"Do not pollute the land where you are. Bloodshed pollutes the land, and atonement cannot be made for the land on which blood has been shed, except by the blood of the one who shed it. Do not defile the land where you live and where I dwell, for I, the Lord, dwell among the Israelites."

We all are guilty of our sins and deserve to die rightfully.  He initiated our atonement, however, by appointing His Son to die so that He may dwell in us.  We had no idea that we were heading toward the eternal damnation and had no intention to turn around.  God commanded the Israelites not to defile the land for He dwells in it.  The Israelites failed it and we are no different!  He could've wiped away all mankind including you and me and started all over but He chose to go through the sufferings of the cross so that the eyes of our hearts may be opened and that He may find His dwelling place in us.  All this has been done by Him alone.  It wasn't a cooperative work between Him and us.  Praise Him for the grace that He lavished on us.  That's why we are no longer driven by fear to obey but compelled by grace to follow Him. 

Friends,

I just wanted to let you know that I added a new page to the dailyqt.org site under the Resources tab. For lack of a better name, it is simply called "Seminar Notes". These are some of the notes that I used when teaching various classes while serving at Global Harvest Church in Dallas. They are no longer available on the church's website, so I have made them available here.

Here's a Direct Link: Seminar Notes

The topics covered are as follows:

• The Book of Psalms
• The Book of  Proverbs
• Christian Money Management
• Inductive Bible Study
• Leadership Training Seminar
• Old Testament Survey
• New Testament Survey

I have made these available because several people, even those that have never taken any of my classes, somehow found these notes and expressed to me that they have been helpful to them. Perhaps they may be helpful to some of you as well. If so, praise the Lord!

Thus no inheritance of the sons of Israel shall be transferred from tribe to tribe, for the sons of Israel shall each hold to the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers (Numbers 36:7).

God established the boundaries of the inherited land in the days of Moses, and these boundaries were to remain into perpetuity. Even if there were changes to these boundaries in the course of years, everything would need to be restored every fiftieth year in the Year of Jubliee.

In our text today, a situation arose that could disrupt this law of inheritance. Certain daughters of Zelophehad of the tribes of Joseph were granted an inheritance of land because their father had no sons to whom he could pass on the land (cf. Numbers 27:1-11).

While this was all good and fine, another potential problem arose when these daughters wanted to marry. If they married anyone outside of their tribe, the land would pass by law to the tribe of their husbands, which would diminish the original lot given to the tribe to which the Zelophehad daughters belonged. 

Therefore, God established the rule that these daughters should not marry anyone oustide of their tribe, so that the land, even if not tied to their immediate family, would at least remain within the same tribe.

I find it interesting that so much was done in order to ensure the original inheritance from God, so that the promises of God would not be compromised by human mechanizations.

So I ask, do we go so far to preserve the integrity of God's Word today? I hear people defend their personal experiences with depth of emotion. Church leaders staunchly rebuke those that try to defy their long-held traditions. Those that try to uphold the standard of biblical truth, by which everything must be measured, are considered "divisive" and "negative" and marginalized as "those who quench the Spirit's power."

Dear friends, I testify that this is what I have seen and experienced in churches today. Although in the early church, it was God adding to the churches, today, churches add to themselves by teaching people what they want to hear, appealing to them with lavish facilities and well-advertised programs, providing emotionally-charged outlets for "prayer" and ecstatic outbursts, with self-proclaimed prophets speaking words of "encouragement", which though rare for true biblical prophets, seem overflowing today, and calling every happy event a "sign" or a "miracle," without giving any thought to how the Bible defines these technical terms, by which even the Lord Jesus demonstrated His Messianic authority. 

Many people speak of the Bible today as Israel spoke of the Temple of God. They say, "Yes, the Bible, the Bible, the Bible," almost as if just mentioning the bible makes everything they say and do right. Then, they proceed to pick out of the Bible what agrees with their own point of view, and they interpret passages in light of their experience, thus, making their experience a litmus for biblical truth rather than the other way around. 

