Numbers 15 / Psalm 42

Numbers 15

1 - 31 Various Offerings

Here is another list of offerings - burnt offerings, offerings of well-being. My notes say there is irony here - "this generation will not, in fact 'come into the land.'"

32 - 36 Penalty for Violating the Sabbath

A cautionary tale. A man is stoned for gathering sticks on the Sabbath. (The Lord told Moses to do it.) My notes say he was stoned so as not to disturb the sanctity of the camp. (This reminds me of the Pharisees getting mad at Jesus and the disciples for picking wheat on the Sabbath. I can see why they were upset).

37 - 41 Fringes on Garments

The Lord commands the Isrealites to make fringes on the corners of their garments to remind them to remember and follow the commandments. (I saw some orthodox Jews in NYC who still do this).

Psalm 42

Book II (Psalm 42 - 72)

Looking for God's Help in Distress (My notes: An individual prayer for help by one who is cut off from the presence of God and oppressed by enemies).

1 - 8 The psalm starts out with a great image: "As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God." The Psalmist is very discouraged: "My tears have been my food day and night" (3a).

9 - 11 The psalmist feels God has forgotten him and asks why. He ends with a commitment to praise God. "Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my help and my God" (11b).

Numbers 14 / Psalm 41

Numbers 14

1 - 12 The People Rebel

After the men give a bad report, the Isrealites become upset. Then they complain to Moses, and they want to go back to Egypt (Wow, they prefer bondage under the pharoah to fighting!). Moses reminds the congregation how good the land is and that "If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey." He tells them not to rebel against the Lord. The people threaten to stone him. Later the Lord appears before Moses in the tent. "How long will this people despise me?" He promises to strike down the people in the land.

13 - 25 Moses Intercedes for the People

Moses suggests to God that if He forgives the people and helps them, everyone will see how great the Lord is. The Lord forgives them, but says that the people who saw the previous miracles and didn't obey him won't see the new land. He tells them to go to the wilderness.

26 - 45 An Attempted Invasion

They try to enter the land from the south, but fail.

Psalm 41

Assurance of God's Help and a Plea for Healing

1 - 3 The Psalmist praises the Lord for helping the sick and poor. Happy are those who consider the poor" - starts out like a Beatitude.

4 - 11 Many people believe that their illness is God's punishment and have given the psalmist a hard time.

12 - 13 But the psalmist knows that God is pleased with him because the enemy hasn't prevailed.

Verse 13 is a doxology for the end of the first book of psalms! "Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen."

Numbers 13 / Psalm 40

Numbers 13

1 - 24 Spies Sent into Canaan

The Lord tells Moses to send a recon mission into Canaan, which he is giving to the Israelites. Moses sends the head of each tribe.

25 - 33 The Report of the Spies

Forty days later the spies return and tell of a land of milk and honey - but there are strong men there. Caleb suggests they occupy the land even though they're like grasshoppers to the giants in the land.

Psalm 40

Thanksgiving for Deliverance and Prayer for Help

1 - 3 The psalmist praises the lord for his deliverance. "I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry" (1).

4 - 8 Trust in the Lord! "Happy are those who make the Lord their trust, who do not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after false gods" (4)

9 - 12 The psalmist hasn't withheld the good news, so he asks the Lord not withhold His blessings.

13 - 17 The psalmist asks the Lord to be pleased with him and to strike his enemies. He wishes God to help those who seek him: "But may all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you; may those who love your salvation say continually, "Great is the Lord!" (16)

Numbers 12 / Psalm 39

Numbers 12

1 - 16 Aaron and Miriam Jealous of Moses

Best joke in the Bible so far: "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth" (3).

Miriam and Aaron (Moses' sister and brother) are upset because Moses married a Chushite woman (Zipporah). They think that the Lord could be "speaking" to them to. The Lord tells the three of them to have a meeting. He clears up that He's speaking to Moses face to face. After the Lord leaves, Miriam becomes leprous. Moses asks the Lord to heal her, but the Lord asks her to be shunned by the camp for seven days. Which they do.

Psalm 39

The Vanity of Life

1 - 3 My notes: "The lament of a mortally ill person who at first had resolved to be silently submissive." "I was silent and still; I held my peace to no avail; my distress grew worse . . " (2).

4 - 7 The grief becomes too much and the psalmist laments how brief and meaningless life is.

7 - 9 The psalmist remains hopeful: "And now, O Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in you" (7).

