Numbers 25

Numbers 25:1

Edom Refuses Israel to Pass Through

Edom is not just a people, but a brotherhood. This determines Israel’s attitude in Edom’s refusing to allow the people to pass through their territory. They must not fight against them. They can and must do that against hostile peoples. The request of Moses reveals the ingrained hatred of Edom against the people of God.

The name Edom is related to Adam. In Adam we see what we are in our old nature. Edom represents our ‘brotherhood’, our flesh. The flesh is hostile to God “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:7a). We are not called to fight against it, but to be guided by the Spirit. Then we will be kept from fighting against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17). If we do fight against it, we will end up in the situation of Romans 7 and our life will become a life of defeats. Consider ourselves to be dead to it (Romans 6:11) does not mean ignoring or fighting against it, but go around it. That means recognizing hostility, while taking the right attitude to it.

God uses Edom’s refusal to deflect His people and bring them on the way to the Jordan. By taking the right attitude toward our flesh, that is to give the flesh the place God’s Word gives it, we come into the right position to take the blessings of the land.

This rejection of Edom is reminiscent of the rejection by “a village of the Samaritans” to receive the Lord Jesus. The Lord has also sent messengers there, as Moses does here to the king of Edom. By responding to the rejection as Israel does here, the people act in the spirit of the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:52-53; 56).

Numbers 25:2

Edom Refuses Israel to Pass Through

Edom is not just a people, but a brotherhood. This determines Israel’s attitude in Edom’s refusing to allow the people to pass through their territory. They must not fight against them. They can and must do that against hostile peoples. The request of Moses reveals the ingrained hatred of Edom against the people of God.

The name Edom is related to Adam. In Adam we see what we are in our old nature. Edom represents our ‘brotherhood’, our flesh. The flesh is hostile to God “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:7a). We are not called to fight against it, but to be guided by the Spirit. Then we will be kept from fighting against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17). If we do fight against it, we will end up in the situation of Romans 7 and our life will become a life of defeats. Consider ourselves to be dead to it (Romans 6:11) does not mean ignoring or fighting against it, but go around it. That means recognizing hostility, while taking the right attitude to it.

God uses Edom’s refusal to deflect His people and bring them on the way to the Jordan. By taking the right attitude toward our flesh, that is to give the flesh the place God’s Word gives it, we come into the right position to take the blessings of the land.

This rejection of Edom is reminiscent of the rejection by “a village of the Samaritans” to receive the Lord Jesus. The Lord has also sent messengers there, as Moses does here to the king of Edom. By responding to the rejection as Israel does here, the people act in the spirit of the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:52-53; 56).

Numbers 25:3

Edom Refuses Israel to Pass Through

Edom is not just a people, but a brotherhood. This determines Israel’s attitude in Edom’s refusing to allow the people to pass through their territory. They must not fight against them. They can and must do that against hostile peoples. The request of Moses reveals the ingrained hatred of Edom against the people of God.

The name Edom is related to Adam. In Adam we see what we are in our old nature. Edom represents our ‘brotherhood’, our flesh. The flesh is hostile to God “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:7a). We are not called to fight against it, but to be guided by the Spirit. Then we will be kept from fighting against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17). If we do fight against it, we will end up in the situation of Romans 7 and our life will become a life of defeats. Consider ourselves to be dead to it (Romans 6:11) does not mean ignoring or fighting against it, but go around it. That means recognizing hostility, while taking the right attitude to it.

God uses Edom’s refusal to deflect His people and bring them on the way to the Jordan. By taking the right attitude toward our flesh, that is to give the flesh the place God’s Word gives it, we come into the right position to take the blessings of the land.

This rejection of Edom is reminiscent of the rejection by “a village of the Samaritans” to receive the Lord Jesus. The Lord has also sent messengers there, as Moses does here to the king of Edom. By responding to the rejection as Israel does here, the people act in the spirit of the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:52-53; 56).

