Moses Died Two years before they crossed the Jordan

Joseph F. Dumond

Isa 6:9-12 And He said, Go, and tell this people, You hear indeed, but do not understand; and seeing you see, but do not know. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back, and be healed. Then I said, Lord, how long? And He answered, Until the cities are wasted without inhabitant, and the houses without man, and the land laid waste, a desolation, and until Jehovah has moved men far away, and the desolation in the midst of the land is great.
Published: Oct 19, 2013

News Letter 5849-035
6th day of the 8th month 5849 years after the creation of Adam
The 8th Month in the Fourth year of the third Sabbatical Cycle
The Third Sabbatical Cycle of the 119th Jubilee Cycle
The Sabbatical Cycle of Earthquakes Famines, and Pestilences

 

October 12, 2013

 

Shabbat Shalom Family,

 

IN the News this week was the snowstorm in the Dakotas. I heard they had as much as 5 feet. But what I did not hear until I had this News Article ready to go out was just how bad this storm was and what it did.

75,000 cattle killed in this one storm. IN light of what I am about to explain I find this very interesting.

You can read more about it at http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2013/10/10/south-dakota-blizzard-kills-20000-head-of-cattle-shutdown-leaves-ranchers-in-the-cold/

http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/10/10/a-record-setting-blizzard-killed-75000-cows-and-you-might-not-have-even-heard-about-it/

We also have news of the bubonic plague breaking out in Madagascar.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-24461474

Each week I am asked a number of questions about the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. It was all of those questions that prompted me to write “Remembering the Sabbatical years of 2016” which we just published in March of 2013. All of the questions posed to me are covered in this book.

Questions such as; How to prove when the Sabbatical Years were from history and from your own bible.; How they got changed and why and by whom.; How do you count the Sabbatical and Jubilee years and why bother keeping them at all?

I have been told that if you write a book and can sell 1000 copies you have a success on your hands. The Prophecies of Abraham has done that now. The Prophecies of Abraham though, have created all these questions, which I assumed people knew, and that is the reason for the second book.

As of the second quarter results (From the March launch to June 2013) the book “Remembering the Sabbatical Years of 2016” has sold over 500 books now in just 4 months’ time; Many of them e-books. The results of the 3rd Quarter ended Sept 30 and will take a month or so to be added up and published.

At Sukkot this year we covered many of the questions in this book and then some of the topics in the Prophecies of Abraham, and then a few of the key chapters in the third book being edited right now. Currently it is called “The 70 Shabua of Daniel” and then some of the 4th book about the 2300 days of hell, which we have not yet began to write.

Just as I was leaving for Sukkot I got an email asking me another question. It is one I have midrashed about in Israel a number of times and never really had a satisfying answer to. After Sukkot this gentleman asked again the same question reminding me he was looking for an answer.

It is also an important question because by not getting the right answer, it could throw out all the chronology of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years; especially that part of the Chronology from Adam to the Entry into the Promised Land.

Here is the question from Nathan Isme.

Joseph Dumond, I’ve been reading in your book about the 40 years from the beginning of the wilderness punishment to the entry into Canaan. This, you say, is after the first 2 years, totaling 42 years between the exodus and the entry. But can you explain why Deuteronomy 2:14 says that from the leaving of Sinai until entering the land of Canaan was only 38 years? If you add this to the 2 years prior, it only totals 40 years, not 42.
Please explain.

The answer is not always obvious, but once you see it, then it seems very obvious to you. This is a good question and has forced me to do some long overdue homework. In fact when you get the answer for this, then you will also get the answer for another equally troubling question.

Lets begin to show you how to find the answer.

We need to put the scripture in question Deut 2:14 in the proper perspective and to do that we must do it chronologically.

We begin when Moses is first called by Yehovah.

Exo 3:2 And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire, out of the midst of a thorn bush. And he looked. And behold! The thorn bush burned with fire! And the thorn bush was not burned up. 3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the thorn bush is not burned up. 4 And Jehovah saw that he had turned aside to see. God called to him out of the midst of the thorn bush, and said, Moses! Moses! And he said, Here I am. 5 And He said, Do not come near here. Pull off your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.

