Numbers 36:8 — This might seem that options were limited, but considering Numbers 1:35, there were 32,200 able-bodied men in the tribe of Manasseh, and a few of them should be eligible bachelors.
Numbers 36:10 — Numbers 26:33 and Numbers 27:1 both talk about the daughters of Zelophehad. The best thing that can be said about them is that they obeyed the LORD even in an “arbitrary” action. By marrying within the tribe, they protected the distinction of the tribes, so that by the time of the birth of the Messiah, it would be clear what tribe He was from.
Deuteronomy 1 — Moses is reminding the tribes of what they have seen because the adults who rejected God’s offer had died off and a new generation was being shown God’s mercy and grace.
Luke 5:30 — I’ve yet to see a positive use of the word “murmur” in the Bible. Notice what happened to the murmurers in Luke 6:11 at the end of today’s reading.
Luke 6:1 describes a controversial Sabbath snack
Luke 6:6 — “And they were filled with madness.” Jesus took madness out of the possessed, yet the madness possessed others (similar to Mark 5:13). Ever notice today that the hatred of Jesus seems a bit irrational? It’s always been that way.
Psalm 66:1 — This is an echo of the classic Psalm 100.
Psalm 66:18 — Prayers not answered? Take a look at 1 John 1:9.
Proverbs 11:26 — This seems to extol the virtues of Joseph, the manager of the wealth of Egypt.
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Numbers 33:52 — Why do the Israelites have the moral authority to engage in offensive warfare? Verse 53 gives the reason: because the Creator of the land, people, and law has given it to Israel. He made (and therefore has the right to possess, use, and dispose of) the place they dwell, the inhabitants that dwell there, and the rules of the game. If the LORD is not the Creator of the earth, man, and law, there is no moral authority to displace another people group under norms of reciprocity. But if the LORD is the Creator of earth, He can give land to whomever He desires. If He is the Creator of man, He can give orders to whomever He desires. If He is the Creator of law, He can give judgment whenever He desires. And if He’s the Creator of moral authority, how can you argue that the Creator of moral authority is immoral?
Numbers 34:2 — The same Creator who owns the entire earth set borders for His people. This is an interesting concept to ponder.
Numbers 35:30 — While this may seem dry, this is actually the “Criminal Procedure” of Israel. Today’s criminal procedure is much more complex.
Today’s events in Luke occur in the city of Capernaum, right on the Sea of Galilee. https://www.flickr.com/photos/upyernoz/2996887011/
Luke 5:16 — Interesting contrast to the “televangelists” of today.
Psalm 65:7 — This is an interesting prophecy of David. A few hundred years later God would calm the Mediterranean, and a thousand years later Jesus would calm the Sea of Galilee (Jonah 1:15 and Matthew 8:26).
Proverbs 11:23 — An interesting parallel to Job 23:10.
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Numbers 30 — It’s amazing that a string of words coming out of our mouth can be so significant that God spends an entire chapter on it. On a side note, in my Rhetorical Criticism class in graduate school, we discussed communication theory, and it was noted that there are debates as to whether words have inherent meanings. That God cares about your words is obvious not only in the Old Testament but also in the New (Matthew 5:33-37). Ligonier Ministries has an interesting commentary:
Understanding common first-century Jewish practices helps us see what our Savior was getting at in His teaching on oaths and vows. To keep people from breaking the law’s rules regarding our promises (Num. 30:1–2), Jewish teachers and leaders invented a system by which they could determine whether a vow had to be kept. Extrabiblical literature indicates that many rabbis did not consider it a sin to break a vow if it was not made explicitly in the name of God. Oaths made in the name of heaven or even the gold of the temple were not regarded as ultimately binding. As we might expect from sinners, this led to people making oaths by persons or objects other than God to give them an out in case they did not keep their word …
Jesus’ teaching leads us to conclude that it is better not to make a vow than to swear an oath that we have no intention of keeping. It also reinforces the point that oaths and vows should not be made on just any occasion, but they should be reserved only for occasions of great import and lasting significance. In other cases, we should let our yes be yes and our no be no. But in all circumstances, we must strive to keep our word.
Numbers 31:17 — This sounds like a violent, capricious leader ordering his followers to do something grossly immoral. Is the God of the Bible that told Moses to kill the Midianites (vs. 2) any better than the Allah of the Koran that commands his followers to “slay them wherever you find them (Sura 2:191)?”
