SERIES: 04 Numbers - 2013
MESSAGE: Numbers 32-34
SPEAKER: Skip Heitzig
SCRIPTURE: Numbers 32-34

MESSAGE SUMMARY
In Numbers 32-34, two and a half tribes refuse to enter Canaan, but in exchange for their help in the battle for the Promised Land, God gives them the land of Gilead. Then when the boundaries of the Promised Land are drawn, we find out Israel only occupied one-tenth of what God promised Abraham. In this study, we are challenged to ask ourselves: Do we sit on the sidelines while our brothers and sisters go to battle for the Lord? And are we content to forfeit the inheritance God has for us?

STUDY GUIDE
Numbers 30-33

PREVIEW: In Numbers 30-33, the Lord gave His children the law concerning their vows, He instructed them to carry out His vengeance on the Midianites, and granted them favor to return victoriously with significant plunder. Two and a half tribes decided to settle east of the Jordan River, their wilderness wanderings were reviewed, and instructions on dividing the land and dealing with its inhabitants were given.

The Law Concerning Vows—Read Numbers 30:1-16

1. A vow and an oath are solemn promises, often invoking a divine witness; they typically involve one's future action or behavior. What is required when a person makes a vow to the Lord (vv. 1-2)? (See also Ps. 50:14; 76:11.)


2. What is the Lord's perception of not fulfilling a solemn promise made to Him? (See Deuteronomy 23:21–23.)



3. How does the Lord view a person who makes a vow to Him and fails to fulfill it? How does He respond to them? (See Hag. 5:4-7.)


4. A young woman living in her father’s house could make a vow, but because she is under her father’s headship and covering, her father could overrule her vow. Under what circumstances did he have a say in her vow (vv. 3-4)?



5. How was a daughter’s vow made binding by her father (v. 4)?



6. How was a daughter’s vow overruled by her father (v. 5)?



7. If a woman got married while bound by her vows, how would her husband make her vow stand? How would he overrule her vow (vv. 6-8)?



8. Could a widow or divorced woman have her vow overruled (v. 9)?



9. In Genesis 3:16, the Lord told the woman that her husband would rule over her. From God’s perspective, a husband is the head of his wife (see Eph. 5:23), and a father is the head of his daughter (see 1 Cor. 11:3). Being head implies responsibility, leadership, and authority (see John 14:28b). When did a husband need to voice his disagreement with his wife’s vow (v. 12)?



10. If a husband attempted to overrule his wife’s vow after the day he originally heard it, what became his responsibility (v. 15)?



11. What was to be done when a person could not fulfill a vow they had spoken rashly? (See Lev. 5:4-5.)



12. As Spirit-filled believers in Jesus, should we make vows to people? (See Matt. 5:33-37.)


Vengeance on the Midianites—Read Numbers 31:1-11

13. The Lord assigned Moses a final task on earth before he would be gathered to his people. What was that task (vv. 1-2)?



14. Vengeance is punishment inflicted or retribution exacted for an injury or wrong. Why was vengeance to be exacted upon the Midianites? (See Num. 25:1-3; 16–18.)



15. Moses established an army to go and exact this vengeance against the Midianites. Who comprised this army (vv. 3-5)?



16. Who accompanied the army? What did he bring with him (v. 6)? Why do you think this person was specifically selected? (See Num. 25:6-13.)




17. Who was killed when the army of Israel took vengeance upon the Midianites (vv. 7-8)?




18. Who was not killed when the army of Israel took vengeance upon the Midianites (v. 9)?



19. What additional vengeance did the army of Israel exact upon Midian (vv. 9-11)?


Return from the War—Read Numbers 31:12-24

20. When the army of Israel returned victoriously from exacting vengeance upon the Midianites, they brought the booty and the spoil to Moses and Eleazer (vv. 12-13). When Moses saw the army and the booty, what was his response? (v. 14)?



21. Explain why Moses responded that way (vv. 15-16).



22. What command did Moses give the army officers concerning the spoils (v. 17)? What would be the long-term effect of this command?



23. What concession did Moses give the army officers concerning the spoils (v. 18)? Why was this an acceptable concession? (See Deut. 20:14.)



24. Every person in the army who had enacted the Lord’s vengeance upon the Midianites was to remain outside the camp for seven days (v. 19). Why? (See also Num. 5:2.)



25. All the booty and spoil from the war against the Midianites had to be purified. In what two ways were these items purified? What determined the manner in which an object was purified (vv. 21-23)?


Division of the Plunder—Read Numbers 31:25-54

26. All captives and goods were to be divided according to a strict formula. Explain the formula for diving the plunder (vv. 25-30).



27. There was a significant amount of plunder taken from the Midianites. How many people were given to the Levites from this plunder (vv. 40, 47)? What might the Levites have done with these people? (See 1 Sam. 2:22.)



28. The army officers realized that the Lord had given them favor in their battle against the Midianites. What else did they discover (vv. 48-49)?



29. After recognizing the favor of the Lord, what did every man who fought against the Midianites decide to do (vv. 50-51)?


