Day 31 Reading Schedule : Numbers 24-28

Numbers 24: Jacob's Star and Balaam's Prophecy 

[Summary]

This chapter records the conclusion of Balaam's oracles that continued in the previous chapter. Balak's attempt to curse Israel through Balaam ends in failure, confirming Israel's blessing instead. When Balaam prophesied only blessings for Israel in the third oracle (verses 1-9), Balak became angry and rebuked Balaam (verses 10-14). However, Balaam confessed that he could only speak the words that God had permitted him to speak. He ended up returning home after prophecies about the Messiah who would appear in the future and the destruction of the nations of Canaan (verses 15-25).

Having failed to curse Israel twice, Balaam now curses Israel twice again in the text. However, this curse, like the previous two prophecies, is not a curse, but rather a message of blessing for Israel. We come to realize that there can be no curse on the chosen people who are with God.

Numbers 25: The Incident of Baal Peor 

[Summary]

God commanded the Israelites to never imitate the customs of the Canaanites. This chapter records the Israelites being judged for disobeying God’s command and following the customs of Canaan from the beginning. When the Israelites arrived at Shittim and saw a Moabite woman committing fornication and worshipping idols, Phinehas, who was enraged, killed the adulterous couple. Moses blessed him to become the high priest (verses 1-15). Because of this, God commanded Moses to attack Midian, who had caused the Israelites to commit fornication (verses 16-18).

Earlier, Balak, the king of Moab, invited Balaam to try to curse Israel. Although the attempt failed, the aftermath of this led to the temptation of foreign religions among the Israelites. Here in the text, there is a terrible incident where Israel was deceived by foreign religions, worshipped idols, and eventually committed fornication with foreign women, incurring great wrath. Israel had to suffer another failure just before crossing the Jordan River.

Numbers 26 : The Second Census of Israel 

[Summary]

Before leaving Mount Sinai, Moses conducted a census of the Israelites at God’s command. However, many people died because they sinned against God, and the first generation of the Exodus was unable to enter Canaan. Therefore, the first census became meaningless. Therefore, God conducted a second census in this chapter. Moses conducted a census based on the males twenty years of age and older from each tribe of Israel (verses 1-4). The first census of the tribe of Reuben, starting with the eldest tribe, resulted in a total of 601,730 (verses 5-51). God divided the land according to the number of the tribes of Israel (verses 52-56) and did not give an inheritance to the tribe of Levi (verses 57-65).

After the Cozbi incident, God commanded Moses to count the population of the Israelites again. The purpose of this was to take a final count of the people and distribute the inheritance before the Israelites crossed the Jordan River and entered Canaan. It was indeed 40 years since the first census of the Israelites.

Numbers 27 : Women's Inheritance Law 

[Summary]

Following the incident where God fairly divided the land according to the population size of each tribe, this chapter deals with the incident of land inheritance. On the other hand, it mentions the succession of the Israelite leaders who followed Moses. When Zelophehad's daughters asked for their inheritance rights, God granted them (vv. 1-11). This was a groundbreaking event considering the customs of the Near East at the time, which did not recognize women's inheritance rights. On the other hand, when Moses was informed of his imminent death, he asked God to appoint a successor (vv. 12-17). God designated Joshua, the son of Nun, as Moses' successor, and Moses laid his hands on him in front of the entire congregation and established him as a leader (vv. 18-23).

In the previous chapter, we looked at the records of the lottery for the population count and territorial distribution of the Israelites. However, one problem arose at this time. Namely, the lottery was only for men over 30 years old. Therefore, a family with no male descendants but only daughters was not allowed to receive the land of Canaan as an inheritance. This was the case for the daughters of Zelophehad, who belonged to the tribe of Manasseh. The text shows an example of how such an exceptional case was handled wisely.

Numbers 28: Regulations on Offerings and Feasts 

[Overview]

Chapters 2 through 29 contain regulations on various sacrifices and feasts that the Israelites were to observe. The fact that these contents, which had already been mentioned several times, were re-appeared is to emphasize once again that the Israelites should live a God-centered life before entering Canaan. God told Moses about the regulations on the daily burnt offering, Sabbath offering, and New Moon burnt offering that the Israelites were to offer (verses 1-15). He also established regulations on the Passover related to the Exodus and the Feast of Weeks offering of the first ripe fruits as seasonal sacrifices (verses 16-31).

After the population count of the Israelites on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan, God had Moses teach them again about the feasts and regulations that the Israelites were to observe when entering Canaan. Chapters 30 through 40 here are all teachings about ordinances and seasons.