If God were just our “fellow man,” He would have no right to command the death of His “fellow man.” But God is not a “fellow man” – He is our Creator (Genesis 2:7). By virtue of His creation of us, we are His property. The historical rights of property include possession, use, and disposition. God, our Creator, has the right to use and dispose of us how He wishes. Throughout the New Testament, the concept that God is our slave master is evident (Matthew 23:10, John 13:3, Colossians 4:1, Ephesians 6:9).
Our Creator and Master has set the “laws of nature” and has warned us from day one that sin results in death (Genesis 2:17). He has the right to call in the judgment on us at any time, but He has been so merciful to us by not exercising His wrath immediately. Yet, justice delayed is not justice denied. And the death of the Canaanites was just the beginning of the troubles they would face. After death, they would enter Sheol. As we saw earlier, sin is so repugnant to God that the Israelites would offer over a million sheep to the Lord as part of their corporate reconciliation, not counting the individual offerings. Death is a consequence of sin.
But the Good News is that if we believe on the only begotten Son, we shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). How is that possible? Because while we were yet sinners, God’s Son died for us in our place (Romans 5:6)!
Unfortunately, this is not a popular message today. I was talking with a friend of mine that did not know Jesus, and He was so offended by the idea that God had ownership rights to him and would allow His Son to die for him that he said he’d rather go to hell than serve a God like that.
Ary Scheffer, The Temptation of Christ
Luke 4:7 — Revelation 11:15 says that all the kingdoms of the world will become the kingdoms of Jesus Christ. Satan’s offer is something that will be coming in due time, but Satan will offer it faster (by at least 2,000 years) and easier (without the cross). Satan’s shortcut is often offered today, e.g. the joys of marriage before the commitment of a wedding, or maybe financial gain without work.
Luke 4:20 — Jesus closed the book in the middle of the verse. Isaiah 61:2 continues, “… and the day of vengeance of our God.” Jesus was not fulfilling the second half of the verse, only the first half. When He comes again, He will fulfill the second half.
Luke 4:29 — On most tours of Israel, you will see the Mount of Precipice or the location where this event happened. Good preaching gets results, sometimes positive, and sometimes negative.
Proverbs 11:21 — As we saw with Jesus’ temptation, though the wicked look like they will be successful at a faster rate, God will deliver the righteous and punish the wicked!
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Numbers 29:1 — The Feast of Trumpets is known as Rosh Hashanah – the “Jewish New Year” according to Jews for Jesus.
The Feast of Trumpets has a prophetic significance per GotQuestions.org:
In the New Testament, we see that the Lord’s Second Coming will be accompanied by the sound of a trumpet (1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17). Each of the judgments in Revelation 8-9 is also signaled by a trumpet. Just as the shofar called the Jewish nation to turn their attention to the Lord and ready themselves for the Day of Atonement, so will the “trump of God” call us to heaven and warn the world of coming judgment.
Prophecy experts may distinguish the Lord’s Second Coming (post-tribulation) from the Rapture of the Church (pre-tribulation).
Luke 3 — Why does Luke’s genealogy differ from Matthew’s? Was Matthew or Luke wrong? Or as Zondervan Academic poses:
One of the genealogies is actually Mary’s, or
One genealogy is a royal/legal genealogy while the other is a physical genealogy, or
Joseph’s father adopted Joseph, or
Joseph was following levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5)
Psalm 62:1 and 5 — Waiting upon the Lord is a theme of John Donne’s poem “When I Consider How My Light is Spent,” published in 1673:
When I consider how my light is spent Ere half my days in this dark world and wide, And that one talent which is death to hide Lodg’d with me useless, though my soul more bent To serve therewith my Maker, and present My true account, lest he returning chide; “Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?” I fondly ask. But Patience to prevent That murmur, soon replies: “God doth not need Either man’s work or his own gifts; who best Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state Is kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed And post o’er land and ocean without rest: They also serve who only stand and wait.
Proverbs 11:19 — As Moses said, “Choose Life!”
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Numbers 27:8 — Is God saying that women have less rights? Not at all, rather, He’s saying that the males have the responsibility to provide for those of their family. If they don’t provide for those of their household, they are worse than infidels (1 Timothy 5:8)! While they had the privilege of inheritance, they also had the responsibility of redemption (Leviticus 25:47-55). This is best seen in the Book of Ruth.