10 - 13 The psalmist both accepts illness and hopes for healing.

Numbers 11 / Psalm 38

Numbers 11

1 - 15 Complaining in the Desert

The people start grumbling and the Lord hears it and becomes wrathful. The people talk to Moses who is able to calm the Lord. Meanwhile, the "foreign elements" eat all the meat.

16 - 30 The Seventy Elders

The Lord wishes to talk to Moses and seventy elders. There is trouble when there are complaints that Eldad and Medad are prophesying. Moses says, "Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all my people were prophets! Would that the Lord might bestow his spirit on them all!"

31 - 35 The Quails

God sends quail upon the wind, but "while the meat was still between their teeth," God becomes wrathful again and struck the people with a plague. The "greedy people" are buried there.

Psalm 38

Prayer for Wisdom and Forgiveness (of an Afflicted Sinner)

The psalmist asks for mercy for his sins. The psalmist's sin has caused him physical pain.

"Do not forsake me, O Lord; O my God, do not be far from me; make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation" (21 - 22).

Numbers 10 / Psalm 37

Numbers 10

1 - 10 The Silver Trumpets

God tells Moses to make silver trumpets for making and breaking camp. He tells them to blow them on days of celebration, festivals, etc. See how important music is to a worship service?

11 - 28 Departure from Sinai

Here begins the journey from Sinai to the Plains of Moab. They leave on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year. We see the order in which they travel.

29 - 32 Hobab as Guide

Moses offers Hobab the job, but he's coy and Moses has to coax him.

33 - 36 Into the Desert

They follow the cloud of the Lord for three days out of the mountains.

Psalm 37

The Fate of Sinners and the Reward of the Just

This psalm is about the problem of evil. We should reject evil and trust in the Lord. This would be a good psalm to read when I'm discouraged.

For example: "Turn from evil and do good, that you may inhabit the land forever. For the Lord loves justice and does not abandon the faithful" (27-28)

Numbers 9 / Psalm 36

Numbers 9

1 - 14 The Passover at Sinai

It's been a year and a month since Moses and the gang settled in Sinai. They celebrate the second passover before setting out on the march.

15 - 23 The Cloud and the Fire

A cloud covers the tabernacle (at night it's a fire). When the cloud lifts, the Isrealites set out on their march. When the cloud stops, they camp.

Psalm 36

Human Wickedness and Divine Providence

1 - 4 "Sin speaks to the wicked deep in their hearts" (Sin speaks to us all, but the wicked listen, hear, and obey . . .)

• don't fear God (1)
• flatter themselves that they won't be found out (2)
• speak mischief and have ceased to act wisely and do good (3)
• plot mischeif, are a no-good path, and don't reject evil (4)

5 - 12 God's steadfast love extends to the heavens; his righteousness is like mountains; God's love is steadfast. A good prayer: "O continue your steadfast love to those who know you."

Numbers 8 / Psalm 35

Numbers 8

1 - 4 The Lamps Set Up

Still planning on the move from Sinai. The Lord shows Moses how Aaron should set up the lamps.

5 - 22 Purification of the Levitesdo

This sounds a lot like Baptism to me, especially "the water of remission"(7) the cleanse one's sins.

23 - 26 Age Limits for Levitical Service

A Levite man will work in the meeting tent from age 25. After 50, he will still share responsiblities in the meeting tent, but will no longer do the work.

Psalm 35

Prayer for Help against Unjust Enemies My notes also state this is a "lament for a person betrayed by friends."

1 - 8 The psalmist prays for to overcome evil. Good image: "Make them like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the Lord driving them on" (5).

9 - 10 The psalmist gives thanks in anticipation of victory: "Then I will rejoice in the Lord, exult in God's salvation" (9)

11 - 16 People that the psalmist thought were friends have turned against him: "Yet when I stumbled they gathered with glee, gathered against me like strangers" (15).

17 - 21 The psalmist prays for punishment for his betrayers: " . . . Save me from roaring beasts, my precious life from lions" (17b).

22 - 26 The last part again prays for the enemies' destruction: "Put to shame and confound all who relish my misfortune. Clothe with shame and disgrace those who lord it over me" (26).

My notes: "The psalm may appear vindictive, but one must keep in mind that the psalmist is praying for public redress of a public injustice. There is at this time no belief in an afterlife in which justice will be redressed." (That didn't bother me as much as the feeling that the psalmist seems to be making a deal with God: If you smite my enemies, then I'll praise you.")

