NUMBERS 31 1-11: MOSES’ LAST
ASSIGNMENT was mobilising of the army of Israel to go to war against the
Midianites, to take VENGEANCE FOR God for using feminine seduction to draw the
hearts of His people away and thereby positioning them against Him.
12-18: Dealing with the outward
manifestation of a SIN will not be as effective as dealing with the real cause
or SOURCE OF THE SIN. Moses was angry with the army of Israel because they
spared the women of Midian, who were the ones that lured them into sin against
God in the first place. They had to be killed in order to forestall a
re-occurrence.
19-20: SELF PURIFICATION for the
army of Israel after the war, a 7-day exercise.
21-23: PURIFICATION OF OBJECTS: Only
the items which can endure fire, such as gold, silver, bronze, iron, tin, and
lead shall be put through fire for purification. The ones that cannot should be
put through the water.
25-31-47: Another of GOD’S
RECOMMENDATION FOR SHARING: He commanded that the booty gained from the war
with the Midianites be divided into two and that the army who went to war took
one half while the whole congregation of Israel shared the remaining half. Then
to cater for the Levites who did not fall into any of these two categories, God
instructed that one out of every 500 of the army’s booty be given to the High
Priest as a heave offering to the LORD, while one out of every 50 of the booty
accruing to the congregation be given to the Levites as their own portion.
Isn’t the LORD simply wonderful and so thoughtful?
48-54: The APPRECIATIVE HEARTS of
the LEADERS of the arm of Israel; without being prompted, they came on their
own to offer a thanksgiving offering to God after conducting a head count and
discovering that NONE of the soldiers whom they took to war died in the battle.
Friday, February 15, 2008
NUMBERS 30 1-2: A MAN is bound by
his VOWS. In other words, the word of a man is his bond.
3-5: A WOMAN’s VOW, on the other
hand, is subject to the ratification of her father (if she is not married) or
that of her husband (if she is married) for it to be valid in the eyes of God.
6: God recognises that women are
more prone to spontaneous EMOTIONAL REACTION in the heat of the moment than
men, and this could lead to them making rash utterances, hence His provision
for a review of the vow of a woman by her father or her husband for it to be
valid. Unfortunately, men do not have this privilege, and therefore must be
very very cautious in making a vow before God if they do not have the will to
fulfil it. (Compare Ecclesiastes 5:1-6)
9: A WIDOW or a DIVORCED WOMAN is
bound by her vows because she does not have the covering of a man to ratify it.
10: However, if the WIDOW’s or a DIVORCED WOMAN’s VOW was nullified while she
had a husband, then it is no longer binding on her.
14-15: By DELAYING TO NULLIFY HIS
WIFE’s VOW immediately if he does not agree with it, only to do so a day after
or much later, a man will end up bearing the guilt and the consequences of the
woman’s failing, and she will be absolved of all blame.
No comments:
Post a Comment