Números 33
Warren Wiersbe · Citado em PreceptAustin
Números 33
Wiersbe - this chapter is more than a list of places; it’s a testimony to the sovereignty of God in dealing with His people. Dr. A. T. Pierson said, “History is His story.” It is good to review the past and discern the hand of the Lord at work. God delivered them from Egypt and brought them to Sinai, where they entered into a covenant with Him (Nu 33:1–15). Then He brought them to the border of the Promised Land, where they refused to go in (Nu 33:16–36). They wandered for forty years and then ended up on the plains of Moab (Nu 33:37–49). Unbelief means wasted time, wasted lives, and wasted opportunities, but God is gracious and long-suffering with His people. (In his commented "Be Counted" Wiersbe adds "God doesn’t just write history; He plans history and sees that His plan is executed. “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations” (Ps. 33:11NKJV). When Israel didn’t permit God to rule, then He overruled. Israel lost the blessing but God achieved His purposes. No difficulty was too great for God. He opened the Red Sea to let His people march through, and then He closed it and drowned the pursuing Egyptian army. When His people were in danger, God gave them victory over their enemies. When they were thirsty, He supplied water, and each morning He rained manna from heaven to feed them." ) These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies - In this chapter of journeys, Moses reviews the past record of the nation after God had delivered them from Egypt. As we come to the end of this chapter, we find the travelogue brings us to the plains of Moab opposite Jericho in preparation for going into the Promised land. under the leadership of Moses and Aaron - Under the leadership is literally "under the hand (yad)" where "hand" in OT speaks of power and/or authority. Note not just Moses but also Aaron. Why Aaron? One answer is that Aaron spoke for Moses at times. Another is that Aaron was the high priest so he led the nation spiritually. Related Resource: For more detail see G.I. Davies, "The Wilderness Itineraries: a Comparative Study," Tyndale Bulletin 25 (1974): page 46-81 Rod Mattoon - This chapter is a record of the journey over the past 40 years. It shows that God noted and recorded the steps that the people took. Beloved, rest assure that God is taking note of our steps too. 1. God numbers our steps. Job 14:16—For now thou numberest my steps: dost thou not watch over my sin? 2. Our steps are ordered and directed by our Lord. Psalm 37:23—The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way. Proverbs 16:9—A man's heart deviseth his way: but the Lord directeth his steps. 3. God's Word influences our steps. Psalm 119:133—Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me. 4. The Lord gives us confidence and stability in our lives. Psalm 18:36—Thou hast enlarged my steps under me, that my feet did not slip. Brian Bell - REVIEWING THE PAST! (1-49) FROM EGYPT TO SINAI! (1-15) History is His Story. It is good to review the past & discern the hand of the Lord at work. God delivered them from Egypt & brought them to Sinai, where they entered a covenant with God. Israel history meant knowing why the past unfolded as it did, so that the present & future could be understood properly. Each stop along the way proved God’s grace, faithfulness, power, & love. FROM SINAI TO KADESH! (16-36) Next God brought them to the border of the Promised Land, where they refused to go in. So really this is a record of ineffectual marches. A number of halting-places. They recall journey’s, that they never needed to take. Journey’s of criss-crossing the desert back & forth. Such is the doom of unbelief: to effect nothing, to miss the rest of God, & to perish on the threshold of achievement. James 1:6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. God has given us in Christ the promise of rest, victory, & satisfaction; let us enter upon our inheritance! FROM KADESH TO MOAB! (37-49) Then the wandered for 40 years & then ended up on the plains of Moab. Unbelief means: wasted time; wasted lives; wasted opportunities. But God is gracious & long suffering w/His people. Numbers 33:2 Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys by the command of the LORD, and these are their journeys according to their starting places. journeys: Nu 9:17-23 Nu10:6,13 De 1:2 Dt 10:11 Numbers 33 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries RECORD OF STARTING PLACES FOR JOURNEYS Moses recorded their starting places according to their journeys - "Moses recorded their departures according to their journeys." (Nu 33:2NET)
Números 33