Exo 4:14 And the anger of Jehovah was kindled against Moses. And He said, Do I not know Aaron the Levite, your brother that he can speak well? And also, behold, he comes forth to meet you. And when he sees you, he will be glad in his heart. 15 And you shall speak to him, and you shall put words in his mouth. And I will be with your mouth and with his mouth, and will teach you what you shall do. 16 And it will be, he shall speak for you to the people, and he shall be for a mouth to you. And you shall be to him a god. 17 And you shall take this rod in your hand, with which you shall do signs. 18 And Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, Please let me go and return to my brothers who are in Egypt and see if they are still alive. And Jethro said to Moses, Go in peace. 19 And Jehovah said to Moses in Midian, Go! Return to Egypt, for all the men who sought your life are dead.

Exo 5:19 And the overseers of the sons of Israel saw themselves in affliction, after it was said, You shall not take away from your bricks of your daily task. 20 And they met Moses and Aaron standing in the way, as they came forth from Pharaoh. 21 And they said to them, Jehovah look upon you and judge, because you have made our smell to stink in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hands to kill us. 22 And Moses returned to Jehovah, and said, Lord, why have You treated this people ill? Why then have you sent me? 23 For since I came to Pharaoh to speak in Your name, he has done evil to this people. Neither have You delivered Your people at all.

Exo 6:9 And Moses said so to the sons of Israel. But they did not listen to Moses through anguish of spirit and through cruel bondage. 10 And Jehovah spoke to Moses, saying, 11 Go in, speak to Pharaoh king of Egypt, that he let the sons of Israel go out of his land. 12 And Moses spoke before Jehovah, saying, Behold, the sons of Israel have not listened to me. How then shall Pharaoh hear me, since I have lips that are not circumcised?

Exo 7:7 And Moses was eighty years old, and Aaron was eighty-three years old, when they spoke to Pharaoh. 8 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying: 9 When Pharaoh shall speak to you saying, Give a miracle for yourselves, you shall say to Aaron, Take your rod, and throw it in front of Pharaoh. It shall become a snake.

We have read thus far of Yehovah calling Moses from the burning bush and then sending Moses to get the Israelite’s from Egypt. He goes and talks to the Israelites and they do not believe him and in fact become angry at him for the extra work they must now do. All of this takes some time to do. Talking with Yehovah and then saying good bye to Jethro and then walking back to Egypt and then convening the elders of Israel and explaining to them what is going on and then Pharaoh stepping up the work load.

And then by the time Moses spoke to Pharaoh he was 80 and Aaron was 83. Right here is when people assume that the year this first plague begins and the year the Israelites all leave Egypt to be the same year. We have questioned this logic in previous articles.

We do so based on the fact that the cattle are smitten three times during the course of the ten plagues.

Exo 9:1 And Jehovah said to Moses, Go in to Pharaoh and tell him, Thus says Jehovah, the God of the Hebrews: Let My people go so that they may serve Me. 2 For if you refuse to let them go, and will hold them still, 3 behold, the hand of Jehovah is upon your cattle in the field, upon the horses, upon the asses, upon the camels, upon the oxen, and upon the sheep, a very grievous plague. 4 And Jehovah shall separate between the cattle of Israel and the cattle of Egypt. And there shall nothing die of all that belongs to the sons of Israel. 5 And Jehovah appointed a set time, saying, Tomorrow Jehovah shall do this thing in the land. 6 And Jehovah did that thing on the next day, and all the cattle of Egypt died. But of the cattle of the sons of Israel, not one died.

In this curse we read “ALL the cattle of Egypt died”. Not some, not half, but ALL. So where did they get the cattle for the next curse we read about again in Exodus 9.

Exo 9:17 Do you still exalt yourself against My people, that you will not let them go? 18 Behold! Tomorrow about this time I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as has not been in Egypt since the foundation of it even until now! 19 And now send out, gather your cattle, and all that you have in the field. Upon every man and beast which shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home, the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die. 20 He that feared the Word of Jehovah among the servants of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle to flee into the houses. 21 And he that did not regard the Word of Jehovah left his servants and his cattle in the field. 22 And Jehovah said to Moses, Stretch forth your hand toward heaven, so that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt, upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the field, throughout the land of Egypt. 23 And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heavens. And Jehovah sent thunder and hail, and the fire came down to the ground. And Jehovah rained hail upon the land of Egypt. 24 And there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail, very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land of Egypt since it became a nation. 25 And the hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and beast. And the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field.

