While this chapter is found in pages 80-81 of the NKJV Bible I have for this round of Bible notes, pages 102-103 of the NASB Bible (Old Testament, 1995 version), pages 165-166 of my VOICE copy, and pages 166-167 of my Amplified Bible (Classic Edition) copy, I have to be honest, I don’t see a lot of things worth mentioning, for I’m just looking forward to the blessing in the next chapter, which, sadly, isn’t very long. Why did Moses write Numbers like this? And what was he thinking in often getting angry with others about stuff like in chapter 32? These questions I can’t answer, and I’d rather not ask ChatGPT about it right now, seeing that, too, can offer a skewed perspective about things. But one thing I know for sure (spoiler alert): NOTHING goes well for most of the people he’s accompanying, even after the conquest of Canaan (read from Joshua 24:16 until the end of Judges), whether anyone remaining a long time later after the first census had been made knew Moses or not — sorry for the spoilers, guys.
I don’t want to say this story has no happy ending, either… but I’ll save most of the details for later. For now, though, I need to say that unfortunately, the Israelites under Moses had loved unforgiveness as well as the idols they’d served all their lives. And I’m convinced preaching anything isn’t enough, unless one’s life is so unmistakably righteous no one can misunderstand it — ergo, Jesus, who spoke the famous words of Matthew 5-7, called the Sermon On The Mount, which is harder to practice than to remember, for being merciful is sadly easier said than done, given the prescriptions for the adultery test in verses 11-31 here. I wish I could skip all this and go straight to that section of Matthew right now 😅😅😅😅😩😩😩😩😩😩😩😩 but I have some good news: I’ve been reading the Beatitudes pamphlet, and I don’t want to keep it a secret from others that we should practice forgiveness instead of cruelty. If we don’t do this, God won’t be forgiving, just as Jesus said in Matthew 18:35 after He had mentioned the parable of the unforgiving servant. And there’s no excuse for us if we don’t forgive others, for Jesus died for all mankind, given the truth of 1 Corinthians 8:11 (Greek) and that nothing can replace it, not to mention the fact it’s impossible for Him to die again (Romans 6:9). If it were, He’d need to suffer again and again every so often, and that actually reminds us of our sins every time, like in Hebrews 10:3 when the author of that letter writes about the old covenant system (Leviticus 16 may have been what he was getting it from).
I don’t want to be around unforgiving people, and I’m sure if you’re sensible enough to believe this, you won’t want to do that, either. Indeed, such cronies are nothing but abusive and would literally tear apart their children over a missing earring or something. These times of ignorance God overlooked, but now He calls all mankind to repent and follow Jesus, just as Paul had said in Acts 17:30. He then goes on to say that Jesus died and rose again and will judge the world in righteousness based on this (verse 31). At least, though, God gives many chances for others to believe this, like how a bunch of people were curious about what Paul had said about it (verse 32). Unforgiveness is an absolute deal-breaker, though.
I’m looking forward to covering chapter 6 about the Nazarite vow and the blessing for Aaron and everyone else in Israel, so I want to end this note here. If you have a prayer request, you can email me at ron.outland4727@gmail.com! I’ll read them, write down each one, then tape them to my bedroom walls! I hope to see you soon in chapter 6!
Ron And His Stories 