Wiersbe reminds that "The sovereignty of God doesn’t destroy human individuality or responsibility. God is so great that He can will us the freedom to choose but still accomplish His purposes. What a mighty God is He! No wonder Paul wrote, “How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out” (Rom. 11:33)." (Be Counted) Jehovah had given a similar command at Sinai (Ex. 23:20–33; Ex 34:10–17) and it would be repeated in Moses' farewell message to the nation (Deut. 7:1-26, Dt 12:1–3). And destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places - Review these powerful verbs - cross over, drive out (dispossess), destroy, demolish and then (Nu 33:54) divide the land. The land of Canaan is not so much a type of Heaven as it is of our present inheritance in Christ Jesus. -- James Smith Ronald Allen comments on the evil nature of the high places writing that "The licentious system of sexually centered worship was particularly exhibitionist in nature. Ba‘al and Asherah were regarded as voyeur deities whose own libidos would be “turned on” by viewing orgiastic rites or sacrificial acts of especial brutality or blood-letting (notice the blood-letting of the pagan priests on Mount Carmel, 1 Ki 18:28). The raised platform was an enhancement “to let the gods” see more clearly. As is well known from the reading of the historical books, Israel adapted the use of bāmôṯ for their own local patterns of the worship of the Lord (or for syncretistic systems of worship of the Lord and Ba‘al). One of the most resistant of paganisms in Israel’s later history, the bāmôṯ were the banes of godly kings who fought desperately to destroy these “high places.” The idea of utterly destroying the idolatrous artifacts speaks of having absolutely no contact with them. Unfortunately they did not utterly destroy the idolatrous images and about 800 years later the apostate religious leaders had actually brought these abominations into the Holy Temple. Ezekiel records a description that if not written in God's Word would not be believable of Israel... So I entered and looked, and behold, every form of creeping things and beasts and detestable things, with all the idols of the house of Israel, were carved on the wall all around. 11 Standing in front of them were seventy elders of the house of Israel, with Jaazaniah the son of Shaphan standing among them, each man with his censer in his hand and the fragrance of the cloud of incense rising (OVERTLY WORSHIPPING THESE DETESTABLE THINGS!). 12 Then He said to me, “Son of man, do you see what the elders of the house of Israel are committing in the dark, each man in the room of his carved images (maskiyth)? For they say, ‘The LORD does not see us; the LORD has forsaken the land.’” (Ezekiel 8:10-12+) Destroy...destroy (ruin) (06)(abad) is first of all predicated of God’s people under divine judgment for rebellion against him, under the covenant curse. In particular, abad constitutes the inevitable fate of the Israelite people, who will perish in the process of being sent into exile (cf. Lev. 26:38; Dt 4:26; 8:20; 30:18; Jos. 23:13; Jer. 4: 9; 27:10; Eze. 25: 7). God warned Israel "But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies’ land will consume you." (Lev. 26:38) Abad is a verb meaning to perish, to be destroyed, to be ruined, to be lost, to in a state of ruin and destruction pertaining to an object, including the death (Ex 10:7). Abad can mean literally to die, or, in the case of things, reputation, etc., to pass away. In a causative sense, abad means to destroy, to reduce to some degree of disorder. God’s destruction of evil, both threatened (Lev. 26:38) and realized (Nu 17:12); Israel’s destruction of the Canaanites and their altars (Nu 33:52; Dt. 12:2, 3); the perishing of natural life (Ps. 49:10; 102:26; Eccl. 7:15); the perishing of abstract qualities such as wisdom and hope (Isa. 29:14; Lam. 3:18); and an item or animal being lost (Dt. 22:3; Eccl. 3:6) Figured stones (carved images) (04906) (maskiyth) means an image, showpiece, something to be displayed. In this verse it is used "of carved figures, idolatrous symbols of the pagan religious practices of the Canaanite peoples. These would include sexual symbols of the fertility deities that were so pervasive in that region. ( Lv 26:11, Ezek 8:12)" (Allen) In the figurative sense it refers to one's imagination (Ps 73:7, Pr 11:11) which is in essence an "image" in one's mind which is unreal and illusory even as are vain, worthless idols (includes the deceitful "idol" of mammon or money!). Maskiyth - 6x in 6v - carved images(1), figured(1), figured stones(1), imagination(1), imaginations(1), settings(1). Lev. 26:1; Num. 33:52; Ps. 73:7; Prov. 18:11; Prov. 25:11; Ezek. 8:12 Molten images (04541)(massekah) is from the root nasak mainly used for the "pouring out" of a drink offering or libation, and for the "casting" of metal images. When the word means a libation or drink offering, it is associated with sacrifices that seal a covenant relationship (Isa. 25:7; 28:20; 30:1); however, the word usually signifies an image or molten metal, a cast metal image, molten image, an image of an idol made out of metal. The most glaring use is the molten calf in Ex 32:4 and Ex 32:8 (Ps 106:19). God then make it clear " “You shall make for yourself no molten gods." (Ex 34:17, cf Lev 19:4, Dt 27:15). "Later, when God renews his covenant following this early act of idolatry, he first warns them to not worship any other gods and then