Considering the fact that “ALL” the cattle were killed in the previous curse it would take time for them to go and purchase new cattle and then bring them back to Egypt. How much time can be debated, so we will avoid that, but it takes some time for everyone to get new cattle, which they would have to have in order to have them killed in this next curse in chapter 9.

We read of the last and final curse of the first born of Egypt being killed. But in order to have cattle that are first born will mean they had to replace those that had been killed from the two previous curses and then once replaced to have time to breed them and for the cattle to have time to mature and give birth to new born or first born cattle. All of these things take time. The gestation period for a cow is just over 9 months.

Exo 12:29 And it happened at midnight Jehovah struck all the first-born in the land of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat on his throne to the first-born of the captive that was in the prison; also all the first-born of cattle.

We have also mentioned in a previous article on this same subject that Moses and Aaron were anti-types of the Two Witnesses as were Elijah and Elisha. Both Elijah and the Two witnesses do a work for 3 ½ years. We can then conclude that Moses and Aaron also worked for 3 ½ years.

The reason I have gone through all of this again is show you that it all takes place before they leave Egypt. It all took place before the Exodus. And it was before the Exodus that we are told that Moses was 80. Moses was 80 when he went to see Pharaoh, at least two years before the Exodus.

The question posed was based on the scripture in Deut 2:14 which states that when Moses was writing this it was the 38th year since the curse of the 40 years of wandering in the wilderness.

Deu 2:13 Now rise up and cross over the brook Zered. And we went over the brook Zered. 14 And the days in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we had come over the brook Zered were thirty-eight years; until the end of all the generation. The men of war were destroyed from the midst of the camp, as Jehovah swore to them. 15 And the hand of Jehovah was against them, to destroy them from among the camp, until they were consumed.

The question alone supposes that the 2 years at Mount Sinai are part of the 40 years total based on this statement of Moses. Indeed one can jump to this wrong conclusion by misapplying the information given to you in verse 7 before we even get to verse 14.

Deu 2:7 For Jehovah your God has blessed you in all the works of your hand. He knows your walking through this great wilderness. Jehovah your God has been with you these forty years. You have lacked nothing.

But in truth you have been given two pieces of information. Both of which total to this time when Moses is writing Deut. It has been 40 years since the Exodus. And it has also been 38 years since the curse of 40 years in the wilderness. Two different ways of arriving at this present time of which Moses is writing.

The two years at Mount Sinai are told to us in Numbers 10.

Num. 10:11 And on the twentieth of the second month, in the second year, the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle of the testimony. 12 And the sons of Israel pulled up stakes in their journeying out of the wilderness of Sinai. And the cloud rested in the wilderness of Paran. 13 And at the mouth of Jehovah they first pulled up stakes, by the hand of Moses.

Israel was at Mount Sinai after the Exodus for two years working on the Tabernacle and duties before they left from there to go up to the land. It was in the 2nd month they left Sinai. Now in the 5th month of Av they now receive the 40 years of wandering curse.

To suppose the two previous years are included in this new curse is ludicrous. They had not yet sinned, so why would Yehovah include time at Mount Sinai as part of their penalty that has now been given out. The truth is He has not. That 40 years wandering began on the 9th of Av and ended 40 years later. It was only after those 40 years expired that Israel crossed the Jordan at Passover time.

Num. 14:26 And Jehovah spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation, which murmurs against Me? I have heard the murmurings of the sons of Israel which they murmur against Me. 28 Say to them, As I live, says Jehovah, as you have spoken in My ears, so I will do to you. 29 Your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and all that were numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old and upward, who have murmured against Me, 30 you shall certainly not come into the land which I swore to make you live in, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, which you said should be a prey, I will bring them in and they shall know the land which you have despised. 32 But as for you, your bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your sons shall feed in the wilderness forty years and bear your fornications, until your dead bodies have wasted in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you searched the land, forty days, each day for a year you shall bear your iniquities, forty years; and you shall know My alienation. 35 I Jehovah have spoken; I will surely do it to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. They shall be destroyed in this wilderness, and there they shall die. 36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up an evil report upon the land, 37 even those men that brought up the evil report upon the land died by the plague before Jehovah. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of the men that went to spy out the land, lived. 39 And Moses told these sayings to all the sons of Israel. And the people mourned greatly.

So again back to Deut. 2:7 and 2:14. Read it again in Context. Context Context Context. Always read in context.