Numbers 25:4

Edom Refuses Israel to Pass Through

Edom is not just a people, but a brotherhood. This determines Israel’s attitude in Edom’s refusing to allow the people to pass through their territory. They must not fight against them. They can and must do that against hostile peoples. The request of Moses reveals the ingrained hatred of Edom against the people of God.

The name Edom is related to Adam. In Adam we see what we are in our old nature. Edom represents our ‘brotherhood’, our flesh. The flesh is hostile to God “because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God” (Romans 8:7a). We are not called to fight against it, but to be guided by the Spirit. Then we will be kept from fighting against the flesh (Galatians 5:16-17). If we do fight against it, we will end up in the situation of Romans 7 and our life will become a life of defeats. Consider ourselves to be dead to it (Romans 6:11) does not mean ignoring or fighting against it, but go around it. That means recognizing hostility, while taking the right attitude to it.

God uses Edom’s refusal to deflect His people and bring them on the way to the Jordan. By taking the right attitude toward our flesh, that is to give the flesh the place God’s Word gives it, we come into the right position to take the blessings of the land.

This rejection of Edom is reminiscent of the rejection by “a village of the Samaritans” to receive the Lord Jesus. The Lord has also sent messengers there, as Moses does here to the king of Edom. By responding to the rejection as Israel does here, the people act in the spirit of the Lord Jesus (Luke 9:52-53; 56).

Numbers 25:5

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:6

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:7

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:8

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:9

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:10

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:11

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:12

The Death of Aaron

The LORD commands Moses regarding the death of Aaron. He gives the reason for his death. He also takes care of a successor. Eleazar becomes high priest instead of his father Aaron. Eleazar brings the people into the land. Aaron is the high priest of a people travelling through the wilderness. This change indicates the different facets of the High Priesthood of the Lord Jesus.

Moses does as the LORD has commanded. His obedience to the LORD is unbroken, despite all the setbacks he has suffered in this chapter: 1. First the death of his sister Miriam, 2. then the uprising of the people, 3. then his own failure and the punishment for it, 4. the refusal and hostility of Edom which means a by-way and thus postponement of the destination to be reached, and 5. finally the death of his brother Aaron, whom he sees dying with his own eyes. Moses is a great example for us if we have to deal with setbacks. Let us also always remain open to the Lord’s will.

Eleazar is the third son of Aaron. He is a type of the Lord Jesus as High Priest, but in connection with the land. The number three speaks of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, Who rose from the dead on the third day (Matthew 16:21; Luke 24:46; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4). Eleazar presents the Lord Jesus as High Priest Who has been dead and now lives. By His death He opened heaven and all blessings that are there, to all who are connected with Him. That is what the promised land speaks of.

Before Aaron dies, he has seen Eleazar being clothed with his garments (cf. Isaiah 22:20-21). He might have been able to say what Simeon says in Luke 2 (Luke 2:29-30). Eleazar derives everything from Aaron. He continues Aaron’s work in a new form. Aaron silently submits to what the LORD says. He dies, 123 years old, in dignity and peace, not as someone who is exterminated from the people. After that he is buried (Deuteronomy 10:6), we may assume by his brother and his son.

The people weep for him thirty days. They weep for the loss of him, against whom they have so often grumbled during his life. Similarly, there is often grief about the loss of blessings that we have not appreciated before. Godly people are often given more honor after death than during their life.

Similarly, prophets have been persecuted and killed during their life, but once they are killed, their graves are decorated as a kind of homage: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, and say, ‘If we had been [living] in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood of the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets” (Matthew 23:29-31).

Numbers 25:14

Fight Against the Canaanites

Even before the people enter the land, enemies come forward to prevent that. The Canaanites attack and seem to surprise Israel. They take some of the Israelites captive. If we want to enter ‘our land’, that is to say if we want to occupy ourselves with the heavenly blessings, we will also experience that the enemy will try to prevent this with all possible means. We will have to be on guard that the enemy does not unexpectedly take away some of our power.

