Some really challenging passages here in today’s readings. Have a look at the ‘things to think about” and see how you go. Some of this stuff is not easy to understand, but I believe it is important to wrestle with these things simply because they are in the Scriptures and we are told all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable (2 Tim 3:16). I pray it will be for you today.
Numbers 30: Men and Vows
1 Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the people of Israel, saying, "This is what the LORD has commanded.
2 If a man vows a vow to the LORD, or swears an oath to bind himself by a pledge, he shall not break his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth.
Women and Vows
3 "If a woman vows a vow to the LORD and binds herself by a pledge, while within her father's house in her youth,
4 and her father hears of her vow and of her pledge by which she has bound herself and says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand.
5 But if her father opposes her on the day that he hears of it, no vow of hers, no pledge by which she has bound herself shall stand. And the LORD will forgive her, because her father opposed her.
6 "If she marries a husband, while under her vows or any thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she has bound herself,
7 and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day that he hears, then her vows shall stand, and her pledges by which she has bound herself shall stand.
8 But if, on the day that her husband comes to hear of it, he opposes her, then he makes void her vow that was on her, and the thoughtless utterance of her lips by which she bound herself. And the LORD will forgive her.
9 (But any vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, anything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her.)
10 And if she vowed in her husband's house or bound herself by a pledge with an oath,
11 and her husband heard of it and said nothing to her and did not oppose her, then all her vows shall stand, and every pledge by which she bound herself shall stand.
12 But if her husband makes them null and void on the day that he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning her pledge of herself shall not stand. Her husband has made them void, and the LORD will forgive her.
13 Any vow and any binding oath to afflict herself, her husband may establish, or her husband may make void.
14 But if her husband says nothing to her from day to day, then he establishes all her vows or all her pledges that are upon her. He has established them, because he said nothing to her on the day that he heard of them.
15 But if he makes them null and void after he has heard of them, then he shall bear her iniquity."
16 These are the statutes that the LORD commanded Moses about a man and his wife and about a father and his daughter while she is in her youth within her father's house.
Numbers 31: Vengeance on Midian
1 The LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
2 "Avenge the people of Israel on the Midianites. Afterward you shall be gathered to your people."
3 So Moses spoke to the people, saying, "Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the LORD's vengeance on Midian.
4 You shall send a thousand from each of the tribes of Israel to the war."
5 So there were provided, out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war.
6 And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand from each tribe, together with Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, with the vessels of the sanctuary and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand.
7 They warred against Midian, as the LORD commanded Moses, and killed every male.
8 They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
9 And the people of Israel took captive the women of Midian and their little ones, and they took as plunder all their cattle, their flocks, and all their goods.
10 All their cities in the places where they lived, and all their encampments, they burned with fire,
11 and took all the spoil and all the plunder, both of man and of beast.
12 Then they brought the captives and the plunder and the spoil to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the congregation of the people of Israel, at the camp on the plains of Moab by the Jordan at Jericho.
13 Moses and Eleazar the priest and all the chiefs of the congregation went to meet them outside the camp.
14 And Moses was angry with the officers of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, who had come from service in the war.
15 Moses said to them, "Have you let all the women live?
16 Behold, these, on Balaam's advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the LORD in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the LORD.
17 Now therefore, kill every male among the little ones, and kill every woman who has known man by lying with him.
18 But all the young girls who have not known man by lying with him keep alive for yourselves.
19 Encamp outside the camp seven days. Whoever of you has killed any person and whoever has touched any slain, purify yourselves and your captives on the third day and on the seventh day.
20 You shall purify every garment, every article of skin, all work of goats' hair, and every article of wood."
21 Then Eleazar the priest said to the men in the army who had gone to battle: "This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded Moses:
22 only the gold, the silver, the bronze, the iron, the tin, and the lead,
23 everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
24 You must wash your clothes on the seventh day, and you shall be clean. And afterward you may come into the camp."
25 The LORD said to Moses,
26 "Take the count of the plunder that was taken, both of man and of beast, you and Eleazar the priest and the heads of the fathers' houses of the congregation,
27 and divide the plunder into two parts between the warriors who went out to battle and all the congregation.
28 And levy for the LORD a tribute from the men of war who went out to battle, one out of five hundred, of the people and of the oxen and of the donkeys and of the flocks.
29 Take it from their half and give it to Eleazar the priest as a contribution to the LORD.
30 And from the people of Israel's half you shall take one drawn out of every fifty, of the people, of the oxen, of the donkeys, and of the flocks, of all the cattle, and give them to the Levites who keep guard over the tabernacle of the LORD."
31 And Moses and Eleazar the priest did as the LORD commanded Moses.
32 Now the plunder remaining of the spoil that the army took was 675,000 sheep,
33 72,000 cattle,
34 61,000 donkeys,
35 and 32,000 persons in all, women who had not known man by lying with him.
36 And the half, the portion of those who had gone out in the army, numbered 337,500 sheep,
37 and the LORD's tribute of sheep was 675.
38 The cattle were 36,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 72.
39 The donkeys were 30,500, of which the LORD's tribute was 61.
40 The persons were 16,000, of which the LORD's tribute was 32 persons.
41 And Moses gave the tribute, which was the contribution for the LORD, to Eleazar the priest, as the LORD commanded Moses.
42 From the people of Israel's half, which Moses separated from that of the men who had served in the army---
43 now the congregation's half was 337,500 sheep,
44 36,000 cattle,
45 and 30,500 donkeys,
46 and 16,000 persons---
47 from the people of Israel's half Moses took one of every 50, both of persons and of beasts, and gave them to the Levites who kept guard over the tabernacle of the LORD, as the LORD commanded Moses.