Moses, in Deuteronomy is summing everything up from the past 40 years starting at the Exodus up to this date in time. This is the 40th year since the Exodus and it is the 38th year of the curse.

Deu 2:1 Then we turned and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea, as Jehovah spoke to me. And we went around Mount Seir many days. 2 And Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 3 You have gone around this mountain long enough. Turn northward. 4 And command the people saying, You are to pass through the border of your brothers, the sons of Esau, who dwell in Seir. And they shall be afraid of you. Therefore be careful. 5 Do not meddle with them, for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot breadth, because I have given Mount Seir to Esau for a possession. 6 You shall buy food from them for silver, so that you may eat. And you shall also buy water from them for silver, so that you may drink. 7 For Jehovah your God has blessed you in all the works of your hand. He knows your walking through this great wilderness. Jehovah your God has been with you these forty years. You have lacked nothing. 8 And when we left our brothers the sons of Esau who lived in Seir, through the way of the Arabah from Elath, and from Ezion-geber, we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab.

Now Moses continues in the 40th year since the Exodus and the crossing of the Red Sea to tell about them crossing into Moab and taking of Sihon the Amorite king. This is still the 38th year since the curse was given to them. It is the same year.

Deu 2:17 Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 18 today you are passing over the border of Moab, even Ar. 24 Rise up, set out and cross over the river Arnon. Behold! I have given into your hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land. Begin to possess, and fight with him in battle. 34 And we took all his cities at that time and completely destroyed the men and the women and the little ones of every city. We left none to remain. 35 Only we plundered the cattle for ourselves, and we took the spoil of the cities. 36 From Aroer, by the brink of the river of Arnon, and the city by the river, even unto Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us. Jehovah our God delivered all to us. 37 Only to the land of the sons of Ammon you did not come, to any place of the river Jabbok, nor to the cities in the mountains, nor to whatever Jehovah our God denied us.

Then in the very same year, that is the 40th one since the Exodus and the 38th one since the curse, they then went up against Og and defeated him.

Deu 3:1 And we turned and went up the way to Bashan. And Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei.

It is after this that we read of Moses now beginning to pass the baton or the mantel on to Joshua. All of this is taking place in that same year. The 40th one since the Exodus and 38th one since the curse of wandering 40 years, of which they still had two more years to go.

Deu. 3:21 And I commanded Joshua at that time saying, Your eyes have seen all that Jehovah your God has done to these two kings. So Jehovah shall do to all the kingdoms where you pass. 22 You shall not fear them. For Jehovah your God shall fight for you. 23 And I begged Jehovah at that time saying, 24 O, Jehovah God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness, and Your mighty hand. For what God is there in heaven or in earth who can do according to Your works, and according to Your might? 25 I pray you, let me go over and see the good land beyond Jordan, this good hill-country and Lebanon. 26 But Jehovah was angry with me because of you and would not hear me. And Jehovah said to me, Let it be enough for you. Speak no more to Me of this matter. 27 Go up into the top of Pisgah and lift up your eyes westward and northward and southward and eastward, and behold it with your eyes. For you shall not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him, and strengthen him. For he shall go over before this people, and he shall cause them to inherit the land which you shall see. 29 So we stayed in the valley over against Beth-peor.

Moses then restates all the law to the people in the chapter from chapter 3 up until now in chapter 29. All of this again was done in that 40th year since the Exodus. We know this because of what Moses then says in Chapter 29 that he has led them these past 40 years. He only led them from that Passover of the Exodus. Those presumed 3 ½ years prior to this he was not leading them.

Deu 29:5 And I have led you forty years in the wilderness. Your clothes have not become old on you, and your shoe has not become old on your foot. 6 You have not eaten bread, neither have you drunk wine or strong drink, so that you might know that I am Jehovah your God. 7 And when you came to this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us to battle, and we struck them. 8 And we took their land and gave it for an inheritance to the Reubenites and to the Gadites and to the half tribe of Manasseh.

Everything we have read in Deuteronomy was read and summarized to the people of Israel by Moses in that 40th year since they crossed the Red Sea. Which was also the 38th year since the curse by Yehovah. But as we shared with you earlier Moses stated he was 80 when he first went to Pharaoh which we also showed you was approximately 3 ½ years before the Exodus.

