The American Wisdom Series

Presents
Pamphlet #2370

Numbers
Chapter 20

Years of wandering: [6] death of Miriam
Numbers 20:1  ¶Then came the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, into the desert of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in Kadesh; and Miriam died there, and was buried there.

Years of wandering: [7] thirst in Meribah-Kadesh (Dt.32:51; cp.Ex.17:1-7)
Deuteronomy 32:51  Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel.
Exodus 17:1  ¶And all the congregation of the children of Israel journeyed from the wilderness of Sin, after their journeys, according to the commandment of the LORD, and pitched in Rephidim: and there was no water for the people to drink. 2  Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, and said, Give us water that we may drink. And Moses said unto them, Why chide ye with me? wherefore do ye tempt the LORD? 3  And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst? 4 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 5 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine hand, and go. 6 Behold, I will stand before thee there upon the rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall come water out of it, that the people may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7  And he called the name of the place Massah, and Meribah, because of the chiding of the children of Israel, and because they tempted the LORD, saying, Is the LORD among us, or not?

Numbers 20:2  And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron.
3  And the people chode with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died when our brethren died before the LORD!
4  And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die there?
5  And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.
6  And Moses and Aaron went from the presence of the assembly unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and they fell upon their faces: and the glory of the LORD appeared unto them.

Sin of Moses in smiting the rock
Numbers 20:7  And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
8  Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.
9  And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.
10  And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock?
11  And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

Penalty for striking the rock instead of speaking to it (vv.7-11); Dt.32:48-52; 1 Cor.10:4)
Deuteronomy 32:48  And the LORD spake unto Moses that selfsame day, saying, 49  Get thee up into this mountain Abarim, unto mount Nebo, which is in the land of Moab, that is over against Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel for a possession: 50  And die in the mount whither thou goest up, and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people: 51  Because ye trespassed against me among the children of Israel at the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin; because ye sanctified me not in the midst of the children of Israel. 52  Yet thou shalt see the land before thee; but thou shalt not go thither unto the land which I give the children of Israel.
1 Corinthians 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.

Numbers 20:12  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.
13  This is the water of Meribah; because the children of Israel strove with the LORD, and he was sanctified in them.

Years of wandering: [8] the never-forgiven sin of Edom (Gen.25:30; Obah.1:10)
Genesis 25:30  And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore was his name called Edom.
Obadiah 1:10  ¶For thy violence against thy brother Jacob shame shall cover thee, and thou shalt be cut off for ever.

Numbers 20:14  ¶And Moses sent messengers from Kadesh unto the king of Edom, Thus saith thy brother Israel, Thou knowest all the travail that hath befallen us:
15  How our fathers went down into Egypt, and we have dwelt in Egypt a long time; and the Egyptians vexed us, and our fathers:
16  And when we cried unto the LORD, he heard our voice, and sent an angel, and hath brought us forth out of Egypt: and, behold, we are in Kadesh, a city in the uttermost of thy border:
17  Let us pass, I pray thee, through thy country: we will not pass through the fields, or through the vineyards, neither will we drink of the water of the wells: we will go by the king's high way, we will not turn to the right hand nor to the left, until we have passed thy borders.
18  And Edom said unto him, Thou shalt not pass by me, lest I come out against thee with the sword.
19  And the children of Israel said unto him, We will go by the high way: and if I and my cattle drink of thy water, then I will pay for it: I will only, without doing any thing else, go through on my feet.
20  And he said, Thou shalt not go through. And Edom came out against him with much people, and with a strong hand.
21  Thus Edom refused to give Israel passage through his border: wherefore Israel turned away from him.
22  ¶And the children of Israel, even the whole congregation, journeyed from Kadesh, and came unto mount Hor.

Death of Aaron
23  And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying,
24  Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.
25  Take Aaron and Eleazar his son, and bring them up unto mount Hor:
26  And strip Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son: and Aaron shall be gathered unto his people, and shall die there.
27  And Moses did as the LORD commanded: and they went up into mount Hor in the sight of all the congregation.
28  And Moses stripped Aaron of his garments, and put them upon Eleazar his son; and Aaron died there in the top of the mount: and Moses and Eleazar came down from the mount.
29  [*] And when all the congregation saw that Aaron was dead, they mourned for Aaron thirty days, even all the house of Israel.

[*] The death of Aaron marks the end of 38 years of wandering. Henceforth Israel marches or halts but does not wander. The wilderness was part of the necessary discipline of our ancestors as a redeemed people, but not the years of wandering. The latter were due wholly to the unbelief of our ancestors at Kadesh-barnea. The Red Sea, Marah, Elim, and Sinai were God's ways in development and discipline and have, of necessity, their counterpart in Christian experience:
(1) the Red Sea suggests the cross as that which (death to Christ but life for us) seperates us from Egypt, the world (Gal.6:14);
Galatians 6:14  But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
(2) Marah, God's power to turn vexatious things into blessings;
(3) Elim, God's power to give rest and refreshment along the way;
(4) Sinai, God's holiness and our deep inherent evil, the experience of Rom.7:7-25.
Romans 7:7  ¶What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet. 8 But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin was dead. 9  For I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. 10  And the commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be unto death.
11  For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me. 12  Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good. 13  Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. 14  ¶For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. 15  For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I. 16  If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the law that it is good. 17  Now then it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not. 19  For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I would not, that I do. 20  Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. 21  I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me. 22 For I delight in the law of God after the inward man:
23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. 24  O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? 25  I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
So far the path was and is God. But from Kadesh-barnea to Jordan all (except the grace of God toward an unbelieving people) is for warning, not imitation (1 Cor.10:1-11; Heb.3:17-19).
1 Corinthians 10:1  ¶Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; 2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. 6  ¶Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. 10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. 11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Hebrews 3:17  But with whom was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness? 18  And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that believed not? 19  So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.
There is a present rest of God, of which the Sabbath and Canaan were types, into which believers may and, therefore, should enter by faith (Heb.3:4).

History shows that the northern 10 tribes migrated north over the Caucasus Mountains (hence called Caucasians) and became known as the Cimmerians, the Celts, the Saxons ('Saac's sons), etc., and settled in western Europe, the British isles, and later many migrated to the Americas. (Note: If you would like to know about the location of the 10 so-called "lost tribes" of the house of Israel, then contact Artisan Publishers at www.artisanpublishers.com and purchase the little booklet The Abrahamic Covenant, by E. Raymond Capt.) or log unto pamphlets #1064 and #1020 on this web site.

By the way! Do you want some wisdom???? Rev. 13:18  Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.

How do I count the number of the beast?"

Read pamphlet #1761. It will explain!
Editor's question: When we are ask to count the number of the beast, aren't we are really being ask to count the number of Satan's descendants living among us?