Finally Israel came of age. After conquering Moab, God made instructed them on issues of civil life and how to organize the land they would finally inherit and possess.
Israel
went to war against Midian (Chapter 31)
They only sent a thousand men from each
tribe, under leaders of thousands and hundreds. It was a sizeable enough force,
but well within their capacity.
They wiped out all the fighting men of Midian
and also slew the devious prophet, Balaam.
The rest of the discussion is a complex
elaboration of how the spoil was divided between the Lord and his priests, and
the fighters.
They were, however, allowed to keep wives
from the captured women, if they were still virgins.
Some of it is hard to understand, but it
was important that they had asserted themselves at last and that they had dealt
with long-time enemies.
Reuben,
Gad and Manasseh chose to settle outside of Canaan (Chapter 32)
Again we see signs of a maturing nation.
The three negotiated a deal that would allow them to stay outside of Canaan.
As cattle ranchers they felt that the open
plains of Moab were better suited to their lifestyle. The land also had enough
of its own cattle to augment existing stocks.
On condition that they did not desert
Israel or leave her to fight her own battles, Moses consented to the
arrangement. It worked for everyone.
They
recount their long journey (Chapter 33)
This chapter sums up their entire journey
and gives us a very detailed route map. They were masters at record-keeping: one
of many signs of an advanced people.
The journey ended at the Jordan, adjacent
to Jericho but outside the Land of Promise. They were ready to enter, but
waited for God to open the way for them.
God then instructed them on how to divide
up the land between the tribes, using a lottery system, but weighted to the relative
size of each tribe.
The
borders were defined (Chapter 34)
God then defined their borders. The land
stretched from Kadesh Barnea, where the spies first crossed, up the West Bank of the Jordan, to the
northern Mount Hor (there were two mounts). The Mediterranean marked the
western border and the Jordan the Eastern border.
In Deuteronomy 2, we see that God confirmed the inheritance of Moab and Edom. He told Israel not to meddle with those nations, but to bypass them, but he did give them the land of the Amorites on the East Bank where Reuben, Manasseh and Gad settled.
In Deuteronomy 2, we see that God confirmed the inheritance of Moab and Edom. He told Israel not to meddle with those nations, but to bypass them, but he did give them the land of the Amorites on the East Bank where Reuben, Manasseh and Gad settled.
The
cities were organised (Chapter 35)
Two notable things were defined for future
town planning.
Firstly, the Levites who dwelt in the cities
would have suburbs dedicated to them, which implies that they would have an organised
suburban architecture.
Secondly, cities of refuge, six of them,
would be established. This was mainly to provide refuge for anyone who was
being pursued by an avenger. As the church later became a refuge to many, so the
cities of refuge were out of bounds to avengers.
If someone had killed another accidentally,
he was afforded refuge from an avenger unless he was caught outside of the refuge.
If he killed him inside the refuge, that would amount to murder and be
punishable by death.
The cities of refuge offered no refuge for
genuine murderers.
In addition to the 6 cities of refuge,
which were under the jurisdiction of the Levites, a further 42 cities would be
dedicated to the priests or 48 in total.
Finally,
God ensured that tribal land was not compromised (Chapter 36)
His ruling on the daughters of Zelophehad,
that they should inherit their father’s estate, was extended to allow any woman
to inherit land.
However, he insisted that, while they could
marry as they pleased, they had to marry into their tribes and keep their land
in that tribe. It was a way of ensuring that foreigners did not move in and
start taking up land inherited by Israel.
Conclusion
That concludes an amazing book about a
great people. It includes exact census counts, a detailed
route map, records of their major milestone events and a faithful record for
posterity.
It records their journey from infancy to
maturity and describes how the nation was organised and civilised. They were no
longer a rabble of slaves. They had become a worthy nation, one unusually under
the leadership of a judge, not a king.
Their greatest virtue was that the shout of
a greater king, the Almighty God, was heard among them. Theirs was the first and
last true theocracy.
(c) Peter Missing @ bethelstone.com