We do not have all the answers as you can see. But Moses was reading this or saying this to the People of Israel and then once he had completed saying this to them in that 40th year since they crossed the Red Sea which was also the 38th year since the curse was given two years after they crossed the Red Sea; then in this same year Moses was charging Joshua and then again in this same 40th year since the Red Sea crossing Moses was to go up Mount Nebo and die in a valley near there at the age of 120 years.

Deu 31:1 And Moses went and spoke these words to all Israel. 2 And he said to them, I am a hundred twenty years old today. I can no more go out and come in. Also Jehovah has said to me, You shall not go over this Jordan. 14 And Jehovah said to Moses, Behold, your days are coming near to die. Call Joshua and present yourselves in the tabernacle of the congregation, and I shall charge him. And Moses and Joshua went. And they presented themselves in the tabernacle of the congregation. 15 And Jehovah appeared in the tabernacle in a pillar of a cloud. And the pillar of the cloud stood over the door of the tabernacle.

Deu 32:45 And Moses made an end of speaking all these words to all Israel. 46 And he said to them, Set your hearts to all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your sons to observe and to do, all the words of this Law. 47 For it is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life. And by this Word you shall prolong your days in the land where you go over Jordan, there to possess it. 48 And Jehovah spoke to Moses that same day, saying, 49 Go up into Mount Abarim, to Mount Nebo in the land of Moab, which is opposite Jericho; and behold the land of Canaan which I am giving to the sons of Israel for a possession. 50 And die in the mountain where you go up, and be gathered to your people, as Aaron your brother died in Mount Hor and was gathered to his people, 51 because you sinned against Me among the sons of Israel at the Waters of Strife in Kadesh, in the wilderness of Zin, because you did not sanctify Me in the midst of the sons of Israel. 52 Yet you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there to the land which I am giving to the sons of Israel. 1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab to the mountain of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah that is opposite Jericho. And Jehovah showed him all the land of Gilead, to Dan, 2 and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim and Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, to the furthest sea, 3 and the south, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the city of palm trees, to Zoar. 4 And Jehovah said to him, This is the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, I will give it to your seed. I have caused you to see it with your eyes, but you shall not go over there. 5 And Moses the servant of Jehovah died there in the land of Moab, according to the Word of Jehovah. 6 And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, opposite Beth-peor. But no man knows of his grave to this day. 7 And Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died. His eye was not dim, nor had he lost any of his natural strength.

From all of this we can state that Moses died in his 120th year, which was two years before the children of Israel crossed the Jordan to go into the Promised Land. That year that Moses died was the 38th year since Yehovah placed the curse on them on the 9th of Av. That same year that Moses died was the 40th year since they crossed the Red Sea.

Joshua and the children of Israel would have stayed where they were for another two years before crossing the Jordan. This would have been at the end of the 40th year of the curse from Yehovah, which began 2 years after they crossed the Red Sea. The year Israel went into the Promised Land was around Passover 2500 years after the Creation of Adam, which was a Jubilee year. The Year they entered the Promised Land was the year 1337 B.C.

 


Triennial Torah Cycle

We continue this weekend with our regular Triennial Torah Reading Cycle 

Gen 5    |    Josh 12-14     |    Ps 9     |     Mat 7:13-8:34

The Genealogy of Adam (Genesis 5)

Someone once said that the most boring parts of the Bible are “the begats,” the genealogies. To most they are dry, uninformative lists of people who largely had no role in the narrative of Scripture. But genealogies can be quite instructive. Generally speaking, genealogies serve several functions. First, they provide a chronological framework. Second, the genealogies provide a history of the persons through whom God accomplishes His work. Through the genealogies we can see how God fulfilled his promises to certain people, such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David. But the greatest function in this regard is to provide a genealogy of Jesus Christ, the One through whom we have reconciliation with God and by whom came the means to fulfill our incredible human potential.