30. The total weight of the offering made by the men of war was 16,750 shekels, 420 pounds, 6,720 ounces (v. 52). In April 2014, the price per ounce for gold is $1,303.80. What was the total value of the offering made, according to this price?




31. What was done with the offering made by the men of war (v. 54)?


The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan—Read Numbers 32:1-42

32. As the children of Israel were poised to enter the Promised Land, what did the tribes of Reuben and Gad see? Why did they want what they saw (vv. 1-4)?



33. Because of what these two tribes saw, what did they ask Moses to do and to not do for them (v. 5)?



34. Moses stated numerous serious concerns he had with the request that the tribes of Reuben and Gad. What were those concerns (vv. 6-15)?



35. A compromise is an agreement or a settlement of a dispute that is reached when both sides make concessions. The tribes of Reuben and Gad offered a compromise to Moses in order to get what they wanted. What did they offer (vv. 16-19)?



36. Moses agreed to the compromise and made promises to them if they fulfilled their end of the deal. What specifically did he promise them (vv. 20-22)?



37. Moses agreed to the compromise, but he also warned them of the danger if they did not follow through. What, specifically, did he warn them of (vv. 23-24)?



38. The tribes of Reuben and Gad confirmed their commitment to the compromise, then Moses publically reiterated their commitment before the leaders of the nation of Israel (vv. 25-29). What did Moses clearly state the tribes of Reuben and Gad would have if they did not fulfill all they promised (v. 30)?


39. Moses allotted to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh the areas that had formerly belonged to the Amorite kings Sihon and Og. Sihon had ruled in the southern part (Gilead) and Og in the north (Bashan). What two things did these tribes do to the cities that existed in that region (vv. 33-38)?



40. What did the children of Machir have to do before possessing their cities east of the Jordan (v. 39)? How did they decide on the new names for their cities (vv. 40-41)?



Israel’s Journey from Egypt Reviewed—Read Numbers 33:1-49

41. Numbers 33 reviews the journeys of the children of Israel. Who created this record (vv. 1-2)? (See also Ex. 17:14; 24:4; 34:27)




42. Every place the children of Israel journeyed was recorded in this chapter. Why do you think the Lord considered the journeys important enough to document? (See Job 31:4; 34:21; Ps. 139:2; Prov. 5:21; 15:3; Jer. 10:23; 16:17; 17:10; 23:24, 32:19; Heb. 4:13.)



Instructions for the Conquest of Canaan—Read Numbers 33:50-56

43. The Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab, giving him instructions on what the children of Israel should do once they entered the Promised Land (vv. 50-54). The New King James Version lists these instructions by using five words that begin with the letter D. What were those instructions?



44. The inhabitants of Canaan were ungodly idol-worshipers. Why was it extremely important for the children of Israel to deal with the engraved stones, molded images, and high places?



45. We, too, live in an ungodly, idol-worshiping culture. Why is it important for us to deal properly with the graven images of our culture? (See Ps. 101:2–4; Eph. 5:1-2, 1 John 2:15-16; James 4:4.)



46. How were the children of Israel to divide the Promised Land among themselves (v. 54)? (See also Num. 26:53–56.)



47. If the children of Israel did not drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before them, what did the Lord say those people would become to them (v. 55)? (See also Josh. 23:13; Judg. 2:3.)



48. If we do not get rid of the evil in our lives, what will it become to us? (See Heb.12:1; Col. 3:5-10; 1 Cor. 5:9; 5:13, 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1.)



49. What additional warning did the Lord give to the children of Israel if they would not drive out all the inhabitants (v. 56)? (See also Lev. 18:28; 20:23, Deut. 28:63; 29:28; Josh. 23:15-16.)

