Numbers 33:1-56

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. THE GREAT OBJECT WHICH WAS BEFORE THE MIND OF GOD IN GIVING THE COMMAND . This is alluded to in verse 54. Canaan was ever under the eye of God as being the destined inheritance of Israel; it had been counted as such even from the time of Abraham. The sadness of the threat against Israel in the day of its apostasy lay in this, that it was a threat of disinheriting ( Numbers 14:12 ). And that which had been so long preparing for Israel, which even while the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

II. CONSIDER THE EXACTNESS OF THESE BOUNDARIES . The country was carefully defined, and could give no occasion for boundary disputes. And all Christians have a carefully-defined life marked out for them. Even external circumstances are more under our control than at first seems to be the case. Many such circumstances indeed we cannot control, but many also depend on the spirit in which we regard the will of God. For instance, it could hardly be said that God marked out their... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. THE PROVISION WHICH GOD MAKES FOR HIS OWN , AND THEIR DISPERSION ; II. THE REFUGE SET BEFORE HIM THAT IS GUILTY OF BLOOD ; III. THE SANCTITY OF LIFE . I. In the regulations made for the habitation of the Levites and their cattle we have some sort of precedent for religious endowments; but this precedent loses all value in argument when we consider that the old dispensation was essentially temporal, which ours is not; moreover, the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. In this law TWO POINTS CLAIM NOTICE . 1 . That the forty-eight cities, although denominated "Levitical cities," were not denoted exclusively to members of this tribe. For example, Hebron, which was perhaps the most noted of the forty-eight, being the city of refuge for what was afterwards the whole kingdom of Judah, formed part of the inheritance of Caleb the Kenezite ( Joshua 14:14 ). Doubtless many families of Judah would also be found among the residents; for the city... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. THE ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF REFUGE CONSIDERED AS A PART OF THE MOSAIC CRIMINAL LAW . In primitive and barbarous states of society the execution of vengeance for murder was devolved by ancient custom on the next kinsman of the murdered man. The goel, the redeemer and kinsman, was also the avenger of blood. The custom is sufficiently harsh and barbarous, and gives rise to blood-feuds and untold miseries. Yet, for the states of society in which it originated,... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. Observe THE OCCASION of the statute here delivered. It is an appendix to the law regarding the cities of refuge. That law was designed to shield the involuntary homicide from the avenger of blood. The intention was good; but good intentions do not always prevent dangerous mistakes. It often happens that good men in labouring to cast out one evil open the door to a greater evil. A follower of John Howard may so press the duty of humanity towards prisoners as to deprive the prison of... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. A TOLERATION OF WHAT GOD NEITHER HAS APPOINTED NOR APPROVES . The old custom of blood-avenging by the goel, though open to grave abuses, was not altogether proscribed. The laws given by God to Moses were not always absolutely the best, though, relatively to the state of the people, the best they could endure. Other illustrations are found in the laws relating to divorce, polygamy, and slavery. These examples of a wise conservatism suggest lessons for parents, who have... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. THE LEVITES WERE SO SETTLED AS TO AVOID THE GREAT EVILS CONSEQUENT ON UNDUE CONCENTRATION . They might have had the tabernacle fixed up in a certain tribal allotment of their own, and then what would have happened? Those living at a distance from the territory of Levi would have been debarred from many privileges belonging to those in immediate proximity. God is no respecter of persons. He did all that was possible to put every tribe in Israel in a position... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:1-49

I. We are brought face to face with A TIME WHEN THERE WAS NO GENERAL AND SECURE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE . God had to make provision here for a strong feeling which had evidently grown up through many centuries. This provision pointed back to those unsocial days when the only effectual avengers of murder were the kinsmen of the slain person. The punishment of the murderer had come to be regarded as a family duty, because no one else would concern himself with it. And... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Numbers 33:2

And Moses wrote their goings out according to their journeys by the commandment of the Lord. The latter clause ( עַל־פִי יְהֹוָה ) may be taken as equivalent to an adjective qualifying the noun "goings out," signifying only that their marches were made under the orders of God himself. It is more natural to read it with the verb "wrote;" and in that case we have a direct assertion that Moses wrote this list of marches himself by command of God, doubtless as a memorial not only... read more

Grupo de marcas