Third, the genealogies can provide instruction and, sometimes, even show apparent divine involvement. When we examine the meaning of the roots of the names in the Genesis 5 genealogy, we find something interesting. Some of the roots are still debated by linguists, but most are settled. Adam comes from a root meaning “red earth” or “man,” who came from the earth. Seth comes from a root meaning “appointed.” Enosh comes from a root meaning “mortal.” Cainan, or more properly Kenan, comes from a root meaning “spear” or “sorrow.” Mahalalel comes from two roots meaning “praised” or “blessed” and El, “God,” and thus means “blessed of God” or “blessed God.” Jared comes from a root meaning “descend” or “come down.” Enoch comes from a suggested root meaning to “inaugurate ,”dedicate”, start up,” or even to “train” or “teach.” Methuselah comes from two roots meaning either “man” and “weapon” or perhaps “death” and “shall bring,” thus possibly meaning “his death shall bring.” Lamech comes from a suggested root meaning “powerful” or “wild” or perhaps “lamenting” or “despairing.” And Noah, as is well-known, comes from a root meaning “to bring rest, relief or comfort.” Putting all the names together and using the possible meanings that fit, we have, “Man [is] appointed mortal sorrow, [but] the blessed God shall come down teaching, [and] his death shall bring [those] despairing rest.” While we should not place too much emphasis on this, especially since the root meanings are not certain, it is interesting nonetheless.

 

Summary of Defeated Kings (Joshua 12)

Chapter 12 is a summary of all of the kings defeated by Moses and Joshua in the conquering of the Promised Land. Most of the cities mentioned were described in the original accounts in Numbers 21:21-35 (Joshua 12:1-6), Joshua 6-8 (12:9), Joshua 10 (12:10-16) and Joshua 11 (12:17-24).

The latter portion, on Joshua’s conquests, appears to be an itemized list of what we previously read in Joshua 11:16-20. Baal Gad (12:7) is in the northern extremity of the land, north of the city that eventually became known as Dan. Mount Halak is in the southern extremity, south of Beersheba. Hormah and Arad (verse 14) are not described in Joshua 10. They are south of the other cities in that chapter. These names do appear in Numbers 21:1-3 as people defeated by the Israelites under Moses. The area is again described in Judges 1:16-17. Geder (Joshua 12:13) and Adullam (verse 15) were not mentioned in Joshua 10 either, but are in the same general area as the others in chapter 10.
Bethel (12:16) was a town adjacent to Ai. Its inhabitants unsuccessfully aided Ai against the Israelites (Joshua 8:17), and some defeat of the city may have occurred at that time. But a later destruction is recorded in Judges 1:22-26, complete with spies and a secret entrance into the city.

Tappuah (verse 17) is not mentioned elsewhere as being conquered, but in Joshua 16:8 and 17:7-8 it is described as a border city between Ephraim and Manasseh. The northern towns listed in Joshua 12:17-24 were probably part Jabin’s alliance described in chapter 11, the kings and cities of which were merely summarized in 11:2-3.

The Unconquered Land and Eastern Inheritances (Joshua 13)
Not all of the land was conquered in the previously described wars. There were still sections, such as the land of the Philistines in what is now known as the Gaza Strip, which the Israelites did not yet possess.

The land was divided among the tribes, but not all of the Canaanites were driven out. More details are given in the book of Judges (see Judges 1). So, too, are some of the reasons for God not driving them out (compare Judges 2; 3:1-6). The Israelites lacked the diligence, zeal and spirit to obey God, and God used the Canaanites to test them. In fact, the entire book of Judges is a chronicle of Israel’s failures in this regard. Many victories (e.g., Jerusalem, 2 Samuel 5:6-10) waited 400 years until the days of David.

Caleb Asks for His Inheritance (Joshua 14)
The initial division of the land occurs while the Israelites still have their headquarters at Gilgal (verse 6). Whether Caleb had been given more specific promises than were recorded in Numbers 14:24 and Deuteronomy 1:36 (verses 9, 12), or whether he was now deciding which land he wanted, he now steps forward to claim those promises—Hebron, the burial place of Abraham, and the very land inhabited by the giants who had disturbed the other spies so much (Numbers 13:30-33). Caleb was 40 years old one year after the Exodus (Joshua 14:7). And 45 years have passed since then, making Caleb now 85 years old (verse 10). So, since the time from the Exodus to entering the Promised Land was 40 years, six years have elapsed since the entry into the Promised Land. Even though elderly, Caleb is no more afraid of the Anakim now than he was at age 40.

