How do you say goodbye to a good spiritual leader?  One of the greatest send offs is to continue on their legacy.  By Numbers 18, Aaron has grown as priest over Israel.  In today’s look at the imperatives of scripture a son will fill his father’s shoes, a donkey will talk, and snakes will bite.  Are you zealous for God’s commands?  Would you dare to pass on your zeal to the next generation?  Or will they have to trust the Lord despite you?

Numbers 18:2 “And with you bring your brothers also, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and minister to you while you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.”

“Bring your brothers…” is the common word for approach, but the command is not that Aaron alone approach, but that he entreat his family, the Levites, to approach the tabernacle.  They serve as guards, as keepers, as co-ministers to the periphery of the tabernacle, “lest they and you die” v3.  It was dangerous work to be near to a holy God.

Numbers 19:2 “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come.”

“Tell the people” is the imperative, but if follows as part of the “statute of the law” indicating the timeless nature of this practice.  This is not the installation idea of Leviticus 8, but a practice for the generations to purify future and current priests.  Also, the “heifer” indicates that this is a separate process from any other sin offering such as Lev 14:2 which require a pure bull to be slaughtered. The one who gathers the ashes of the heifer also becomes unclean, so the process of uncleanness is continually before the people.  Uncleanness is a thing that spreads.

Numbers 20:8 “Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”

“Take the staff… call assembly”.  The miracle of the water coming from the rock did not begin with Moses’ words, but with God gathering his people.  The people once again have believed the old lie that the God who freed them doesn’t have their best interest in mind.

Numbers 20:25-26 “Take Aaron and Eleazar his son and bring them up to Mount Hor. And strip Aaron of his garments and put them on Eleazar his son. And Aaron shall be gathered to his people and shall die there.”

Moses is to “take” Aaron and the priestly heir and “bring them up” to Mt Hor.  There are some similarities to Moses mountain-top death in Deuteronomy 34, but Aaron’s death is presented here as a transfer of authority whereas Moses is alone on Mt. Nebo with God.  Aaron’s circumstances of death in v28 aren’t clear, but the implications for the people are clear.  They lost a good man, and the priesthood will continue according to God’s will.

Numbers 21:8 “And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.”

“Make a seraph and set it…” may be one of the only times Yahweh commands his people to make an image.  However, the image is clearly a remedy for the serpents and not meant to be worshipped.  In 2Kings 18:4, this pole has become a part of the Israelites pagan-izing of Yahweh worship, so it is removed.  Jesus also referenced this pole as how he would be lifted up to save the people (John 3:14).

Numbers 22:6 “Come now, curse this people for me, since they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land, for I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed.”

These commands of “Come… curse” are not uttered from God but from Balak king of Moab to the prophet-for-hire Balaam.  How will God respond?

Numbers 22:20, 35 “And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, “If the men have come to call you, rise, go with them; but only do what I tell you… And the angel of the LORD said to Balaam, “Go with the men, but speak only the word that I tell you.” So Balaam went on with the princes of Balak.”

God quietly and miraculously warns Balaam to only say what he instructs, not what the king wants to hear.  For now Balaam will speak as a prophet of Yahweh and eventually says, “Did I not tell you [Balak], all that Yahweh says, that I must do” 23:26.  Who is this strange God that uses donkeys to reign in pagan prophets?

Numbers 25:4 “And the LORD said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the LORD, that the fierce anger of the LORD may turn away from Israel.”

Moab couldn’t get a prophet to curse Israel, but they could corrupt Israel.  Balak was upset that Balaam couldn’t curse the people, but Yahweh brings a curse when “the people ate and bowed down to their gods.”

Numbers 25:12 “Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him my covenant of peace, [to Phinehas the son of Eleazar]”

The execution of the judges was not the extent of God’s wrath.  God had also sent a plague because apparently the people whose leaders had just been executed for pagan mixing also thought it was a good idea to marry a non-Israelite and ask Moses’ approval.

Numbers 26:2 “Take a census of all the congregation of the people of Israel, from twenty years old and upward, by their fathers’ houses, all in Israel who are able to go to war.”

“Take a census” is more literally “lift the heads/chiefs of all the congregation”.  The idea is assemble the clans for battle, not “Count the people, and by the way get ready for war.”  The main idea of all this is to help show that the previous generation that didn’t believe like Caleb and Joshua were not present for the invasion for God promised, “They shall die in the wilderness” (26:65).

Numbers 27:7 “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.”

“You shall give” is more literally “giving, it will be given to them” as often in Hebrew the repeating of the idea strengthens it.  However, the phrase is more of a promise of what will happen and not a command in the present.  After all, they aren’t in the land yet.

Numbers 28:2, 7 “Command the people of Israel and say to them, ‘My offering, my food for my food offerings, my pleasing aroma, you shall be careful to offer to me at its appointed time”

The rest of Chapter 28-30 moves on with the same idea presented in 27:7.  These are commands, but not in the “do this now” sense.  However, they all fall under the imperative of “command” here in v2.  This section has commands on the weekly, monthly, and major offerings.  Chapter 30 is all about vows.  Numbers 30:2 says “If a man vows a vow to Yahweh… he shall not break his word.”

The people are assembled for war.  The old doubting generation has passed away.  There is a new zealous priest in Eleazar.  The next section of Numbers will have God defeat the nations east of the Jordan.  The people will learn that even in the messy business of war God demands purity.