The matter of the daughters of Zelophehad may teach another significant lesson. Even when trying to resolve difficulties with respect to the Law, they do not simply use logic to reason things out, instead we find Moses turns again to God's Word. This is why he can say, "This is what the LORD has commanded..." (Numbers 36:6). While Moses had such direct communication of authoritative revelation in his day, we have no such direct communication today. All those that have claimed such communication in our day have sooner or later shown themselves to be false prophets. But we have God's Word complete in the Bible. And we have this promise from God:

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Note, this New Testament promise does not speak of Christians being partially equipped by Scripture. It speaks of Christians being thoroughly equipped. So, we find in the Bible everything we need to live our earthly lives in a way that pleases God. So, let us learn our Bibles well, and let us trust it over every wind of doctrine and tempting experience by which the enemy of our souls will try to trip us up. 

Friends, I don't want you to miss this important point. There was NO sacrifice for murder (as shown here). The punishment was death. There was NO sacrifice for adultery. The punishment was death. There was NO sacrifice for blasphemy. The punishment was death. There was NO sacrifice for cursing one's parents. The punishment was death. There was NO sacrifice for violating the Sabbath. The punishment was banishment from the community. There was NO sacrifice for theft. It required restitution plus an additional penalty. In fact, there was NO sacrifice for any INTENTIONAL SIN. The Cities of Refuge mentioned here were for UNintentional killing, where no malice was involved. The sense in the text is that if there was any malice, even though the perpetretor only wanted to harm and not murder, if the victim died, then he was guilty of murder. And the penalty for intentional killing (i.e. murder) was death.

But if someone strikes and kills another person with a piece of iron, it is murder, and the murderer must be executed. Or if someone with a stone in his hand strikes and kills another person, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. Or if someone strikes and kills another person with a wooden object, it is murder, and the murderer must be put to death. The victim’s nearest relative is responsible for putting the murderer to death. When they meet, the avenger must put the murderer to death. So if someone hates another person and pushes him or throws a dangerous object at him and he dies, it is murder. Or if someone hates another person and hits him with a fist and he dies, it is murder. In such cases, the avenger must put the murderer to death when they meet (Numbers 35:16-21).

So it is clear from the Law that murder is punishable by death. There is no sacrifice or burnt offering that will cover for this sin.

That said, why was David allowed to live when he commited adultery with Bathsheba and then ordered the death of Uriah, her husband in 2 Samuel 11. We simply have Nathan the prophet's pronouncement: "The LORD has taken away your sin. You are not going to die" (2 Samuel 12:13).

As amazing as it was that David did not die, what is even more amazing was that the punishment passed on to his family. God took the life of the first child born to David and Bathsheba and prophesied calamity and incest for David's household. 

Usually, these events are only glibly treated by commentators. Yet, we have a serious matter here, because one might read this and question God's justice. For on the one hand, the guilty was spared, and on the other hand, the innocent were punished.

I have found several websites by atheists that love to highlight this passage to discredit the justice of God. And the responses by most Christians have been horrible. First, because they distort the Scriptures to make their point. Second, they resort to name-calling because they cannot defend against valid criticisms.

What is a proper perspective? It is to acknowledge the sovereignty of God and the depravity of man. David did not die because God sovereignly forgave him. David deserved death, but God extended grace to him. This is why David can write in Psalm 51:3-4,

For I know my transgressions, 
   and my sin is always before me. 
Against you, you only, have I sinned 
   and done what is evil in your sight; 
so you are right in your verdict 
   and justified when you judge. 

David confessed that God had every right to judge him. David sinned and deserved death. David knew that he had no appeal to a sacrifice or burnt offering:

You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; 
   you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 
My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; 
   a broken and contrite heart 
   you, God, will not despise (Psalm 51:16-17).

David's only appeal was brokenness before God. He was completely at God's mercy. And in this case, God chose to spare David's life. And this isn't the only time when God spares. We find examples throughout the Old Testament. For example, Nebuchadnezzar was restored when he humbled himself. Manasseh was restored when he humbled himself. The city of Nineveh was spared when they humbled themselves. These are all examples of God's sovereign grace. God, who carries the authority of life and death, judgment and forgiveness, has the authority to do this:

There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy (James 4:12).