Psalm 9 and Psalm 10 may have initially been composed as one single psalm. “A number of indicators point in that direction. Ps 10 is the only psalm from Ps 3 to 32 that has no superscription, and the Hebrew text of the two psalms together appears to reflect an incomplete (or broken) acrostic structure” (Zondervan NIV Study Bible, note on Psalm 9). “Acrostic refers to the poetic practice of opening each line, verse, or stanza with a different letter of the alphabet. The acrostics are sometimes complete (Ps. 25; 34; 37; 111; 119; 145). Psalms 9 and 10 form an incomplete acrostic” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary, introduction to Psalms). The Greek Septuagint translation of the Hebrew Bible treats them as a single psalm.

“Ps 9 is predominantly praise (by the king) for God’s deliverance from hostile nations…. It concludes with a short prayer from God’s continuing righteous judgments (see v. 4) on the haughty nations. Ps 10 is predominantly prayer against the rapacity of unscrupulous people within the realm—as arrogant and wicked in their dealings with the ‘weak’ (v. 2) as the nations were in their attacks on Israel (vv. 2-11 can serve equally as a description of both). The conjunction of these two within a single psalm is not unthinkable since the attacks of ‘the wicked’ (9:5; 10:4), whether from within or from without, on the godly community are equally threatening to true Israel…. Probably Ps 9-10 came to be separated for the purpose of separate liturgical [i.e., religious worship service] use” (Zondervan, note on Psalm 9).

“To {the tune of} [a now unknown song] ‘Death of the Son’” could be the meaning of the Hebrew phrase almuth labben in the superscription of Psalm 9, as in the NKJV and NIV. However there are other possibilities (see Expositor’s Bible Commentary, footnote on verse 1).

David says that those who seek God are those who know His name and put their trust in Him (verse 10). Those who reject God come to experience Him in a different way: “The Lord is known by the judgment He executes” (verse 16). David includes words relating to judgment six times in the psalm. God judges individuals (verse 3), nations (verses 5, 19) and the entire world (verse 8). God judges so that individuals and nations may learn that they are but men (verse 20) who live under the authority of the Creator. God has the power to destroy wicked men (verses 5-6) and to advance the cause of righteous men (verses 8-10, 12, 19). God’s righteous judgment is a major factor in leading the humble to seek Him.

David, we should further note, also points out that the wicked bring about their own destruction (verses 15-16), just as was pointed out in 7:15-16. After making this point, the end of Psalm 9:16 notes: “Meditation. Selah.” While the word translated “meditation” may be a musical notation, it could well be meant literally. Perhaps in conjunction with the musical term selah, which seems to indicate a pause or interlude, the idea here is to stop and think about what has just been sung. For all who would pursue a life of sin, it should be remembered that your sins will catch up with you. As Numbers 32:23 tells us, “Take note…be sure your sin will find you out.”

Psalm 9:17 in the NKJV says that the wicked are headed for “hell.” The Hebrew word here is sheol, which the NIV correctly translates as “the grave.” (See our free booklet Heaven & Hell: What Does the Bible Really Teach?) The righteous, on the other hand, are brought “up from the gates of death” (verse 13) to praise God “in the gates of the daughter of Zion” (verse 14). Besides speaking of present deliverance, this seems to anticipate the future actual resurrection of the saints and their dwelling with Christ in Jerusalem.

Verses 19-20 call on God to act in accordance with His righteous judgment in the sight of all nations, foreshadowing the end of the age when God will do just that.

