The History of the Old Testament Methodized, Chapter 4 · Section 66 – Section 115
SECT. LXVI.
THe Lord having appointed the Prieſts and Levites to do the Service of the Tabernacle, and to watch over the people, that they might not trangreſs about any of the holy things, He here appoints a water of ſeparation to be made, that ſo if any of the people had contracted any legal uncleanneſs, by the ſprinkling of this water upon them, they might be cleanſed, and ſo might come freely again to the Service of God in the Tabernacle, without fear of thoſe Plagues, which otherwiſe their pollutions might bring upon them. For the making of this water a red Heifer was to be provided, and that by the common charge of all the Children of Iſrael, becauſe it was to be for the common good of them all, and for the cleanſing of any one among them that was by any accident legally unclean. It muſt be an Heifer without ſpot, and upon which never came yoke. For they uſed in thoſe times to plow and draw their Carts with Heifers and Cows, as well as with Oxen, ſee Judg. 14.18. This Heifer was to be given to Eleazar, becauſe by doing this Service, that was now to be done, he was to be unclean, and 'twas fit that he rather than Aaron ſhould be defiled. She muſt alſo be carried out of the Camp as an accurſed thing, figuring Chriſts being made a Curſe, and ſuffering without the City, Heb. 13.12. And Eleazar was to ſprinkle of her blood ſeven times, turning his face towards the Tabernacle of the Congregation. And her skin and her fleſh, her blood and her dung were all to be burnt in his ſight. And Eleazar was to take Cedar-wood and Hyſſop, and Scarlet, and to caſt them into the midſt of the burning of the Heifer, to ſignifie that theſe things ſhould be uſed for a ſprinkle in ſprinkling the unclean with the water of ſeparation, ſee Levit. 14.4. And Eleazar was to waſh his Clothes, and bath his fleſh, and to be unclean unto the evening.*The like is injoyned to him that burnt this Heifer, v. 8. and to him that gathered up the aſhes, v. 10. and to him that ſprinkled an unclean perſon with the water made of thoſe aſhes, v. 21. This might intimate to them that it was not ſo much the water made with the aſhes of this Heifer, as the thing ſignified thereby, that had vertue in it to purifie thoſe that were ſpiritually unclean, and conſequently to ſhew the imperfection of the legal Prieſthood, becauſe they that were imployed in preparing this water, which was for the cleanſing of others, were themſelves defiled. 'Twas further injoyned, That the aſhes of this Heifer ſhould be gathered up by a man that was clean, and laid up without the Camp in a clean place, (h)As for the place where thoſe aſhes were kept when they came into the Land of Canaan, it is not expreſſed. Some hold that thoſe aſhes were diſpers'd into all the Cities, that thoſe who were unclean might have wherewith to purifie and cleanſe themſelves.becauſe they were now conſeerated to an holy uſe. However the man that gathered them up was thereby made unclean, becauſe they were the remainders of an Heifer ſlain for the ſins of the people. And the Statute of making and reſerving of theſe aſhes, for a water of ſeparation, was to bind both the Iſraelite and the Proſelyte, or Stranger that ſojourned with them as long as this Diſpenſation laſted. By this Law it was further injoyned, That he that touched the dead body of a man was to be unclean ſeven days, and he was to purifie himſelf with this water on the third day, and on the ſeventh day, [verſ. 19.] and then he was to be clean, elſe not.
And whoever having contracted this kind of uncleanneſs, and doth not make uſe of this way to purifie himſelf, but cometh in that ſtate into the Court of the Tabernacle, he ſhall be cut off by the Sentence of the Judge, if it be proved that he did it preſumptuouſly, becauſe he deſpiſeth not only the Ceremonial purifying, but the thing ſignified thereby, viz. the ſpiritual cleanſing thorow the blood of the Meſſias. Otherwiſe if he did it ignorantly, he was to bring ſuch a Sacrifice as is injoyn'd, Levit. 5.3, 6. Further, if any man came into the Tent of a dead man, it rendred him unclean, yea and all that was in the Tent; Every open Veſſel that takes in the air of the Tent was ceremoniouſly unclean. Or if a man touched a dead body, or the bone of a dead man, it rendred him unclean. And thus hereby was figured the ſpreading and infectious nature of ſin. And one of the Prieſts that was clean was to put running water to the aſhes of the burnt-Heifer, and with a bunch of Hyſſop tied to a Cedar-ſtick with a Scarlet-thread to ſprinkle the perſon, or Tent, or Veſſels that were unclean, and then to be himſelf unclean until the evening, becauſe he had touched the water of ſeparation. And whatſoever any unclean perſon touched, was to be held unclean, to ſignifie the contagion of ſin, ſpreading from one to another.