Numbers 7 / Psalm 34

Numbers 7

1 - 89 Offerings of the Leaders

What we have here is a list of all the offerings the Leaders of the 12 Tribes of Isreal made. Most interesting to me is the last verse: "When Moses went into the tent of meeting to speak with the Lord, he would hear the voice speaking to him above the mercy seat that was on the ark of the covenant from between the two cherubim; thus it spoke to him." Angels are there too.

Psalm 34

I Will Teach You the Fear of the Lord

It also contains this note: "Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away." Also, "from each line beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In the psalm one letter is missing and two are in reverse order.

1 - 4 The psalmist praises the Lord. "I will bless the Lord at all times; praise will be always in my mouth" (2).

5 - 11 The psalmist states that he looked to the Lord, and other should do the same. God will make them powerful. "Look to God that you may be radiant with joy and your faces may not blush with shame" (6).

12 - 23 God will give them protection. "No on is condemned whose refuge is God" (23).

Numbers 6 / Psalm 33

Numbers 6

1 - 22 Laws Concerning Nazirites

Here are the rules for dedicating one's life to the Lord as a Nazirite. My notes: "Nazirite: from the Hebrew word nazir, meaing 'set apart as sacred, dedicated, vowed.' The nazirite vow could be either for a limited period or for life. Those bound by this vow had to abstain from all the products of the grapevine, from cutting or shaving their hair, and from contact with a corpse. They were regarded as men of God like the prophets." Examples of Nazirites: Samson (the hair! natch!) and John the Baptist. My notes also state that at the time of Christ it was common too take the nazirite vow for a limited time. (See Acts 18: 18 for Paul's vow)

22 - 27 The Priestly Blessing

This is how the Lord wishes the Isrealites to be blessed (Funny, I always thought this was the Irish Blessing. . . ):

The Lord bless you and keep you!
The Lord let his face shine upon you, and be gracious to you!
The Lord look upon you kindly and give you peace!

Psalm 33

Praise of God's Power and Providence

1 - 5 Let's praise God through music! (This might be a good psalm to open our A.T. Bible Study).
6 - 7 God created the heavens just by breathing a word (See John 1:1 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

8 - 22 God is in control: "The Lord foils the plans of nations, frustrates the designs of peoples" (10). God has a plan: "But the plan of the Lord stands forever, wise designs through all generations" (11). Bucking against that plan only leads to unhappiness: "Happy the nation whose God is the Lord, the people chosen as his very own" (12).

My notes: "The greatness of human beings consists in God's choosing them as a special people and their faithful response." "For in God our hearts rejoice; in your holy name we trust" (21).

Numbers 5 / Psalm 32

Numbers 5

1 - 4 Unclean Persons

Anyone who is impure or who has had contact with the impure must be put outside the camp.

5 - 10 Confession and Restitution

My notes say this is a supplement to Leviticus 6.1-7 in case the injured party has died or there's no next of kin.

11 - 31 Concerning an Unfaithful Wife

Here's what to do when a woman is suspected of adultry: Bring her to the priest and offer a cereal offering of jealousy. The priest will have the woman stand before the Lord and place the offering in his hands. If she is guilty, the water of bitterness will have a negative effect on her body; if she's truthful, the water will have no effect. My notes say the symptoms in 21 describe a prolapsed uterus. The punishment for the guilty is the inability to bear children.

Hmn, let's move on to the psalm . . .

Psalm 32

Remission of Sin

1 - 2 Happy are those who are forgiven

3 - 7 "As long as I kept silent, my bones wasted away. At one time the psalmist was stubborn, and a victim of his sin, but once he opened himself he My notes: "Sin here, as often in the Bible, is not only the personal act of rebellion against God but also the consequences of that act - frustration and waning of vitality.

8 - 11 The psalmist wishes to teach others about the stupidity of sin. "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you just; exult, all you upright in heart."

Numbers 4 / Psalm 31

Numbers 4

1 - 20 The Kohathites

The Lord tells Moses to separate the Kohathites from the others so they can look over "the most holy things" Then how to set up the tent of meeting is described.

21 - 33 The Gershonites and Merarites

Here is the census of the Gershonites and Merarites aged 30 to 50 and the items they are to transport.

34 - 49 Census of the Levites

Here are the stats!