Matthew 7:13-8:34

7:13 Enter ye in at the strait gate
The question at this point is, “Has God indicated to us which the straight and correct gate is, and what the broad ways of destruction are — or do we simply pick what sounds good to us?”
Of course the answer is that He has given us the Torah as our guideline to define sin, how to live, how to sanctify ourselves, and how to learn more of Him. It is this very obedience that will produce the affliction and the hard pressure upon us by the world and its ways.
7:16 Ye shall know them by their fruits
What are these “fruit” we shall know them by? They are certainly not “miraculous manifestations,” as Satan and his angels can and do perform miracles as God allows. Nor are the fruits simply “good results” such as healed marriages, release from addictions, etc. Even secular, pagan and atheistic groups and cults can and do get good results.
The key here is that the fruits are coming from “the tree.” What is the tree? In Judaism the Torah is called the Tree of Life. The phrase “to bring forth fruit” in a Hebraic spiritual context, refers to deeper spiritual insight and teachings that are manifested in the physical world and visible to the world and others.
The question is, are the fruits (teachings) true to the Torah, or are they in opposition to it, as Yeshua warned about at the beginning of this sermon? (5:17-20) As with any good teacher, Yeshua is “closing the loop” to his argument, summarizing with what He began with. This is expounded on (with a warning) in the next section:
7:21-29 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord …
These verses have often been used by some groups to point a finger at other “apostate” or “more liberal” groups who “claim the name of Christ.” But what is Yeshua’s criteria for those who fall into this group?
At the beginning of this midrash (Matthew 5:17-20), Yeshua had given three examples to make a point about Torah still being in effect.
He did not come to do away with the Torah
This included even the tiniest part (jot and tittle) of the Torah
Those who taught otherwise would be “least in the Kingdom”
Here at the conclusion of His midrash, He again shows in three different ways, who falls in this category of those, “He does not know.”
He describes them as follows:
Matthew 7:21 – Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 7:23 – And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Matthew 7:26 – And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Regarding the first, Matthew 7:21– At the time Yeshua spoke, where was the Father’s will to be found? Only in the Torah (and its extension through the rest of the Tenakh).
Concerning, what He next says in verse 23 — How is iniquity (sin) defined even in the “New Testament?” It is the breaking of Torah:
1 John 3:4 – Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.
The word for “iniquity” in verse 23 is “lawlessness,” from the Greek anomia. Yeshua clearly states that those who practice lawlessness will not enter into His kingdom. What “law” are these people violating with their “lawlessness?” As it has been clearly shown, the context of Matthew 5:17 through 7:29 is that of “religious law” – the Torah.
Lastly, in verse 26, when Yeshua, says, “these sayings of mine,” He is in no way stating that “His commandments” now replace those of the Father’s. Such a statement would immediately disqualify Him as being the Messiah. Yet, this doctrine (usually in a roundabout way) is taught in many places today. Yeshua’s sayings are those of the Father – they are One. If you have heard Him you have heard the Father, and vice-versa. He makes this clear throughout all four gospel accounts.
Paul also reminds us that this does not change for believers in Messiah. The Torah remains:
Romans 3:31 – Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.
7:26 every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not …
Yeshua concludes His midrash about the Torah (that began in Matthew 5:17-20) with a warning to those listening.
7:28-29 For he taught them as one having authority
Yeshua is teaching and making definitive rulings on the Torah. Rabbis in His day would typically teach “in the name of” of another Rabbi who preceded them — even if the other Rabbi was long since deceased. Yeshua taught in His own name. The “authority” He has, stems from the fact that He IS the Torah in the flesh — as John’s Gospel says in its Hebrew context:
From John 1 – In the beginning was the Torah, and the Torah was with God and the Torah was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made … In him was life and that life was the light of men … And the Torah became flesh and made his dwelling among us.
At the time John wrote this, the term “Word” was equated both with God and with the Torah. In fact the last book of the Torah, is called Devarim (Deuteronomy) and means “words.”
Messiah’s Miracles

 

Matthew 8:1-34

Yeshua heals a leper and instructs him to follow the commandment of Moses in order to witness to the priests of his healing.
Yeshua healed him with only a touch.
Next Yeshua heals the centurion’s servant with only a word. The Centurion had a great understanding of the power of authority and our Messiah actually marveled at his understanding and his faith. He then prophesies of people coming from the east and west to sit down with the Patriarchs in the reign of the heavens while some of the sons of the reign shall be cast out.

Yeshua then heals Peter’s mother in law, again with a touch. He cast out demons and healed the sick.

Yeshua rebuked the winds and the sea during the storm that was tossing the boat in which He and His taught ones were in. The disciples were astonished at this.

Yeshua was met and challenged by demons as they possessed a man. Yeshua commanded them to go out of the man and cast them into a herd of pigs which then ran off a cliff into the sea and they died in the water.

1 Comment

  1. Robert

    I see from the verses on Moses that people do assume this or that. There is a lot of assumptions going around.

    One question Numbers 10v11, it says the second year. But doesn’t this just mean at the end of the 1st year now its the 2nd second or
    They built the Tabernacle for 2 full years? Wouldn’t that put them in their 3rd year?

    Also, I do understand that Israel 40 year sentence doesn’t include those first years building the Tabernacles

    Also Moses isn’t listed as 80 until chapter 7 in Exodus so time must of pasted from the Burning Bush until that moment.

    This is so rewarding to finally understand the texts and clues hidden within the Torah. Thank you

    Reply

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