Now, on the other hand, David's family was struck. Was this unjust of God? No! First, God indicated that He would do this in the Law of Moses, for we read in the Decalogue of Exodus 20:5, "for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me." Second, and perhaps more importantly, the Law was made for man and not for God. God is above the Law. Therefore, when He ordered the killing of Amalekite men, women, children and animals, He had every right as the Creator to do so. While man's justice is measured by God's Law, God's justice is not measured by the laws He gives to men. His justice is self-contained and serves His own glory. This explains the rationale given for God taking David's first-born:

However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die (2 Samuel 12:14).

Once again, God acted sovereignly for the sake of His glory. He preserves one life and takes another. Now, it is a mistake to assume that David is guilty while his family is innocent. While the first is true, the latter is not so. David wrote in Psalm 51:5,

Surely I was sinful at birth, 
   sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 

Newborn children are not innocent. David's child was not born innocent. In fact, no one is innocent. Again, in Psalm 14:3, David wrote,

 All have turned away, all have become corrupt; 
   there is no one who does good, 
   not even one.

Many centuries later, Paul would echo these very sentiments:

There is no one righteous, not even one; 
there is no one who understands; 
   there is no one who seeks God. 
All have turned away, 
   they have together become worthless; 
there is no one who does good, 
   not even one (Romans 3:10-12).

Notice how often Paul uses repetition and clarification ("no one" and "not even one") to make his point. Therefore, it would be wrong to say that God took an innocent child. It would be wrong to conclude that God used innocent family members to punish David. They were not innocent. Even as Pharaoh was not innocent when God raised him up for destruction to demonstrate God's glory. But they, as we, can be used by God to serve His purposes in exalting His glory in the universe. If this sounds distateful to you, what does that matter? As the saying goes, "How does your complaint impact the price of tea in China?"

Does this sound incredible to you? Listen to Paul's own self-testimony:

For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings (1 Corinthians 4:9).

FOR YOUR [GOD'S] SAKE WE ARE BEING PUT TO DEATH ALL DAY LONG; 
WE WERE CONSIDERED AS SHEEP TO BE SLAUGHTERED" (Romans 8:36).

What if God, although choosing to show his wrath and make his power known, bore with great patience the objects of his wrath—prepared for destruction? What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory— even us, whom he also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles? (Romans 9:22-24).

We have a very self-centered worldview that persuades us that we are born into this world innocent and sinless. We have a too-simplistic view of things, as Job's friends did. We think that God cannot or should not bring calamity on the "innocent." Yet, that is not the perspective of God, nor the perspective of Scripture.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).

The correct perspective is that we are born sinners with the sentence of condemnation over us, except for the grace of God by which we are reborn by the Spirit and given faith and imputed Christ's righteousness. If you can acknowledge this, then lift up your voices with me and praise our God, who has so generously extended such a marvelous grace and far-reaching mercy to such unworthy vessels.

Dear brothers and sisters!
 
At last we are at the final chapters of the Book of Numbers!!  The City of Refuge sounds so great and gives me such a comfort.  Isn't our Lord, Jesus, our refuge forever, much better than the one that is described here in chapter 35?  The physical one is the place for a sinner who commits a murder by accident and can be in danger from outside where there's no fear of God.  The sinner cannot go back to his hometown and has to live in the city until his high priest dies.  However, our city of refuge is secured from all harms because it is the city of Almighty God.  Whatever you go through today, please remember you have the city that you can run to for the best comfort which is Jesus who loves you even to death!
 
In Christ,
 
Stephen

 

Today reading about the cities of refuge I am reminded of how loving our God is.  At first I wanted to make Christ our refuge, you know, protecting us from evil.  Like the "Cities of refuge" acting as a temporary home for the accidental criminal, saving them from the harm that would come to them outside the city walls.  Then I wanted to make Christ the High Priest, whereby through his death we achieve freedom, freedom to go to our Heavenly home.