explicitly forbids them from making “gods of cast metal” (massēkâ; Exod 34:13–17; compare Deut 27:15). Several other times when massēkâ is used, it refers back to the event at Sinai when Israel worshiped this calf (Deut 9:12, 16; Neh 9:18; Psa 106:19). The word may be used to make explicit that a certain idol was overlaid in metal, especially with the phrase pesel umassēkâ (פֶסֶל וּמַסֵּכָה), which literally means “image and molten image” but functions as a hendiadys meaning “image of cast metal” (Deut 27:15; Jdg 17:3). The word is also used in general contexts condemning idolatry that frequently pile up multiple synonyms for idolatrous images (Isa 30:22; Hos 13:2)." (Lexham Theological Wordbook) Massekah - 26v - alliance(1), image(2), molten(5), molten image(8), molten images(9), molten metal(1). Exod. 32:4; Exod. 32:8; Exod. 34:17; Lev. 19:4; Num. 33:52; Deut. 9:12; Deut. 9:16; Deut. 27:15; Jdg. 17:3; Jdg. 17:4; Jdg. 18:14; Jdg. 18:17; Jdg. 18:18; 1 Ki. 14:9; 2 Ki. 17:16; 2 Chr. 28:2; 2 Chr. 34:3; 2 Chr. 34:4; Neh. 9:18; Ps. 106:19; Isa. 30:1; Isa. 30:22; Isa. 42:17; Hos. 13:2; Nah. 1:14; Hab. 2:18 Destroy (demolish, exterminate) (08045)(shamad) is a verb meaning "be destroyed, decimated, perished, overthrown, exterminated, i.e., pertaining to being in a totally ruined state, which can include death of a person or extinction of an entity." (Swanson) The destruction depicted by shamad usually involves a rather sudden catastrophe such as warfare or a mass killing. For example in Dt 6:15 God says He will "wipe" Israel off the face of the earth, so great was His anger against them! High places (01116)(bamah) means a physical high place like a mountain (Ps 18:33, Hab 3:19) or a place of worship, cultic high place. Six activities seem to be related to high places -- burning of incense, sacrificing, eating of sacrificial meals, praying, prostitution, child sacrifice (cf. bama in the valley, Je7:31). The first use in Lev 26:30 is God's declaration to Israel "I will destroy your high places." In Dt 32:13 speaking of Jacob (Israel) He declared "He made him ride on the high places of the earth," so clearly some uses of bamah are not negative. In a similar use God says Israel "you will tread upon their (Israel's enemies') high places." Another positive use is Psalm 18:33 where David declared Jehovah "makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places." (cp Hab 3:19 - NET Note = David "compares his agility in battle to the ability of a deer to negotiate rugged, high terrain without falling or being injured.", cp Isa 58:14) We see he effect of Israel's high places on Jehovah in Ps 78:58 = "For they provoked Him with their high places and aroused His jealousy with their graven images." A sad phrase that is repeated again and again (speaking of Israel) is "the high places were not taken away" (1Ki 15:14, 2Chr 15:17 = King Asa but notice he did remove some of them - 2Chr 14:3, 5, 1Ki 22:43, 2Chr 20:33 = King Jehoshaphat, 2Ki 12:3 = King Jehoash, 2Ki 14:4 = King Amaziah, 2Ki 15:4 = King Azariah, 2Ki 15:35 = King Jotham son of Uzziah and look what his son did in 2Ki 16:1-4!, 2Chr 20:33). In many of these passages the context was of a king doing "spiritual house cleaning" so to speak and yet still failing to remove the high places. Isn't sin that way? We confess one or two sins but we have a little pet sin (better a "venomous viper") that we just don't have the heart to kill! God grant us spiritual eyes and hearts to learn from Israel's mistakes. Amen! Some kings like Hezekiah (1Ki 18:4, 2Chr 31:1, Isa 36:7) and Josiah (2Ki 23:4,8, 13, 15, 19-20, 2Chr 34:3 cp prophecy about Josiah 300 years earlier = 1Ki 13:2) did destroy the high places, but in Hezekiah's case his own son Manasseh rebuilt them (2Ki 21:1-2, 3, 2Chr 33:3) and in Josiah's case the people rebuilt them! We see the spiritual effect of high places on the people when King Jehoram (2Chr 21:5-10) "made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray." (2Chr 21:11) One of the most incredible (and saddest) verses in the OT (in my opinion) is "Then Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable idol of Moab, on the mountain which is east of Jerusalem, and for Molech the detestable idol of the sons of Ammon." (1Ki 11:7, cp 1Ki 3:3 = Solomon had "half a heart" for God!) This was too much for Jehovah and He declared that the 12 tribes would be split as a result of Solomon's sin! Sin is costly. You may think you are getting away with it, but you are not! You may think you are the wisest man in the world (like Solomon) but you are really the most foolish (as Solomon was)! There was one high place that was not idolatrous (at least not at the outset) - "Then Solomon, and all the assembly with him, went to the high place which was at Gibeon; for God's tent of meeting was there, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness." (2Chr 1:3, cp 1Chr 16:39-40, 21:29). Related Resources: Why did God command the extermination / genocide of the Canaanites, women and children included? | GotQuestions.org Why did God command the Israelites