48 Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, came near to Moses
49 and said to Moses, "Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.
50 And we have brought the LORD's offering, what each man found, articles of gold, armlets and bracelets, signet rings, earrings, and beads, to make atonement for ourselves before the LORD."
51 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received from them the gold, all crafted articles.
52 And all the gold of the contribution that they presented to the LORD, from the commanders of thousands and the commanders of hundreds, was 16,750 shekels.
53 (The men in the army had each taken plunder for himself.)
54 And Moses and Eleazar the priest received the gold from the commanders of thousands and of hundreds, and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the people of Israel before the LORD.
Things to think about…
1. The rules for vows that are listed in Numbers 30 between God and His people are fairly clear. A man who makes a vow before God must keep it, vs 1. If a woman who is not married makes a vow it stands, unless her father, when he hears it, overrules and disannuls the vow. She is then released from the vow and any pledges she promised to the Lord 30:3-5. A woman who is married is only to keep her vow if her husband does not overrule the vow when he hears of it and says nothing regarding her vow, Num 30:6-8. The vows of widows and divorced women stand, vs 9. If the husband says nothing regarding a vow, he is accountable before God, vs 15. Are these principles still valid for today? Paul says a lot about headship and authority, especially as they relate to a husband and a wife, E.G - Eph 5, 1Tim 2, 1Cor 11. How do you reconcile the law of Moses and what Paul says? Christ has fulfilled the law, so what should we make of these verses in Numbers? Should we vow today? Jesus and James both say to ‘let your yes, be yes’. Yet we know Paul made and kept a vow to the Lord, Acts 18:18. How do all these things play out regarding our marriage vows? Our Lord holds us accountable for our words while respecting authority structures. In all things a good rule is to get godly counsel before making a vow. Once made, keep it. You have vowed to God. Having said all of this a husband is the head of the wife before the Lord and this still applies in the NT as it reflects Christ and the church, Eph 5:19-31. Proper communication in marriage is also a submission one to another. Christ gave Himself for the church. Likewise, husbands should do so for their wives as they lead. Certainly in marriage there should be no secrets and vows ideally should be made together. Daughters and indeed sons are called to be submissive to their fathers. But if this requires a denial of faith, we all submit to a higher authority, our Father in heaven.
2. Numbers 31 concerns God’s vengeance on the Midianites. Why did God ask that the and children be kept alive, but that everyone else should be destroyed, Num 31:17, 18? When they entered the land of Canaan all were to be destroyed including the young women and nursing infants, Deut 20, none were to remain alive. Is there not a double standard here? Why was Moses allowed to offer terms of peace to those nations outside Canaan, but to none of the nations inside Canaan? You may want to review Gen 12:6-8 and Gen15 with respect to God’s promise to Abraham and his descendants. The land was to be holy and set apart for the Lord. Even when the Israelites dishonoured the land they were destroyed or led away captive. We must take heed how we stand, lest we fall. We are called to be holy as He is holy. The land of Israel will be holy and set apart in the future Millenial kingdom. The land is to be holy. This ultimately can only be achieved through Jesus Christ who will rule and reign from Jerusalem.
3. Note that Balaam the son of Beor was also killed in this battle, Num 31:8. Do you remember the details surrounding this man? He actually prophesied under the inspiration of God’s Spirit three times that Israel would be blessed, Num 23, 24. He also makes other accurate prophecies. God actually speaks with Balaam, Num 22, and Balaam obeys God. He wasn’t really that bad was he? Why did he deserve to die? How does the rest of scripture assess this man? Not very well, see, 2Pet 2:15,16; Jude 1:11. Even though God spoke to him by His Spirit, Balaam’s heart was against God and his people. Jude gives a NT assessment of him
Vision Point for cell groups
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Title was “The highs and lows of the Judean kingdom” from 2 Chronicles 36:14-21
1. Andrew Otte mentioned all the good, the bad and the worst kings of Juda listed in 2 Chronicles 26-36. Do remember who was mentioned as good and bad kings? Who was the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time) and why?
2. Isaiah the prophet was mentioned in the message and had 3 sons. What were their names and why was King Ahaz fearful? How was this significant to the GOAT – Hezekiah and what he showed to the Babylonians and our reading in 2 Chr 36. How was Isaiah’s second son “Immanuel” mentioned in Isa 7:14 significant?
3. Andrew mentioned the Bill Clinton and Monica Lewinsky scandal. Billy Graham was asked to give a comment at the time. What was his comment and how is it relevant to us? Even the best of us have issues, comment on this.
4. Pray for our new government, that the gospel and churches are made stronger. Pray for Ukraine and other issues within the group.
Prayer Points
1. Continue to pray for wisdom with gun ownership in the US w.r.t the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas. Elementary school 21 dead. 19 students, 2 adults. No words for this horror.
2. Our new Albanese government. That the Lord would be merciful. We need it with the spiritual change that has been happening in Australia.
3. Peace to rest over Ukraine.
4. Continue to pray for the flood clean-up as well as the money donated to help.
5. Folk sick with Covid – relief and healing.
6. Pray for other building projects – café roof, the repair of the house roof.
7. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Andrew Otte’s message on Sunday
2. Worship on Sunday – thankyou Josh, Ben, iMan, Tim.
3. All those who faithfully serve in ministries, Worship, Sound/Technical/Kids Church/ Cell Groups/Admin - Bulletins/Finances/Property/Welcoming/Spiritual Leadership/Cafe
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Remember to check your duty rosters.
2. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
3. Tune in again this week on our youtube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism question for May...
Q. 3. Will Christ come again? A. Yes; at the last day Christ will come to judge the world.
