saying is right. You must certainly give them property as an inheritance among their father’s relatives and give their father’s inheritance to them.
8 “Say to the Israelites, ‘If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, give his inheritance to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give his inheritance to the nearest relative in his clan, that he may possess it. This is to have the force of law for the Israelites, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”

This emphasizes the importance of the ownership of land and that it was essential to a family's economic base.

In 27:18 we see a succession of Leadership:

 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership,[f] and lay your hand on him. 19 Have him stand before Eleazar the priest and the entire assembly and commission himin their presence. 20 Give him some of your authority so the whole Israelite community will obey him. 21 He is to stand before Eleazar the priest, who will obtain decisions for him by inquiring of the Urim before the Lord. At his command he and the entire community of the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will come in.”22 Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole assembly. 23 Then he laid his hands on him and commissioned him, as the Lord instructed through Moses.

Chapter 31 recounts a war of Vengeance against the Midianites for deceiving Israel at Peor

Numbers 2514 The name of the Israelite who was killed with the Midianite woman was Zimri son of Salu, the leader of a Simeonite family. 15 And the name of the Midianite woman who was put to death was Kozbi daughter of Zur, a tribal chief of a Midianite family.
16 The Lord said to Moses, 17 “Treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them. 18 They treated you as enemies when they deceived you in the Peor incident involving their sister Kozbi, the daughter of a Midianite leader, the woman who was killed when the plague came as a result of that incident.”

Israel is victorious in the war, kill all the men and burn all the villages.  But the men intended to keep the women.  Moses became angry:

13 Moses, Eleazar the priest and all the leaders of the community went to meet them outside the camp.14 Moses was angry with the officers of the army—the commanders of thousands and commanders of hundreds—who returned from the battle.15 “Have you allowed all the women to live?” he asked them. 16 “They were the ones who followed Balaam’s advice and enticed the Israelites to be unfaithful to the Lord in the Peor incident, so that a plague struck the Lord’s people. 17 Now kill all the boys. And kill every woman who has slept with a man, 18 but save for yourselves every girl who has never slept with a man.

These were the women who led the men astray in Peor. Unlike the first generation, these in the second did as ordered.

In Chapter 32, Reuben and Gad decide that they like the land where they are (the Trans-Jordan) and do not want to go into the Promised Land. But their numbers are needed if Israel is to take Canaan. In the first generation, this could have led to a major problem, but a compromise is reached whereby these tribes agree to go and fight and the return after Canaan has been secured.

16 Then they came up to him and said, “We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. 17 But we will arm ourselves for battle[a] and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. Meanwhile our women and children will live in fortified cities, for protection from the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has received their inheritance. 19 We will not receive any inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan, because our inheritance has come to us on the east side of the Jordan.”
20 Then Moses said to them, “If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the Lord for battle 21 and if all of you who are armed cross over the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies out before him— 22 then when the land is subdued before the Lord, you may return and be free from your obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the Lord.
23 “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your women and children, and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.”25 The Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses, “We your servants will do as our lord commands. 26 Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead. 27 But your servants, every man who is armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the Lord, just as our lord says.”

Chapters 34 & 35 define the borders of Canaan and how the land was to be divided.  Provisions are made for Levite cites (as they are prohibited from owning land). Six of these cities are designated as Cities of Refuge where a man who kills someone accidentally is safe from retributions as long as he remains in the city.

Thus the stage is set for Joshua to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Deuteronomy is sort of a pause between Numbers and Joshua.

Here are Roxie's notes:

Week 4

NUMBERS
(continued)

New Generation on edge of the Promised Land

-  Chapters 26-38 mark the emergence of the new generation of Israelites.


Second Census
-  In chapter 26:52-56 we see that the Israelites undergo a new census. The Primary Purpose was to determine the size of the tribes and the amount of land each tribe would be assigned when they enter Canaan. A large tribe would get more land than a small tribe.
- In chapter 26:63-65, God’s judgment on the old generation has become complete. We know this because only Joshua and Caleb are the ones left from the first census. There is a tone of hope and assurance that they will inherit the Promised Land.

- In chapter 27, we see the Resolution of Zelophehad’s Daughters. In verse 7, Zelophehad dies with no sons so his daughters got everything he owned including property from their father’s relatives.


