Numbers 33

For forty years, Israel had been moving from place to place, a nomadic people traveling to their

Promised Land. Soon they would enter and conquer that land and establish their own nation, and for this responsibility they had to be prepared. The final chapters of Numbers, along with the book of Deuteronomy, record the Lord’s instructions through Moses, given to prepare the people for this challenging new experience. For Israel to become a holy nation to the glory of God, they had to accept and apply the basic principles Moses enunciated, and these principles still work in communities and nations today.

The Lord commanded Moses to keep a list of the places Israel camped during their wilderness journey. Forty places are listed, starting with Rameses in Egypt (v. 3) and ending with the plains of Moab, across from Jericho (v. 49). Israel’s exodus from Egypt is recorded in verses 3–4, and their march to and through the Red Sea in verses 5–8. Verses 9–15 take Israel from Marah to Mount Sinai, and verses 16–36 from Sinai to Kadesh, where because of their unbelief Israel failed to enter the Promised Land. Their thirty-eight years of wandering fall between verses 36 and 37 and are graciously passed over in silence. The passage from Kadesh to the plains of Moab is recorded in verses 37–49.

But this chapter is more than a list of places; it’s a testimony to the sovereignty of God in dealing with His people. As A.T. Pierson used to say, “History is His story.” God doesn’t just write history; He plans history and sees that His plan is executed. “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Ps. 33: nkjv). When Israel didn’t permit God to rule, then He overruled. Israel lost the blessing but God achieved His purposes.

No difficulty was too great for God. He opened the Red Sea to let His people march through, and then He closed it and drowned the pursuing Egyptian army. When His people were in danger, God gave them victory over their enemies. When they were thirsty, He supplied water, and each morning He rained manna from heaven to feed them.

During this march, the older generation died off and the new generation took over. Miriam died at Kadesh (Num. 20:1) and another woman had to lead the choir. Aaron died at Mount Hor (vv. 23–29), and his son Eleazar became high priest. Before Moses died, he named Joshua as his successor. But in all these changes, God remained the same and never forsook His people. “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations” (Ps. 90:1).

The sovereignty of God doesn’t destroy human individuality or responsibility. God is so great that He can will us the freedom to choose but still accomplish His purposes. What a mighty God is He! No wonder Paul wrote, “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33).

The land of Canaan is mentioned sixteen times in this passage, and the emphasis is on Israel entering the land and claiming the promised inheritance. The Lord wanted the people to know that the thirty-eight year delay didn’t alter His plans or annul His promises. The section opens with the Lord saying, “When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan” (33: nkjv). What an encouragement that statement was to them!

The inhabitants of the land (33:50–56). God wanted Israel’s invasion of Canaan to be a total conquest. Israel was to drive out and dispossess the inhabitants, destroy the altars, images, and temples, and then divide the land among the tribes. The command was nothing new, because the Lord had told them this at Sinai (Ex. 23:20–33; 34:10–17). Moses would repeat it in his farewell message to the nation (Deut. 7; 12:1–3).

What were the reasons for the extermination of these nations? For one thing, this was God’s judgment because of their wickedness (Gen. 15:15–16; Lev. 18:24–28). How they became so evil and what happened as a result is described in Romans 1:17–32. God had been longsuffering with them for centuries, but now it was time for judgment to fall.

A second reason was that the way might be cleared for the tribes of Israel to claim their inheritance (Num. 33:54). Just as a contractor must demolish buildings and clear land to make room for a new structure, so God had to wipe out the pagan societies in Canaan so that His people might move in and build a nation that would glorify God. The Promised Land would be the stage on which God would display His power, pour out His blessings, send His truth, and one day send His Son to die for the sins of the world.

A third reason for the extermination of the pagan nations was to remove temptation from the people of Israel who were prone to worship idols (vv. 55–56). During their wilderness march, the Jews revealed their appetite for the things of Egypt, and at Baal Peor, they succumbed to the seductions of Baal worship. If the pagan shrines were left standing, it wouldn’t take long for Israel to forsake the Lord and start worshipping idols. Unfortunately, Israel didn’t obey God’s orders and ended up being snared by the practices of the heathen peoples left in the land (Judg. 2:6–15).

The boundaries of the land (34:1–15). In ancient days, there were no survey crews with scientific instruments for determining property lines. People cited towns and geographical features when they wanted to define boundaries. The Lord started with the south boundary of Canaan (vv. 3–5), then moved to the western border, which was the Mediterranean Sea (v. 6). Next came the north border (vv. 7–9), the east border (vv. 10–13), and the portion for the Transjordanic tribes (vv. 14–15).

The Lord gave His people a large land and a good land, but they didn’t defeat their enemies and claim it all by faith (Josh. 15:63; 16:10; 17:11–13; Judg. 1:21–35). Their eastern border didn’t reach to the Mediterranean, for the Philistines still held that territory, nor did they get as far as Hamath on the north. On the east side of the Jordan, as you traveled north from the border of Manasseh, you would discover pockets of resistance in cities that Israel didn’t conquer and destroy. Moses’ prediction came true: the Canaanites became barbs in their eyes and thorns in their sides and led some of the Jews into sin (Num. 33:55).

Before we pass judgment on ancient Israel, what about the church today? Have we claimed by faith all that we have in Christ? Are there still pockets of resistance in our lives that draw us away from the Lord? “Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4: nkjv).

The dividing of the land (34:16–29). At the beginning of Numbers, Moses had a committee of twelve leaders to assist him in taking the census (1:5–16), and now he appointed a committee of ten leaders to help Joshua and Eleazar divide the land for the tribes living east of the Jordan (Josh. 14:1—19:51).

The cities in the land (35:1–34). After their conquest of Canaan, the Jews changed the names of many of the cities, and they also established forty-eight cities for the Levites to dwell in, and six cities of refuge (vv. 1–8). As we have seen, the Levites were scattered throughout Israel so they could minister to the people and teach them God’s law (Josh. 21). They were also granted pasture lands adjacent to the cities where they could care for their flocks and herds.

The six cities of refuge were Kedesh, Shechem, and Hebron on the west side of the Jordan, and Golen, Ramoth, and Bezer on the east side. If you look at a map of ancient Israel, you will see that these cities were so located in the land that nobody would be too far away from an appointed city who needed to flee for refuge.

The nation of Israel had an army, but it didn’t have anything equivalent to our modern police system. If somebody was murdered, the members of the family and clan saw to it that the murderer was punished. However, if a man accidentally killed someone, that was a case of manslaughter, not murder; and it would have been wrong to make him pay with his life.

The man could flee to one of the cities of refuge and present his case to the elders who would hear him and the witnesses. If they thought he was guilty of murder, they would turn him over to the family and the authorities for punishment. If they concluded that he was innocent, they allowed him to stay in the city of refuge under their protection until the death of the high priest. Then he was free to return home. He was not allowed to pay a ransom and be freed sooner (v. 32).

If the man was guilty, he was stoned to death. Murder was a capital crime in Israel for which there was no ransom (v. 32). The blood of innocent victims polluted the land, and the land belongs to the Lord (vv. 33–34; see Gen. 4:10; 9:5). The only way the land could be cleansed was by the death of the murderer.

Guilty sinners today can flee by faith to Jesus Christ and find refuge from the judgment of God (Heb. 6:18). Because Jesus is the ever-living High Priest, salvation is secure forever; for “He ever lives to make intercession for them” (7: nkjv). He bore the guily sinner’s punishment; therefore, there can be no condemnation (Rom. 8:1).