The people make a vow to the LORD; they promise a counterpart, if He also does something for them, namely giving them the victory. The LORD doesn’t blame them for this form of unbelief, but helps and gives a great victory. The place of victory is given the name “Hormah”, which means “ban curse”, “banned”. This means that they dedicate all the spoils to the LORD and give Him the honor of the victory. But great victories are sometimes followed by great defeats, as the following history shows.

Numbers 25:15

Fight Against the Canaanites

Even before the people enter the land, enemies come forward to prevent that. The Canaanites attack and seem to surprise Israel. They take some of the Israelites captive. If we want to enter ‘our land’, that is to say if we want to occupy ourselves with the heavenly blessings, we will also experience that the enemy will try to prevent this with all possible means. We will have to be on guard that the enemy does not unexpectedly take away some of our power.

The people make a vow to the LORD; they promise a counterpart, if He also does something for them, namely giving them the victory. The LORD doesn’t blame them for this form of unbelief, but helps and gives a great victory. The place of victory is given the name “Hormah”, which means “ban curse”, “banned”. This means that they dedicate all the spoils to the LORD and give Him the honor of the victory. But great victories are sometimes followed by great defeats, as the following history shows.

Numbers 25:16

Fight Against the Canaanites

Even before the people enter the land, enemies come forward to prevent that. The Canaanites attack and seem to surprise Israel. They take some of the Israelites captive. If we want to enter ‘our land’, that is to say if we want to occupy ourselves with the heavenly blessings, we will also experience that the enemy will try to prevent this with all possible means. We will have to be on guard that the enemy does not unexpectedly take away some of our power.

The people make a vow to the LORD; they promise a counterpart, if He also does something for them, namely giving them the victory. The LORD doesn’t blame them for this form of unbelief, but helps and gives a great victory. The place of victory is given the name “Hormah”, which means “ban curse”, “banned”. This means that they dedicate all the spoils to the LORD and give Him the honor of the victory. But great victories are sometimes followed by great defeats, as the following history shows.

Numbers 25:17

The Bronze Serpent

First the people have to go in the direction of the Red Sea again. At the end of the wilderness journey it is useful to look again and let it sink in well that this is the place where we have been delivered from the power of the enemy. The picture of the cross must come alive before us again. If we can’t appreciate that, there will be grumbling. The people are getting impatient because of the detour they have to make. Again the reason for their grumble is that they have no water and bread. How can they say it! They have it, but they are fed up with it. It can no longer please them.

When the people despise the bread of life, the fiery serpents come and with them death. Throughout their journey through the wilderness they have been surrounded by fiery serpents (Deuteronomy 8:14-15), but the LORD has always kept them. But their aversion to the heavenly bread makes it necessary to teach them (and us!) a penetrating lesson.

The plague of the fiery serpents makes the people reflect. Through the fiery serpents, the people must discover that sin still dwells in them. It concerns the people of God who must learn what effect the bite of a fiery serpent has. Then we hear the people say: “We have sinned.” They confess guilt.

They appeal to the intercession of Moses. They also tell him what to pray. In doing so, they indicate what they think is best for their recovery. But God always has in mind the glory of the Lord Jesus when He hears a prayer. Therefore He does not take away the fiery serpents, as the people suggest. Compare Naäman who also suggested how he could be cleansed from his leprosy (2 Kings 5:11).

The LORD gives outcome, but in a way that salvation is connected to the faith of the people. Moses has to make a bronze serpent and put it on a standard. A single look at the lifted up fiery serpent is enough to be healed. The ‘looking’ at the fiery serpent does have the meaning of intensely looking at. In his conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord Jesus explains the spiritual significance of this event: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 2:14-15).

God heals the people not by taking away the serpents, but by adding something to it. Moses must take the means by which the people are plagued. Thus the Lord Jesus had to enter into our circumstances. He could not save us by speaking a word of power or by judging the devil. Then we would have remained in our sins. It is only because He was made sin for us on the cross that it became possible to deliver us from the power of sin (John 3:15).

