King James Bible Study – [And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. – Mark 8:34]
Date: Sunday, March 10, 2024
Chapters: Numbers Chapters 35-36
Message: Righteousness of Faith
Hello My Friend,
I had a hard time getting started this morning, between the time change and the reading of the chapters for today it was hard to comprehend what God was telling me. Then as we were sitting in the church service the preacher talked about being patient and letting God place things in the order that they need to be and then it hit me as I came back to this. Well two things came to mind, this passage, [Hebrews 10:36-38 For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. 37 For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. 38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.]
And this one followed, [John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. 29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and my Father are one.]
Whenever we are waiting for God to make a move we tend to get restless, but we must remember that patience is more than a virtue it is a necessity when we want to see Him move. The Israelites literally waited forty years for God to give them the okay that they could cross over into the promise land. Now, were they faithful until the very end? Not really, but God did not base their going in on their faithfulness, but rather on the promise that He made Abraham, [Romans 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.]
As we come to the end of the reading of Numbers, God, continues to instruct Moses on what to tell those who were going into the promise land what was expected of them. Since the Levites were God’s ministers, they would receive no part of the land as their inheritance. Why? God was their inheritance, [Deuteronomy 18:1-2 The priests the Levites, and all the tribe of Levi, shall have no part nor inheritance with Israel: they shall eat the offerings of the LORD made by fire, and his inheritance. 2 Therefore shall they have no inheritance among their brethren: the LORD is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.] Nevertheless, God, does command that each tribe give them cities to dwell in.
[Numbers 35:1-4,6-7 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, 2 Command the children of Israel, that they give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them. 3 And the cities shall they have to dwell in; and the suburbs of them shall be for their cattle, and for their goods, and for all their beasts. 4 And the suburbs of the cities, which ye shall give unto the Levites, shall reach from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about. 6 And among the cities which ye shall give unto the Levites there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer, that he may flee thither: and to them ye shall add forty and two cities. 7 So all the cities which ye shall give to the Levites shall be forty and eight cities: them shall ye give with their suburbs.]
[from the wall of the city and outward a thousand cubits round about.] In other words, they were to dwell right in the center of the town that the tribes were to inherit. This is how God works, He wants to be at the center of everything that we do. This is also why we have churches on every corner, and why we need God fearing preachers, teachers, and ministers to guide us until we get to see Jesus. Keep in mind that not every church is a Christ led church, [2 John 1:9-11 Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. 10 If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed: 11 For he that biddeth him God speed is partaker of his evil deeds.]
[there shall be six cities for refuge, which ye shall appoint for the manslayer,] These were not cities for those who deliberately killed someone to hide out from their avenger, but they were for someone who killed someone accidentally until they had gotten a fair trial. God, goes on to explain this.
[Numbers 35:10-12,14-15 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; 11 Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares. 12 And they shall be unto you cities for refuge from the avenger; that the manslayer die not, until he stand before the congregation in judgment. 14 Ye shall give three cities on this side Jordan, and three cities shall ye give in the land of Canaan, which shall be cities of refuge. 15 These six cities shall be a refuge, both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them: that every one that killeth any person unawares may flee thither.]
[both for the children of Israel, and for the stranger, and for the sojourner among them:] The cities of refuge were available to all, the Israelite, the convert who chose the Jewish religion, and conformed to it. A sojourner on the other hand was someone who renounced idolatry, and observed the commands of the sons of Noah, but in other things did not comply with the Jewish religion, yet they too had the benefit of the cities of refuge as well if they chose to live in the land. This would be the same as someone who was not a member of the Church, but attended the services, they would receive the same courtesy as church members in the hope that they too would be converted. We are to be hospitable to all as a little bit of kindness can be the difference between a soul headed for heaven or hell, [1 Peter 4:9-11 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.]
Through this odd illustration, God, shows how He has mercy on all, even the deliberate murderer and is no respecter of persons when it comes to ones salvation. While someone who murdered someone deliberately would be sentenced to death for their crime, if their avenger murdered them out of vengeance, then they too would be guilty of murder as well. God, explains the difference between justice and vengeance.
[Numbers 35:19-24 The revenger of blood himself shall slay the murderer: when he meeteth him, he shall slay him. 20 But if he thrust him of hatred, or hurl at him by laying of wait, that he die; 21 Or in enmity smite him with his hand, that he die: he that smote him shall surely be put to death; for he is a murderer: the revenger of blood shall slay the murderer, when he meeteth him. 22 But if he thrust him suddenly without enmity, or have cast upon him any thing without laying of wait, 23 Or with any stone, wherewith a man may die, seeing him not, and cast it upon him, that he die, and was not his enemy, neither sought his harm: 24 Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger of blood according to these judgments:]
[Then the congregation shall judge between the slayer and the revenger] You see, these cities of refuge were where they could go if they were in danger of their own lives, even if they murdered someone willingly, but that did not mean that they were pardoned of their crime. It did mean that they had the right to a fair trial and could go into a city of refuge until they got it or the high priest died. However, if at any time they went out of the city and the avenger found them and killed them, then the avenger would not be guilty.