Numb. 19. whole Chapter.
SECT. LXVII.
THe Camp now advanced to Kadeſh in the Wilderneſs of Zin, which was near to the Land of Edom, in the firſt month of the fortieth year, after their coming out of Egypt, and there Miriam died and was buried, four months before her Brother Aaron, and eleven months before her Brother Moſes. She was the eldeſt of the three, ſhe attained to the age of 130, [ſee Exod. 2.4, 7.] ſhe was a Propheteſs, and by her alſo God guided the Iſraelites in their Travels, [ſee Mich. 6.4.] ſhe (in all likelihood) was the Girl that was ſet to watch what would become of Moſes when he was expos'd in an Ark of Bulruſhes on the River Nile, ſee Exod. 2.4, &c.
Numb. 20. verſ. 1.
SECT. LXVIII.
AT this Kadeſh (i)So that in their Travels from Kadeſh-barnea, where the Spies came back to Moſes to this Kadeſh in the Deſart of Zin, there were about 38 years ſpent, and moſt of their Fathers, that were numbred at their coming out of Egypt, were in this time dead.the people for want of water murmur again againſt Moſes and Aaron. With the ſame want God had tried their Fathers in the firſt year after their coming out of Egypt, Exod. 17.4. and they murmured then as their Children do now, and they had water given them out of a Rock. But theſe their Children were worſe than their Fathers, becauſe the ſupply their Fathers had from God in that extremity ſhould have been an argument and encouragement to them to rely on his Providence now, and not to have diſtruſtfully murmured, or wiſhed ſo deſperately as they did. Would God (ſay they) we had died with our Brethren, whom God ſuddenly deſtroyed in the Inſurrection of Corah, and at other times, thereby (as it were) ſlighting that fearful Judgment of being cut off in Gods firery Indignation, in compariſon of being pinch'd with a preſent want of water. They highly expoſtulate with Moſes and Aaron for bringing them into that barren Wilderneſs, which was no place to ſow ſeed in, or plant Figg-Trees, Vines or Pomegranates, but a Land of Deſarts, a Land of Drought, and where there was no water, a Land thorow which no man paſſed, and where no man dwelt, ſee Jer. 2.6. Moſes and Aaron hereupon betake themſelves unto the door of the Tabernacle to intercede with God as formerly for this rebellious people. And the Lord immediately ſignified his approach and the actual manifeſtation of his glorious Preſence, by the deſcending of the Cloud to the door of the Tabernacle, [ſee Ch. 14.10. and Ch. 16.19.] And here He Commands Moſes to take the Rod, (viz. Aaron's Rod which budded) out of the Tabernacle,*See Numb. 20. v. 9. & Ch. 17.10. and with that Rod in his hand to ſpeak to the Rock before the Children of Iſrael, and it ſhould give forth water. Moſes indeed with his miraculous Rod, at their eleventh ſtation at Rephidim by Mount Sinai, ſtruck the Rock in Horeb as God commanded Him, and water came forth; And he named the place Maſſah or Meribah. But here at this their 33th ſtation (38 years after) with Aaron's budded Rod (having his ſpirit provoked by theſe rebellious people) He ſmites the Rock twice without any ſuch Command or Commiſſion from God to ſmite it at all. And he and Aaron likewiſe as it ſeems ſpeak unadviſedly with their lips, *See Pſal. 106.33.uttering words of paſſion and diſtruſt, poſſibly to this purpoſe; Hear now ye Rebels, muſt we fetch you water out of this Rock? Never imagine that God will work ſuch a Miracle for ſuch a rebellious Crew as ye are. However the Rock gave forth water abundantly. God was very angry with Moſes and Aaron that they had thus diſtruſted him, and had not ſanctified *V. 12. Ut ſanctificaretis me] alloquendo Petram, Et miraculum cum fiducia praedicendo. Ita mortem His interminatur ut populus intelligeret ſibi non parciturum Deum qui viris tantis non pepercerit. Porro haec Feri allegoria, uti non Moſes Hebraeos ſed Joſhua perduxit in Paleſtinam, ita non Lex in caelum nos, verum Chriſtus evehit. Demum hinc palam eſt quo ſpiritu haec Moſes ſcripſerit, qui vitia net celet ſua, nec ſuorum. Vide Cap. 12.1. Anonym. in loc. Publice peccarunt ideo que ſeverius cum iis egit Deus, quam alibi cum Moſes infidelitatem proderet, Numb. 11.22, 23. quia tum primum peccavit.him inwardly in their hearts, by truſting in Him, [1 Pet. 3.15.] nor glorified him outwardly, by aſcribing to him the glory of his truth and power before the Children of Iſrael; and therefore He tells them, They ſhall not bring that people into Canaan, [ſee Deut. 3.25, 26.] And as the former place at Rephidim was called Maſſah and Meribah, viz. a place of Strife and Contention (becauſe the people there ſtrove with the Lord, that is, contended with Moſes his Servant, which he accounts as contending with Himſelf,) ſo ſhall this alſo be called. And thus the Lord was ſanctified in them or among them; that is, among the Iſraelites by giving them water, and thereby manifeſting his Almighty Power, Faithfulneſs, and his Goodneſs and Compaſſion towards them, notwithſtanding their great Provocations.