to completely destroy the Midianites in Numbers 31:17? | GotQuestions.org American Tract Society High Places Bridgeway Bible Dictionary High places Easton's Bible Dictionary High Place Fausset Bible Dictionary High Places Holman Bible Dictionary High Place Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible High Place, Sanctuary Morrish Bible Dictionary High Place Hawker's Poor Man's Dictionary High places Smith Bible Dictionary High Places Watson's Theological Dictionary High Places 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica High Place International Standard Bible Encyclopedia High Place Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia High places and groves McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia High Place The Nuttall Encyclopedia High Places The Jewish Encyclopedia High Place Girdlestone - Chapter 19 - Idol, Teraphim, Grove, High Place G Campbell
Números 33
Wiersbe - What were the reasons for the extermination of these nations? For one thing, this was God’s judgment because of their wickedness (Gen. 15:15–16; Lev. 18:24–28). How they became so evil and what happened as a result is described in Romans 1:17–32. God had been long-suffering with them for centuries, but now it was time for judgment to fall. A second reason was that the way might be cleared for the tribes of Israel to claim their inheritance (Num. 33:54). Just as a contractor must demolish buildings and clear land to make room for a new structure, so God had to wipe out the pagan societies in Canaan so that His people might move in and build a nation that would glorify God. The Promised Land would be the stage on which God would display His power, pour out His blessings, send His truth, and one day send His Son to die for the sins of the world. A third reason for the extermination of the pagan nations was to remove temptation from the people of Israel who were prone to worship idols (vv. 55–56). During their wilderness march, the Jews revealed their appetite for the things of Egypt, and at Baal Peor, they succumbed to the seductions of Baal worship. If the pagan shrines were left standing, it wouldn’t take long for Israel to forsake the Lord and start worshiping idols. Unfortunately, Israel didn’t obey God’s orders and ended up being snared by the practices of the heathen peoples left in the land (Jdg. 2:6–15). (Be Counted) What is the application to believers today? It is simple - drive out and/or come out. Exterminate, annihilate, obliterate, utterly destroy the sin which so easily entangles you (Heb 12:1+) and come out of the midst of the godless world's abominations, even while still being in the world but not of the world (John 17:16)! From Genesis to Revelation the Bible repeatedly warns believers to come out, to be separate...(RED = COMMANDS) Genesis 19:14-15 Lot went out and spoke to his sons-in-law, who were to marry his daughters, and said, “Up, get out of this place, for the LORD will destroy the city.” But he appeared to his sons-in-law to be jesting. 15 When morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, “Up (NET = "GET GOING!"), take your wife and your two daughters who are here, or you will be swept away in the punishment of the city.” 16 But he hesitated. So the men seized his hand and the hand of his wife and the hands of his two daughters, for the compassion of the LORD was upon him; and they brought him out, and put him outside the city. Numbers 16:26-27 and he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart now from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing that belongs to them, or you will be swept away in all their sin.” 27 So they got back from around the dwellings of Korah, Dathan and Abiram; and Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the doorway of their tents, along with their wives and their sons and their little ones. Isaiah 48:20 (COMPARE WITH REVELATION BELOW) Go forth from Babylon! Flee from the Chaldeans! Declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim this, Send it out to the end of the earth; Say, “The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob.” Jeremiah 50:8; (COMPARE WITH REVELATION BELOW) Wander away (ESV, NIV = FLEE) from the midst of Babylon (NET = GET OUT OF BABYLON QUICKLY!) And go forth from the land of the Chaldeans; Be also like male goats at the head of the flock. Matthew 24:15+ “Therefore when you see the ABOMINATION OF DESOLATION which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),:16 then those who are in Judea must (ABSOLUTE NECESSITY) flee to the mountains. 