by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
There is quiet in northern Israel and southern Lebanon as the 60-day ceasefire between the IDF and Hezbollah continues in its 3rd week. The Hezbollah rocket and drone attacks have been absent. Some IDF units have withdrawn from southern Lebanon and have been replaced by the Lebanese army.
After the fall of Damascus and the Assad regime in Syria in the hands of Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham (HTS) rebel forces, Israel intensively attacked Syrian air defense sites, missile forces, air force assets, naval ships, chemical warfare stocks and other weapons and munitions stockpiles in a short 48-hour period. Apparently, Israel does not want to take the chance that these weapons (especially for chemical warfare) can fall into the wrong hands and used against Israel. It also occupied the buffer zone between Syria and Israel in the Golan Heights and Mount Hermon and its vicinity as these mountain heights provide them with a commanding view all around northern Israel, Lebanon and Syria.
Negotiations for an Israel-Hamas hostage-prisoner exchange with a temporary ceasefire seem to have taken a major positive step as Hamas has submitted a list of hostage names to the mediators. Qatar has resumed its role as a mediator in these talks together with Egypt and the US. Hamas has now shown uncharacteristic flexibility as it is reportedly even willing to let the IDF temporarily stay in the Philadelphi Corridor. It seems Hamas realizes that they are alone as Hezbollah and Iran (and Syria) can no longer support them.
Let us continue to pray for the release of all the remaining 100 Israeli hostages (alive or dead) and for a just end to the wars against the Jewish nation. Let us continue to stand with Israel and pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Psalm 122:6-9).
Chapter 20 opens with the first verse saying that the Israelites came into the wilderness of Zin in the 1st month and they stayed in Kadesh and the prophetess Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron, died and was buried there. Since the year is not mentioned, scholars say that this is the 1st month of the 40th year after the Exodus from Egypt (derived from Numbers 33:38 stating that Aaron died in the 40th year after the Exodus). This would mean that the Israelites have now aimlessly wandered 40 years in the wilderness and the old generation has passed away and a new generation now makes up the people.
However, the new generation shows the same stiff-necked, complaining, untrusting attitude of the older generation as verses 2-9 narrate. As in Exodus 17:1-7, the contention arose from the lack of water. The LORD then instructed Moses and Aaron to speak to the rock to bring out water. However, an obviously exasperated Moses did not follow the LORD’s instruction to just simply speak to the rock; he hit it twice with his staff. By the LORD’s grace, abundant water gushed out enough for all the people and their herds and flocks but these were called waters of מְרִיבָה (“Mriybah” or Meribah, meaning strife, contention, quarrelling) in Numbers 20:13, as in Exodus 17:7. Because of Moses’s anger, his words and action, the LORD pronounced judgment on him and Aaron. Numbers 20:12 has the LORD speaking (Hebrew verse read right to left, top down):
וַיֹּ֣אמֶר יְהוָה֮ אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֣ה וְאֶֽל־אַהֲרֹן֒ יַ֚עַן לֹא־הֶאֱמַנְתֶּ֣ם בִּ֔י לְהַ֨קְדִּישֵׁ֔נִי לְעֵינֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל לָכֵ֗ן לֹ֤א תָבִ֙יאוּ֙ אֶת־הַקָּהָ֣ל הַזֶּ֔ה אֶל־הָאָ֖רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־נָתַ֥תִּי לָהֶֽם׃
The New American Standard Bible (NASB 1995) translation follows:
12But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you have not believed Me, to treat Me as holy in the sight of the sons of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land which I have given them.”
Scholars aver that the reason behind this seemingly harsh punishment also stem from verse 10 where Moses asks “…shall we bring forth water for you out of this rock?” From the choice of words, it appeared that it was Moses and Aaron who brought out water from the rock; not the LORD. Then in verse 11 Moses used his staff to hit the rock twice in anger. Moses and Aaron had to be exemplary in their exact obedience to the LORD’s instructions as mediators and leaders of the Israelites. Because of these reasons, Moses, their leader and Aaron, their high priest were both kept from entering the land promised.
After this, the narrative continues with Edom refusing the Israelites to pass through their land and even threatening war against them (Numbers 20:14-21). This is disappointing for the Israelites as Edom is another name for Esau, the (older) twin brother of Jacob/Israel. So the Israelites turned back and had to skirt the eastern border of Edom. Numbers 20:22 tell about the death of Aaron at Mount Hor. Moses stripped him of his high priestly garments and put them on Eleazer, Aaron’s son. Aaron died without even seeing the land promised as the LORD had judged him at the waters of Meribah.
After a 30-day mourning period for Aaron, the next chapter, Numbers 21 narrates the incident of the bronze snake and 3 victorious battles that enabled the Israelites to occupy parts of the Transjordan.
Numbers 21:1-3 tells of the attack of the Canaanite king of Arad on the Israelites and the taking of some of them as captives. The Israel asked the LORD to give them victory and vowed to fully devote their cities to the LORD by utterly destroying them. Hence the name חָרְמָה “Chormah” (or Hormah) which is derived from the Hebrew חָרַם “charam” meaning to ban; to devote to destruction. And the LORD granted their prayer. The ESV Global Study Bible comments that this victory marked a turning point as from now on, victory after victory is achieved by the Israelites until they reach the Jordan River, ready to advance into Canaan.
As the Israelites made a long detour to avoid passing through Edom, Numbers 21:4-9 narrates that the people again became impatient and spoke against the LORD and Moses. The LORD sent הַנְּחָשִׁ֣ים הַשְּׂרָפִ֔ים “fiery serpents” which bit the Israelites and many of them died. The people repented and asked Moses to intercede for them again and the LORD instructed Moses so he constructed a נְחַ֣שׁ נְחֹ֔שֶׁת “bronze serpent” on a pole. Everyone who was bitten by the fiery serpents can look at the bronze serpent on the pole and be healed and live. This is the foreshadowing of what our Lord Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:14-15.
As the Israelites proceeded on the eastern side of Edom and Moab as told in Numbers 21:10-30 they encountered Sihon, king of the Amorites. Again they asked for safe passage but Sihon refused and attacked Israel. Israel defeated Sihon and took control of his land from the Amorites, including Heshbon. Next, in Numbers 21:31-35 the Israelites proceeded north and Og the king of Bashan attacked them at Edrei. Again, the Israelites were victorious and possessed more land in the Transjordan. The Israelites of this new generation could now head southward and camp in the plains of Moab on the east side of the Jordan, within view of the land promised.
We will continue next time.
God bless us all.