Numb. 20. from 1. to 14.
SECT. LXIX.
MOſes now by Gods direction ſends Meſſengers to the King of Edom, to deſire Him that He would pleaſe to permit them (who were His own fleſh and blood, as being deſcended from Jacob Brother to Eſau,) to paſs thorow his Country, that being the neareſt and moſt convenient way into Canaan. And they amiably deſire this, becauſe God had charged them that they ſhould not meddle with the Sons of Eſau, or their poſſeſſion, [Deut. 2.4, 5.] He tells him, He cannot but have heard of their ſore and long Troubles and Oppreſſions which they ſuffered in Egypt, and how (upon their crying unto the Lord) he ſent his Angel, viz. his own eternal Son, the Angel or Mediator of the Covenant of Grace, [ſee Exod. 3.2. and Mal. 3.1.] who conducted them in the way by a Cloud and Pillar of fire. He tells him, They would not turn aſide into their Fields or Vineyards to do them any damage, and would drink only of their Rivers that were common, and not meddle with their Wells digged for their private uſe (which were very precious in thoſe hot and dry Countries) without paying for it. But the King of Edom would not conſent to it; ſo they were forc'd to fetch a compaſs thorow the Wilderneſs which lay about the Land of Edom. Notwithſtanding as they went along their Coaſts, in the out-skirts of their Country, the Edomites afforded them Victuals for their money, [Deut. 2.29.] though they did not come forth to meet them with bread and water, as men uſe to do who wiſh ſucceſs and proſperity to thoſe to whom they bring it, ſee Deut. 23.3, 4.
Numb. 20. from verſ. 14. to 22.
SECT. LXX.
FRom Kadeſh the Camp removes to mount Hor. *A hill in Moſera, Deut. 10.6. or whoſe other top was called Moſcra. From this Mount Hor the people that were driven out of this Country by Eſau were called Horims, Deut. 2.12. and Eſau is called the Horite, Gen. 36.20.Here God tells Moſes, That Aaron ſhould be gathered unto his people; that is, his godly fore-Fathers that died before him, ſee Gen. 25.8. Heb. 12.23. He commands him to bring Aaron and Eleazar his Son up to the top of Mount Hor. And they accordingly went up in the ſight of all the Congregation. Here Aaron being attired in all his glorious Veſtments, Moſes ſtrips him of them, and puts them upon Eleazar his Son, to ſhew that God had appointed him to ſucceed in his Fathers Office, and that the High Prieſts eldeſt Son, (k)Eleazar's Sons did ſucceed him to the time of the Judges. Then the High Prieſthood was tranſlated to the Poſterity of Ithamar, the other Son of Aaron; for Eli was of the ſtock of Ithamar.or the next Heir of their Family (unleſs rendred uncapable by ſome blemiſh) was ſtill to ſucced in that Office. Thus on the firſt day of the fifth month, in the fortieth year after their coming out of Egypt, Aaron, being an 123 years old,(l)See Numb. 33.38. died, (ſeven months and ſeven days before Moſes) and was there buried, and the whole Congregation mourned for him 30 days.*So long they mourned for Moſes, Deut. 34.8.
Numb. 20. from verſ. 22. to the end.
SECT. LXXI.