2 Corinthians 6:17 “Therefore (READ 2 Cor 6:14-16 and 2 Cor 7:1+), COME OUT (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE, (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey)” says the Lord. “AND DO NOT TOUCH (present imperative with a negative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) WHAT IS UNCLEAN; And I will welcome you. Revelation 18:4+ I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out (aorist imperative see our need to depend on the Holy Spirit to obey) of her, my people, so that you will not participate in her sins and receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. Numbers 33:55 - Eric Hayden But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell. These words are a description of God’s people after they had crossed the Jordan and entered the Promised Land. Does Jordan stand for death, as so many hymns infer? After death comes rest and peace; after Jordan there was more fighting! After Jesus was baptized in Jordan, He had to battle against Satan in the wilderness. Jordan really stands for a decisive step: conversion, baptism, or some experience of God’s Holy Spirit. But even after such an experience there will be inhabitants to drive out. Though possessed by Christ there must still be the “mopping-up operation” of the remaining enemy. In our text they are likened to pricks, thorns, and vexation, each pointing to a spiritual alternative. I. Pricks instead of prosperity The Hebrew word translated pricks means a tiny thorn, like one from a briar hedge. Christians often live lives that are hedged in or confined. They know nothing of the progressing, developing life: “I press on …”; “Follow on to know the Lord”; “Grow up into Him.…” The pricks of worldliness prevent the spiritual prosperity that is God’s will for the believer: “This is the will of God for you, even your sanctification.” II. Thorns instead of testimony The word translated “thorns” implies a larger thorn like one from a cactus plant. The word came to be used also for a fishhook and for coldness. What cold, prickly lives some Christians live. No one can get near them. Their feathers are always ruffled. They repel rather than attract. But John said of Jesus Christ: “As He is, even so are we in this world.” Now Jesus was never repellent; He always attracted like a magnet. Old, young, sick, poor, sinful—all came to Him and none were turned away. The Puritans have been much criticized and maligned for their so-called joyless countenances and their plain manner of dress. But they had Christ and were completely satisfied with Him. They had no time for the world’s fashions and pleasures. So their testimony remains to this day, clear-cut and decisive. Will ours last as theirs has? III. Vexation instead of victory Vex has a variety of meanings; cramp, harass or rout. If we allow the pricks and thorns to remain, we shall experience utter rout or defeat in the Christian life. We shall never know what it is to be an “overcomer.” First we have to admit that we’ve got these pricks and thorns that vex. We’ve all come from the same mold, but some are more moldy than others, according to a worldly proverb. So some Christians are more worldly than others. Some do have a more clear-cut testimony, but even these are not entirely free from the pricks and thorns. The New Testament knows nothing of a sinless perfection this side of heaven; sanctification is a continual battle. What can we do then? Keep three basic rules daily: A. Do not fraternize with the enemy. “Come out from among them and be ye separate.” B. Make no peace treaty with the enemy. There must be no coming to terms, no compromise, no unholy alliances. C. Yield no ground to the enemy. We must keep pressing forward, always advancing and never retreating. The Christian is in Christ; but Christ is also in the Christian, so the life and power of Christ are at our disposal. Note the final warning: “If you will not drive out the inhabitants.… I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.” Numbers 33:56 'And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.'" Lev 18:28 Lev 20:23 De 28:63 Dt 29:28 Jos 23:15-16 2Ch 36:17-20 Eze 33:24-29 Lu 21:23-24 Numbers 33 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages: Lev 18:24-28 ‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. 25 ‘For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. 26 ‘But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you 27 (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); 28 so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. Deuteronomy 28:63 “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. PROPHETIC PROMISE OF PUNISHMENT FOR DISOBEDIENCE John Currid comments that "Yahweh himself will act against Israel if they do not obey. In an ironic reversal, God says that the fate of the Canaanites will become that of Israel if they do not keep God’s commands—expulsion from the land of promise!" (EPSC-Nu) And as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you - Israel would reap the consequences of their disobedience. What is interesting is that they did drive out many of the Canaanites, thus partially obeying Yahweh's instructions. However there remained pockets of pagans in the land, and these were like "leaven" which eventually resulted in the destruction of the Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel. What is the point? Partial obedience is complete disobedience. Does this describe your (my) Christian life? We all need to look in the mirror and ask ourselves this important question. And if the answer is yes, then