DETAILED NOTES

  1. Introduction
    1. Numbers is named after a census of the Israelites in chapters 1 and 26
      1. God cared more about the names of the people than the numbers
      2. He wants your life to count for something
    2. The land was promised, but there were a series of delays: disappointments, disillusionment, disorganization, discontentment
    3. The generation that came out of Egypt all died; a whole new generation had to be numbered
      1. Because of a reconnaissance mission; Numbers 13:1-14:38
      2. Now, they were about to enter the land, but Moses had not died yet
  2. Numbers 32
    1. This chapter is like a rerun of a bad movie: two and a half tribes wanted to stop short of entering into the land
    2. The land of Gilead is lush and gorgeous; they saw that and thought, Why should we go any further?
      1. Your eye is the gate through which discontentment is bred and grown
        1. Eve saw the tree in the garden
          1. Genesis 3:6
          2. 1 John 2:16
        2. Lot saw the well-watered plain of the Jordan; Genesis 13:10
      2. They saw something, it looked good, and they were willing to stop short of what God had promised to them
        1. What they saw was beautiful and bountiful
        2. What they saw was not bestowed—it wasn't what God had for them
      3. Sometimes we make decisions in life solely based on what we can see
      4. You need to find out if something is what God has for you
      5. How willing are we to stop short of all that God has for us?
    3. Numbers 32:6
      1. You can understand Moses' feelings at this point
      2. As believers, we want to come to a place where we can just sit
        1. We call it retirement; the Bible calls it heaven
        2. It's our nature to sit
      3. Are we content to sit while others do the work?
      4. Will you cross over into the land?
        1. There are some fights you're going to encounter
        2. But you're going to have a lot of fun—an adventure
    4. Other times that caused discouragement for the children of Israel
      1. Numbers 13: discouraged because of the whiners
      2. Numbers 21: discouraged because of the way
      3. Here they were discouraged because of the waners
    5. Do you know what your waning could do to a young believer?
      1. There's nothing to aspire to
      2. We need strong leaders
      3. Faith is contagious; fear is contagious
    6. "We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea" —C.S. Lewis
    7. Moses struck a deal with them; Numbers 32:23
      1. Nothing is done in secret
      2. Proverbs 5:21; Hebrews 4:13
      3. "Secret sin on earth is open scandal in heaven"
    8. Problems with living in Gilead
      1. When the children of Israel were attacked by the Assyrians, the first ones to go into captivity were these tribes
        1. They were unprotected
        2. When you live on the edge, you can get picked off
      2. Because of a misunderstanding and an assumption, a civil war almost broke out and destroyed these tribes
        1. Assumption is the lowest form of communication
        2. Joshua 22
          1. They built an altar of memory
          2. The rest of Israel assumed they were starting another church
          3. Deuteronomy 12—the law of the central sanctuary: one God worshiped in one place on one altar
      3. Jesus took a boat to the shores of this area
        1. It had degraded into a pagan culture
        2. It wasn't God's original plan
    9. God promised a huge portion of land to Abraham and his progeny, so why wasn't it God's will that these tribes lived in Gilead?
  3. Numbers 33
    1. A journal of places: fifty-six names mentioned, forty-two of which are camping spots and eighteen of which we have no idea where they are
    2. What's most fascinating is not what's here, but what's not here
      1. There is no mention in this chapter of the thirty-eight years of wandering—nothing about the curses, the death, the disbelief
      2. Micah 7:19; subdue means to trample underfoot
      3. God was choosing to remember the places, not the imperfections
    3. Exodus 5:1-2
      1. Pharaoh asked this question because he was called neter nefer, the perfect god
      2. Passover; Exodus 12
      3. People ask the same question today: "Who is the Lord?"
        1. The truth that will happen to everyone: Philippians 2:10
        2. You can bow now or you can bow later, but you will bow
    4. Ezion Geber (Num. 33:35, the Gulf of Aqaba) is where Solomon will have a fleet of ships
    5. "For I have given you the land to possess" (Numbers 33:53)
      1. The right to own land and build settlements in the Middle East is hotly debated
      2. Who has the right to tell anybody who has the right to anything?
        1. God does!
        2. God gives us the right to have rights
      3. Leviticus 25:23
        1. To this day, you cannot own land in Israel
        2. You can lease it for ninety-nine years
      4. It's God's land; that's why we call it the Holy Land
      5. Ezekiel 37:1-14
  4. Numbers 34
    1. Borders for the land given
    2. These aren't the exact borders God said Abraham's progeny would be given
      1. Deuteronomy 11:24; Numbers 33:55
      2. They never took all that the Lord had for them, even though they could have
  5. Closing
    1. God promised Abraham 300,000 square miles
      1. At the zenith of Israel's history, at their maximum occupation under David and Solomon, they only occupied 30,000 square miles
      2. They only enjoyed one-tenth of what God wanted them to enjoy
    2. Do you ever wonder, Lord, could there be more that You want to do in and through my life? Am I enjoying the inheritance You have for me, or am I content to sit on the other side of the Jordan?
    3. How much more the Lord wants to do in and through us!
    4. "Most Christians, concerning the river of experience, are only up to the ankles; some others have waded until the stream is up to the knees; a few find it chest deep; and only a few—oh! how few!—find it to be a river to swim in, the bottom of which they cannot touch" —C.H. Spurgeon
    5. Ephesians 1:3
    6. God's gifts are yours if you open them, appropriate them, put the soles of your feet on the ground, and walk through them
    7. Believe God for big things
      1. Forget impossible—that's what the ten whiners said
      2. Be the two spies who said, "Our God can give it to us"
    8. If twelve fishermen in one generation spread the gospel throughout the Roman Empire, imagine what thousands of people at just one church in Albuquerque could do


Figures referenced: C.S. Lewis, C.H. Spurgeon

Foreign words: neter nefer


Cross references: Genesis 3:6; 13:10; Exodus 5:1-2; 12; Leviticus 25:23; Numbers 1; 13:1-14:38; 21; 26; 32-34; Deuteronomy 11:24; 12; Joshua 22; Proverbs 5:21; Ezekiel 37:1-14; Micah 7:19; Ephesians 1:3; Philippians 2:10; Hebrews 4:13; 1 John 2:16


Topic: Discontentment

Keywords: discontentment, God's promise, belief, provision, Promised Land, Christian living, spiritual warfare, Holy Land


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