Succession of Leadership: Joshua is the new leader!
- Numbers 27:12-23 Then the LORD said to Moses, “Climb this mountain in the Abarim Mountains, and look at the land I have given to the Israelites. 13 After you have seen it, you will die and join your ancestors as your brother Aaron did, 14 because you both acted against my command in the Desert of Zin. You did not honor me as holy before the people at the waters of Meribah.” (This was at Meribah in Kadesh in the Desert of Zin.)
15 Moses said to the LORD, 16 “The LORD is the God of the spirits of all people. May he choose a leader for these people, 17 who will go in and out before them. He must lead them out like sheep and bring them in; the LORD’s people must not be like sheep without a shepherd.”
18 So the LORD said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, because my Spirit is in him. Put your hand on him, 19 and have him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the people. Then give him his orders as they watch. 20 Let him share your honor so that all the Israelites will obey him. 21 He must stand before Eleazar the priest, and Eleazar will get advice from the LORD by using the Urim. At his command all the Israelites will go out, and at his command they will all come in.”
22 Moses did what the LORD told him. He took Joshua and had him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the people, 23 and he put his hands on him and gave him orders, just as the LORD had told him.

Laws for New Generation’s Life in the Promised Land
- Read Numbers chapters 28-30. They mention Daily Offerings, Sabbath Offerings, Monthly Offerings, The Passover, The Feast of Weeks, The Feast of Trumpets, The Day of Cleansing, The Feast of Shelters, and Rules About Special Promises.

Military Victory w/ warning & encouragement from past generation
- In Numbers chapter 31, Israel seeks revenge and attacks the Midianites for what they did in Peor (see Numbers 25 where the Israelite men sinned sexually with the Midianite women and the women also had them worship their gods).
- Numbers 31:1-8 The LORD spoke to Moses and said, 2 “Pay back the Midianites for what they did to the Israelites; after that you will die.” 3 So Moses said to the people, “Get some men ready for war. The LORD will use them to pay back the Midianites. 4 Send to war a thousand men from each of the tribes of Israel.” 5 So twelve thousand men got ready for war, a thousand men from each tribe. 6 Moses sent those men to war; Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest was with them. He took with him the holy things and the trumpets for giving the alarm. 7 They fought the Midianites as the LORD had commanded Moses, and they killed every Midianite man. 8 Among those they killed were Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, who were the five kings of Midian. They also killed Balaam son of Beor with a sword. (Remember Balaam from Numbers 22?)
- The Israelites kept all the spoils of war including the Midianite women. Moses says we can’t do this. We must learn from the past because they might temp you to worship false gods again. In verse 17, Moses then tells them to kill all the boys and the Midianite women who aren’t virgins and they do.
Reuben and Gad in Transjordan
- In chapter 32, we see that Reuben and Gad want to stay in the Transjordan, the land East of the Jordan River. They liked the land there because they had large flocks and herds.
- Moses told them we need your tribes to fight along with the rest of the Israelite tribes so that they can enter the Promised Land, the land of Canaan. Once they enter, you all can come back and occupy the land East of the Jordan River.
- Reuben and Gad set up pens for their animals and cities for their children first. Then they prepared themselves for battle.
- In chapter 33, we see Israel’s journey from Egypt.


Reuben and Gad in Transjordan

The Borders of Canaan and Division of the land: The Lord sets the borders of Canaan. He also commanded men to divide the land of Canaan among the Israelites. In verse 14 we see that Reuben and Gad got their land.

Levite Towns: In Numbers 18:23-24, the Levites are not given any land. Now in Numbers 35:3 we see that God is giving them cities and pastureland for their cattle, flocks and other animals.

Cities of Safety: Numbers 35:10-15 Tell the Israelites these things: ‘When you cross the Jordan River and go into Canaan, 11 you must choose cities to be cities of safety, so that a person who accidentally kills someone may run to them for safety. 12 There the person will be safe from the dead person’s relative who has the duty of punishing the killer. He will not die before he receives a fair trial in court. 13 The six cities you give will be cities of safety. 14 Give three cities east of the Jordan River and three cities in Canaan as cities of safety. 15 These six cities will be places of safety for citizens of Israel, as well as for foreigners and other people living with you. Any of these people who accidentally kills someone may run to one of these cities.


*The stage is now set for Joshua to lead Israel into the Promised Land. Deuteronomy is sort of a pause between Numbers and Joshua.