we need to confess, repent and seek the compassionate, merciful, good hand of the LORD to revive us again (Ps 119:25+), in Jesus' Name and for the glory of our Father (Mt 5:16+). Amen. PROPHECY FROM MOSES - Deuteronomy 28:63 “It shall come about that as the LORD delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the LORD will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you will be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. Joshua 23:15-16 “It shall come about that just as all the good words which the LORD your God spoke to you have come upon you, so the LORD will bring upon you all the threats, until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you. 16“When you transgress the covenant of the LORD your God, which He commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, then the anger of the LORD will burn against you, and you will perish quickly from off the good land which He has given you.” It is worth noting that this PROPHETIC PROMISE has not yet been completely fulfilled but it will be fulfilled in the time of Jacob's Distress (aka "The Great Tribulation" - Jer 30:7+), for as Jesus prophesied "Jerusalem will be trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled." (Lu 21:24+). The apostle John said it this way "Then there was given me a measuring rod like a staff; and someone said, “Get up and measure the temple of God and the altar, and those who worship in it. “Leave out the court which is outside the temple (REBUILT JEWISH TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM) and do not measure it, for it has been given to the nations; and they will tread under foot the holy city for forty-two months (THE LAST 3.5 YEARS - The Great Tribulation)." (Rev 11:1-2+). Ronald Allen comments that while the previous warnings (Nu 33:55) "describe constant annoyance (at the least) to terrible pain (at the most)—a constant harassment. The most chilling words, however, are not the troubles that might come from peoples but that which may come from the Lord: And it will happen, Just as I intend to do to them,I will do to you." These words, at the end of the travel itinerary, are most threatening indeed. (EBC) Vance Havner - Thorns The Bible has much to say about thorns and thistles, briers and brambles. A score of different words are used to name them and around two hundred varieties of prickly shrubs grew in Bible countries. We have plenty of them in America as well. We have been scratched and irritated, lacerated and torn, and we have wondered why such pesky pests were created. Thorns and thistles are symbols of troubles, trials, and testings and some of us have so much of such adversity that we feel we could identify with Br'er Rabbit who was "born and bred in a brier patch." The Scriptures throw much light on this subject; learning the significance of thorns and thistles will help us to understand the prickly problems of our own existence, and will help us make our way through the briers and brambles of our troubled lives. The Thorns of Creation It begins with the thorns of creation. In the beginning God put Adam and Eve in Eden where every prospect was pleasing and not even man was vile. But the devil came, followed by the fall, and God said to Adam: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it thou wast taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return" (Gen. 3:17-19). We are still under that sentence and the more we try to escape, the more we become entangled with thorns and thistles—physically, morally, spiritually. The evolutionist thinks we are working our way upward through fetishism, totemism, polytheism, and monotheism to the knowledge of God but the Scriptures tell us that we started with a knowledge of God and have been going the other way ever since, not in evolution but in "devilution." The Thorns of Canaan After the fall of man, God began a plan of redemption for mankind and the whole creation. He called out the Hebrew nation to be the channel through which the Savior would come. He led them into the Promised Land and when they had conquered much of it and were beginning to settle in, He warned them, "But if ye will not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you; then it shall come to pass, that those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye dwell" (Num. 33:55). Joshua warned them that if they married among the Canaanites, those people would be "snares and traps and scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes." These thorns of Canaan must still be dealt with. Christians today, like the Hebrews of old, are a chosen generation, a holy nation. As God's people, He wants us to be separate, not to merge into the world around us, not to squeeze into its mold. "If any man love the world," said Jesus, "the love of the Father is not in him." Since Christianity began, there has never been a world culture in which a Christian can feel at home. There can be no peaceful coexistence, no detente, between the Christian and Canaan. The friend of the world is the enemy of God. If we mix and mingle