Numbers 27:18 — Joshua was called by God to lead the people of Israel. Even though he was a faithful spy, so was Caleb. We mentioned this earlier – sometimes you’re the one in charge, and sometimes you’re not, but submission to whoever God has put in charge is a biblical duty.
The Sacrificial Lamb, Josefa de Obidos
Numbers 28:3 — In addition to the other required sacrifices, every day there would be two lambs offered as a sacrifice. 720 lambs a year (Israel was under the lunar, not the solar calendar). Adding in the Sabbath lambs (vs. 9 – another 100, specifically additional per vs. 10), the new moon offerings (vs. 11 – 10 animals X 12 months = 120). From the entrance to Canaan in 1406 BC to the fall of the Southern Kingdom in 586 BC, that is roughly 770,800 animals sacrificed as a result of this chapter. Add to it the Second Temple (516 BC to 70 AD), that is another 550,840 animals. 1,321,640 animals sacrificed, of them 1,271,024 were lambs. Over a million lambs!
God spoke to Israel, Bring me a sacrifice Morning and Evening, Every day Offer a spotless lamb, Without a blemish This is my command, You must obey.
Sing Hallelulah, Praise to Jehovah! Worship the God of Abraham! Sing Hallelulah, Praise to Jehovah! Once for all is slain God’s Perfect Lamb!
Luke 3:1-2 — Dr. Luke is writing here, and like the medical doctors of today, Dr. Luke tends to be detail-oriented. Maybe I should say that I hope today’s doctors are detail-oriented (I don’t want the wrong leg amputated!). This “fifteenth year” is considered by many to be A.D. 26; there’s an interesting discussion at StackExchange.com.
Luke 3:4 — Prepare the way of the Lord! In the New Testament, this is the Greek wordKuriou, but the Hebrew that is quoted is from Isaiah 40:3, not a generic “lord”, but the “LORD” (transliterated as Jehovah or Yahweh). And what especially was coming? The Salvation of God (Luke 3:6)! And what does the name “Jesus” mean? “The LORD is Salvation!”
Psalm 61:2 — When your heart cannot reach the destination, God can lead you to the Rock that is outside your reach.
Luke 2:44 — Joseph and Mary were entrusted with the Messiah, and not only had they lost Him, but they didn’t know it until they were already a day’s journey out of Jerusalem. They let the Father down, but Jesus didn’t. He was about the business of His Father (vs. 49).
Now, (1.) David is here enquiring for help to carry on the ark: “Who will bring me into the strong city? What allies, what auxiliaries, can I depend upon, to make me master of the enemies’ country and their strongholds?’’ Those that have begun a good work cannot but desire to make a thorough work of it, and to bring it to perfection. (2.) He is expecting it from God only.
Proverbs 11:15 — Earlier this year we were warned about being surety for a friend (and we talked about NPR’s story on suretyship). If you didn’t get the message then, Solomon is repeating it!
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Numbers 24:17 — The Star out of Jacob. Not the numberless stars prophesied of in Genesis 15:5, 22:17, 26:4, 37:9; Exodus 32:13; Deuteronomy 1:10, 10:22, 28:62; 1 Chronicles 27:23; Nehemiah 9:23; and Hebrews 11:12. Not the star of the Remphan (Amos 5:26, Acts 7:43), not the morning star (literal translation of the word Lucifer, Isaiah 14:12), not “Wormwood” of Revelation 8:10, not the falling star of Revelation 9:1, not the twelve stars of Israel (Revelation 12:1), and it’s not part of the third part of the stars that fell from heaven (Revelation 12:4).
This is the One whose star was seen in the east (Matthew 2:2), who is the Day Star (2 Peter 1:19), the holder of stars (Revelation 1:16), and the bright and morning star (Revelation 22:16).
Numbers 25:3 — What is Baal-peor?