[Numbers 35:26-28,31-32 But if the slayer shall at any time come without the border of the city of his refuge, whither he was fled; 27 And the revenger of blood find him without the borders of the city of his refuge, and the revenger of blood kill the slayer; he shall not be guilty of blood: 28 Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge until the death of the high priest: but after the death of the high priest the slayer shall return into the land of his possession. 31 Moreover ye shall take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, which is guilty of death: but he shall be surely put to death. 32 And ye shall take no satisfaction for him that is fled to the city of his refuge, that he should come again to dwell in the land, until the death of the priest.]
[and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest,] The most interesting if all this that even if they were acquitted from the charge, they were protected from the avenger of blood. However, they must stay within the boundaries of the city of refuge until the death of the high priest. This is a reminder to us that the death of our great High Priest, Jesus Christ is the only means whereby our sins are pardoned and we are set free, [Hebrews 9:11-12 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; 12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.]
[Because he should have remained in the city of his refuge] In order to make some sense out of this we need to look at it at a different angle. Say that someone accidentally shot an intruder in their apartment and killed them not realizing that they were on the wrong floor. They were acquitted, but the avenger threatened to kill the person out of vengeance and now they are under the refuge of police protection. If they escape police protection, and the avenger found and killed them, then they will not be held accountable for killing them.
Why? One; they were still guilty of murder and two; they were told not to leave police protection and did it any way. In other words, one who receives Christ as their Saviour may be pardoned of the death sentence placed on their soul, but if they want to be protected from their avenger, they need to get under the protection of Jesus, [1 John 2:1-3 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.]
Now, after the Israelites were told where they would be and what was appointed to them, the daughters of Zelophehad remind Moses about an inheritance that was to be given to them.
[Numbers 36:2-4 And they said, The LORD commanded my lord to give the land for an inheritance by lot to the children of Israel: and my lord was commanded by the LORD to give the inheritance of Zelophehad our brother unto his daughters. 3 And if they be married to any of the sons of the other tribes of the children of Israel, then shall their inheritance be taken from the inheritance of our fathers, and shall be put to the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall it be taken from the lot of our inheritance. 4 And when the jubile of the children of Israel shall be, then shall their inheritance be put unto the inheritance of the tribe whereunto they are received: so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance of the tribe of our fathers.]
[so shall their inheritance be taken away from the inheritance] This is proof that once we get saved that we receive the inheritance of eternal life upon our soul, and nothing and no one can take that away from us. God, reconfirmed that, but one condition had to be made to keep it, they had to either stay unmarried or marry someone within their own tribe.
[Numbers 36:6-9 This is the thing which the LORD doth command concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, Let them marry to whom they think best; only to the family of the tribe of their father shall they marry. 7 So shall not the inheritance of the children of Israel remove from tribe to tribe: for every one of the children of Israel shall keep himself to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers. 8 And every daughter, that possesseth an inheritance in any tribe of the children of Israel, shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father, that the children of Israel may enjoy every man the inheritance of his fathers. 9 Neither shall the inheritance remove from one tribe to another tribe; but every one of the tribes of the children of Israel shall keep himself to his own inheritance.]
[shall be wife unto one of the family of the tribe of her father,] This was not cousins marrying into each other, this was people of the same tribe, similar to why we as saved, born again Christians need to marry within our congregation. It is very important that we marry someone who is a Christian, and not just any Christian, one of like faith. A Baptist and a Catholic are just as unyoked as a Baptist and a Jew are, there are different beliefs among the two and it will cause distress in the marriage.
[2 Corinthians 6:14,16-18 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? 16 And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 17 Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, 18 And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.]
Jesus Christ Revealed/Magnified: [Numbers 35:25 And the congregation shall deliver the slayer out of the hand of the revenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to the city of his refuge, whither he was fled: and he shall abide in it unto the death of the high priest, which was anointed with the holy oil.]
Today’s Prayer: God, When You promised to give us eternal life by receiving and accepting Your Son as our Saviour You also promised that You would never leave nor forsake us. I know that You never go back on Your Word, and am trusting in You completely to save me from death and hell. In this world there are dangers all around, and You know exactly what they are, thankfully we can find refuge in Your Son, not only in our salvation, but the evils on the earth as well. Lord, Lead us and guide us, surround us with Your security and shelter from the dangers, keep us from walking into something dangerous, and should we take a step out of our refuge, lead us back safely. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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