with this age it will soil and spoil our lives and ruin our testimony. The Christian lives not in collusion but in collision with this world. Christians should not marry unbelievers. What looks innocent enough at the outset becomes a thorn in our side. A woman wearing a white dress wanted to explore a coal mine. When told that she was not properly garbed for such a trip, she demanded, "What's to keep me from wearing a white dress into a mine?" The man at the entrance replied, "There's nothing to keep you from wearing a white dress into the mine, but plenty to keep you from wearing a white dress out!" Separation from the world is almost unheard-of nowadays because this permissive and tolerant generation frowns on it. But we must beware of the thorns of Canaan. "Canaanism" is dangerous, whether you call it "worldliness," "secularism," or some other name, and we are to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness but rather expose them, not only by reproof but by the contrast of godly living. The Thorns of the Christian Perhaps you have already anticipated what type of thorn comes next. Many Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with Paul's "thorn in the flesh." What was it? We do not know, and I am glad we do not, for it might have been the same as your thorn or the same as mine. Some think it was eye trouble. Anyway, it was an affliction that God would not remove. This great preacher, this prisoner who set others free, was not healed of whatever plague or infirmity beset him all his days. Notice that Paul calls his problem not only a "thorn in the flesh" but also "the messenger of Satan" (2 Cor. 12:7). Paul gave the credit where it was due. He gloried in his infirmity but he did not glorify his infirmity. Jesus had spoken of "this woman whom Satan hath bound" and Paul wrote to the Thessalonians that he was prevented from visiting them not because he was "providentially detained" (as we preachers like to put it) but because "Satan hindered me." Sickness, disease, death, and all other thorns are of the devil but may be allowed by God to test and try us and to glorify Himself—as He made clear in the cases of Lazarus and Peter. God may sharpen His axe on Satan's grindstone (it cannot be done on a cake of butter!). Some of the greatest saints have made their way through this world with afflicted bodies, tortured minds, financial distress, domestic difficulties, and tragic circumstances; our pet answers and clever cliches provided no explanation, nor did prayer remove the thorn. In the twelfth chapter of Second Corinthians Paul goes from height to depth, from his trip to the third heaven to his thorn in the flesh, observing that life's supreme experience is not in height or depth but in knowing that God's grace is sufficient, that His strength is made perfect in weakness, that when we are weak we are strong. It is worth a thorn in the flesh to learn that—and that is the way we usually learn it! It is when endurance flags and strength fails and resources play out that "from His infinite riches in Jesus God giveth and giveth and giveth again." The Thorns of Christ The thorns of creation, the thorns of Canaan, the thorns of the Christian... is there deliverance from all these? Yes, and it is signified by the thorns of Christ, that gruesome crown the Roman soldiers jammed on Jesus' already bruised and battered head. They did not realize what it symbolized any more than they understood his prayer, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do." That ghastly diadem was emblematic of all the thorns of all time, a thorny creation ruined by sin, a thorny evil society like the Canaanites, all thorns of the flesh that torment the people of God. All the sin, all the suffering, all the disease, death, and heartbreak of all mankind was laid on Him. See from His head, His hands, His feet, Sorrow and love flow mingled down; Did e'er such love and sorrow meet, Or thorns compose so rich a crown? One day that Christ who wore the crown of thorns will return to wear the crown of triumph. The creation will be redeemed and its original beauty restored, for God is not going to let the devil get away with the havoc he has wrought. No longer will an evil society like the Canaanites inhabit the earth, for the meek shall inherit it and the saints shall reign over it and for the first time law and order shall prevail. The thorns of all Christians will no longer exist, for the people of God will wear their new Easter outfits—their resurrection bodies—free from pain. And "instead of the thorn shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree: and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off" (Isa. 55:13). Does Jesus care? That is why He came to this earth—to deal with the thorns of creation, the thorns of Canaan, and the thorns of the Christian, all gathered up in the thorns of Christ. It is time we sing not only with our lips but from our hearts, King of my life, I crown Thee now, Thine shall the glory be, Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow, Lead me to Calvary.