Name of a Canaanitish god. Peor was a mountain in Moab (Num. xxiii. 28), whence the special locality Beth-peor (Deut. iii. 29, etc.) was designated. It gave its name to the Ba’al who was there worshiped, and to whose service Israel, before the entrance into Canaan, was, for a brief time, attracted (Num. xxv. 3, 5; Ps. cvi. 28). The god is himself also called “Peor” by abbreviation (Num. xxxi. 16; Josh. xxii. 17). It is commonly held that this form of Ba’al-worship especially called for sensual indulgence. The context seems to favor his view, on account of the shameful licentiousness into which many of the Israelites were there enticed. But all Ba’al-worship encouraged this sin; and Peor may not have been worse than many other shrines in this respect, though the evil there was certainly flagrant. In Hosea ix. 10 “Baal-peor” is the same as “Beth-peor,” and is contracted from “Beth-baal-peor.”
By the way, who was behind enticing the Israelites into apostasy? Balaam (Numbers 31:16)!
Numbers 25:14 — Zimri was the name of an Israelite who sinned, and on whom God commanded the Israelites to exercise the death penalty. It’s very unlikely that someone would name their child Ted Bundy today if they knew Mr. Bundy’s history, yet interestingly, someone in Israel named their child Zimri many years later, and he eventually became a chariot captain in the Israeli army and King in Israel (I King 16:9-10).
Luke 2:8 — What was special about the shepherds’ field?
The shepherds’ fields outside Bethlehem, to this day, play a central role in the Christmas celebrations in the Holy Land. Countless tourists have visited the fields between Bethlehem and Jerusalem. The church historian Eusebius linked these fields to a unique biblical location called Migdal Eder, which translated means the “tower of the flock”.
The first time Migdal Eder is mentioned in the Bible is in the account of Rachel, who died after giving birth to Benjamin, the youngest son of Jacob. “Then Israel journeyed and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder”, records Genesis 35:21.
This area on the outskirts of Bethlehem is also mentioned in the Talmudic writings. According to the Talmud, all cattle found in the area surrounding Jerusalem “as far as Migdal Eder” were deemed to be holy and consecrated and could only be used for sacrifices in the Temple, in particular for the peace and Passover sacrifices. There was thus a special, consecrated circle around the city of Jerusalem.
Luke 2:13-14 — George Frederic Handel’s Messiah captures this scene:
Luke 2:32 — The Light & Glory was the Star of Jacob and the Scepter of Israel!
Psalm 59:13 — This is a good example of an imprecatory psalm. Do these psalms violate the command to love our enemies (Luke 6:27-29)?
It is important to recall the theological principles that underlie such psalms. These include: (1) the principle that vengeance belongs to God (Deut. 32:35; Ps. 94:1) that excludes personal retaliation and necessitates appeal to God to punish the wicked (cp. Rom. 12:19); (2) the principle that God’s righteousness demands judgment on the wicked (Pss. 5:6; 11:5–6); (3) the principle that God’s covenant love for the people of God necessitates intervention on their part (Pss. 5:7; 59:10, 16–17); and (4) the principle of prayer that believers trust God with all their thoughts and desires.
Proverbs 11:14 — We’ll notice that many “business principles” are really “stolen proverbs.” Why do Fortune 500 companies pay their board members over $200,000 per year? Because, in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.
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Numbers 21:2 and 5 — Good thing that we’re never as fickle as the Israelites! Yeah … right! We’ve never seen God deliver us from our enemies, restore our prisoners, and then get discouraged?
Numbers 21:8 — The serpent was in existence for 800 years until 2 Kings 18:4 when Josiah had to break it as an idol. But roughly 600 years later Jesus would talk about the serpent in the wilderness in John 3:14.
I’ve a message from the Lord, hallelujah! This message unto you I’ll give, ‘Tis recorded in His word, hallelujah! It is only that you “look and live.”
“Look and live,” my brother, live, Look to Jesus now, and live; ‘Tis recorded in His word, hallelujah! It is only that you “look and live.”
Numbers 22:6 — Was Balaam blessed by Satan, by God, or just a savvy soothsayer? Apparently by God – vs. 8 says that He knew the personal name of the LORD. Was this part of the Abrahamic blessing (Genesis 22:18) that people outside of Israel experienced the LORD?
Luke 1:30 — In today’s Old Testament reading, God told Moses to fear not; in this New Testament passage, He tells Mary to fear not as well.
Luke 1:33 — This is an application of the prophecy of Isaiah 9:7.
Luke 1:51-53 — The God of contrasts is the God of the impossible (vs. 37).