Psalms 31

Prayer for Distress and Thanksgiving for Escape

1 - 9 The psalmist puts total trust in God. "You are my rock and my fortress" (4)

6: "Into your hands I commend my spirit" Jesus' last words. My notes say that Stephen also alludes to this verse in Acts 7:59 as he is attacked by enemies. Pretty neat to study the same psalm that meant to much to Jesus and the early Christians.

10 - 19 The Psalmist asks God for mercy and reaffirms his trust in God. 13: "I am like a shattered dish" - that's feeling pretty useless.

20 - 25 The Psalmist is certain of God's help and prays thanksgiving in anticipation. 25: "Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord."

Numbers 3 / Psalm 30

Numbers 3

1 - 4 The Sons of Aaron

Aaron's sons: Nadab (first-born), Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (remember what happened to Nadab & Abihu in Lev. 10).

5 - 13 Levites in Place of the First-born

They're in charge of the service, furnishings, etc. at the tabernacle.

14 - 51 Census and Ransom of First-born

A Census of the Levites is described as well as their duties. My notes: The Levites are substitutes for first-born males. Since the Levite could redeem only one firstborn male, a ransom of five shekels each had to be paid.

Psalm 30

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

1 - 4 The psalmist praises and thanks for deliverance and restoration.

5 - 6 The psalmist invites other to join in "for divine anger lasts but a moment, but divine favor lasts a lifetime."

7 - 11 The psalmist remembers the time before deliverance.

12 - 13 The psalmist returns to praise and thanksgiving: "With my whole being I sing praise to you."

Numbers 2 / Psalm 29

Numbers 2

The Order of Encampment and Marching

The Lord tells Moses and Aaron how the Isrealites should encamp and the order in which they should march. (If only we had this kind of authority during drill band rehearsal . . . .)

Psalms 29

Glory to God!

1 - 2 The psalmist ascribes to the Lord glory and strength

3 - 9 The Lord is over the water, His voice is powerful (and breaks trees), and flashes forth flames of fire. The Lord's voice shakes the wilderness.

10 - 11 "The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with peace" (11).

Numbers 1 / Psalm 28

Numbers

My notes: "(Numbers) continues the story of that journey, begun in Exodus, and describes briefly the experiences of the Israelites for a period of eighty years, from the end of their encampment at Sinai to their arrival at the border of the Promised Land. Numerous legal ordinances are interspersed in the account, making the book a combination of law and history.

Numbers 1

1 - 3 The Census

God commands Moses to take a census, dividing the Israelite males into clans.

4 - 19 Moses' Assistants

Moses gets a list of the men from each tribe who will help him with the census.

20 - 46 Count of the Twelve Tribes

Here's the list, divided by each tribe!

47 - 54 Levites Omitted in the Census

God says the Levites are to carry the Dwelling of the Commandments - NIV says the tabernacle of the Testimony (the Ark of the Covenant?). My notes say this was for military purposes and a separate census was mad for them in Numbers 3.

Psalm 28

Petition and Thanksgiving

1 - 5 The psalmist doesn't want to be dragged off with the wicked.

6 - 7 Good lines: "Blessed be the Lord who has heard the sound of my pleading. The Lord is my strength and my shield, in whom my heart trusted and found help. So my heart rejoices; with my song I praise God."

8 The psalmist asks the Lord to save His people. My notes: "salvation is more than individual, affecting all the people and their God-given leader."

Leviticus 27 / Psalm 27

Leviticus 27

Votive Offerings and Dedications

The last chapter seems to bring a bunch of rules that either didn't fit before or were left out. My notes state that a lot of these rules apply to the value of slaves.

Psalm 27

Trust in God

1 - 3 The psalmist expresses hope that God will bring rescue

4 - 6 The psalmist expresses shelter from his enemies

7 - 10 Good line: "Even if my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me in."

11 - 14 A good stanza about patience: "Wait for the Lord, take courage; be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!"

Leviticus 26 / Psalm 26

Leviticus 26

1 - 13 Rewards for Obedience

God promises prosperity, safety, and His Presence if His commandments are kept.

14 - 46 Penalties for Disobedience

Terrible woes, disaster, hunger, and more are promised if the commandments are not kept.

Psalm 26

Prayer of Innocence

1 - 3 The Psalmist asks for justice since he is blameless and faithful. My notes: "Like a priest washing before approaching the altar, the psalmist seeks God's protection upon entering the temple."

4 - 8 The Psalmist reminds God of his past faithfulness.

9 - 12 The Psalmist asks for mercy and separation from those who aren't faithful.