The Son of Man must be exalted. This is not so much to forgive sins, although it is included, but He had to be exalted to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. The lifting up on the cross opens the richest, heavenly, eternal blessings for all who believe. The fiery serpent not only speaks of salvation of the serpent’s bite and of not having to die, but on top of that of eternal life. At the end of the wilderness journey we are reminded of this by this history.

Eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). Eternal life is knowing the Lord Jesus, for He is “the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). What eternal life means, we do not know at the beginning of our journey through the wilderness, when we have just been converted. We learn this as we give up more and more of ourselves through the lessons of the wilderness. Then we also see better and better that the eternal life means much more than forgiveness of sins and being freed from hell.

The fiery serpent is taken by the Israelites to Canaan. There it becomes an idolatrous object, that is destroyed by Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4). Thus, the cross can be deprived of its true meaning and made into a kind of mascot. For example, a cross can be worn as a piece of jewelry and a protective effect can be attributed to it.

Numbers 25:18

The Bronze Serpent

First the people have to go in the direction of the Red Sea again. At the end of the wilderness journey it is useful to look again and let it sink in well that this is the place where we have been delivered from the power of the enemy. The picture of the cross must come alive before us again. If we can’t appreciate that, there will be grumbling. The people are getting impatient because of the detour they have to make. Again the reason for their grumble is that they have no water and bread. How can they say it! They have it, but they are fed up with it. It can no longer please them.

When the people despise the bread of life, the fiery serpents come and with them death. Throughout their journey through the wilderness they have been surrounded by fiery serpents (Deuteronomy 8:14-15), but the LORD has always kept them. But their aversion to the heavenly bread makes it necessary to teach them (and us!) a penetrating lesson.

The plague of the fiery serpents makes the people reflect. Through the fiery serpents, the people must discover that sin still dwells in them. It concerns the people of God who must learn what effect the bite of a fiery serpent has. Then we hear the people say: “We have sinned.” They confess guilt.

They appeal to the intercession of Moses. They also tell him what to pray. In doing so, they indicate what they think is best for their recovery. But God always has in mind the glory of the Lord Jesus when He hears a prayer. Therefore He does not take away the fiery serpents, as the people suggest. Compare Naäman who also suggested how he could be cleansed from his leprosy (2 Kings 5:11).

The LORD gives outcome, but in a way that salvation is connected to the faith of the people. Moses has to make a bronze serpent and put it on a standard. A single look at the lifted up fiery serpent is enough to be healed. The ‘looking’ at the fiery serpent does have the meaning of intensely looking at. In his conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord Jesus explains the spiritual significance of this event: “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life” (John 3:14-15; Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 2:14-15).

God heals the people not by taking away the serpents, but by adding something to it. Moses must take the means by which the people are plagued. Thus the Lord Jesus had to enter into our circumstances. He could not save us by speaking a word of power or by judging the devil. Then we would have remained in our sins. It is only because He was made sin for us on the cross that it became possible to deliver us from the power of sin (John 3:15).

The Son of Man must be exalted. This is not so much to forgive sins, although it is included, but He had to be exalted to give eternal life to all who believe in Him. The lifting up on the cross opens the richest, heavenly, eternal blessings for all who believe. The fiery serpent not only speaks of salvation of the serpent’s bite and of not having to die, but on top of that of eternal life. At the end of the wilderness journey we are reminded of this by this history.

Eternal life is knowing the Father and the Son (John 17:3). Eternal life is knowing the Lord Jesus, for He is “the true God and eternal life” (1 John 5:20). What eternal life means, we do not know at the beginning of our journey through the wilderness, when we have just been converted. We learn this as we give up more and more of ourselves through the lessons of the wilderness. Then we also see better and better that the eternal life means much more than forgiveness of sins and being freed from hell.

The fiery serpent is taken by the Israelites to Canaan. There it becomes an idolatrous object, that is destroyed by Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:4). Thus, the cross can be deprived of its true meaning and made into a kind of mascot. For example, a cross can be worn as a piece of jewelry and a protective effect can be attributed to it.