AT this time King Arad the Canaanite (whoſe Country lay in the South of Canaan) underſtanding by the Spies he had ſent forth to obſerve the courſe of the Iſraelites, V. 1. By the way of the Spies,] it might be a way ſo called, and well known by that name at that time.that they were turned back again from the Red-Sea, and marched directly upon the South of Canaan, (not knowing of Moſes's purpoſe to compaſs the Land of Edom) he immediately marched forth with his Army as far as Mount Hor, in the edge of the Deſart, where the Iſraelites now lay, and there fought with them, and took ſome of them Priſoners. The Iſraelites intending to renew the battel, and again once more to encounter Arad and his Army, they call'd upon the Lord for help, and vowed unto Him, that if he would pleaſe to deliver theſe Enemies into their hands, they would utterly deſtroy and burn their Cities, and that nothing of their Goods ſhould be reſerved for their own private uſe. The Lord was pleaſed to hear their prayer, ſo that in the ſecond battel they vanquiſh'd, and overcame them. But how could the Iſraelites being ſo far off in the Wilderneſs deſtroy their Cities lying in Canaan, [Numb. 33.40.] into which they came not till after Moſes's death? It ſeems the performance of this Vow was long after made, viz. when they were come unto the Land. For the King of Arad is reckoned for one of thoſe whom Joſhua deſtroyed, [Joſhua 12.14. Judg. 1.16, 17.] ſo that they now conquered the Canaanites Army that came out againſt them, and devoted the Spoils which they took; and afterwards*Therefore this clauſe ſeems here inſerted either by Moſes prophetically, or ſome other holy men afterwards. when their Cities came into their poſſeſſion, they utterly deſtroyed them, and ſo paid their Vow which now they made. From whence the place was call'd Hormah, that is, the place where the Vow of utterly deſtroying theſe Canaanites was performed.
Numb. 21. from 1. to 4.
SECT. LXXII.
LEaving Mount Hor, they fetch a compaſs about the Country of Edom (the people being much vexed that they were forc'd to go ſo far about) and on the Eaſt-ſide of it at Zalmona *So called from the Effigies or portraicture of a Serpent there ſet up.they make their 35th ſtation. Here, loathing Manna again as light bread, and wanting alſo water, they in a great diſcontent Expoſtulate with Moſes, and murmur againſt God †By God in this place, Chriſt is meant, ſee 1 Cor. 10.9. who is of the ſame divine Eſſence with the Father. He it was that led the Iſraelites by day in the pillar of Cloud, and by night in the pillar of fire, ſee Exod. 20.21.Himſelf; This was their wonted carriage in all their ſtraights and difficulties.(m)See Exod. 14.11. & Exod. 15.24. & Exod. 16.2, 3. & Exod. 17.2, 3. Numb. 11.1, 4, 5. Numb. 16.13, 14. & Numb. 20.3, 4, 5. The people murmuring in this manner, the Lord ſent fiery Serpents among them, whoſe venemous biting cauſed a grievous burning in their bodies, inſomuch that multitudes of them, by this Judgment, periſhed. Thus God with the venemous biting of fiery Serpents puniſhes the virulent and fiery Tongues of theſe murmuring Iſraelites. The people hereupon come to Moſes to beg of him that he would interceed with the Lord for them. The Lord was pleas'd to appoint Moſes to make an Effigies, a Figure or Repreſentation in Braſs of one of thoſe fiery Serpents, wherewith they were ſtung, and then to ſet it upon a pole in the Camp, ſo that every man that was ſtung with thoſe fiery Serpents might look upon this braſen Serpent, and ſo be healed. And this was an eminent Type of the promiſed Meſſiah, as our Saviour himſelf ſhews, Joh. 3.14, 15. The Iſraelites carefully kept this braſen Serpent unto the days of Hezekiah; but then in that age, becauſe the people burnt Incenſe to it, that good King brake it in pieces, 2 King. 18.4.
Numb. 21. from verſ. 4. to 10.
SECT. LXXIII.
THeir 36th incamping was at Punon, [Numb. 33.42.] their 37th at Oboth, [Numb. 21, 10. and Ch. 33.43.] their 38th at Ije-abarim. Upon the borders of Moab, [Numb. 33.44.] to wit, in that Deſart which lieth over againſt the Land of Moab towards the Eaſt, [Numb. 21.11.] and is call'd the Coaſt of Moab, Deut. 2.18. And when they removed thence to paſs by the Valley or Brook of Zared, God forbad them to make War upon Moab, Deut. 2. from verſ. 8. to 13. And in the time ſince they encamped at Kadeſh-barnea *In Kadeſho annos 37 cum dimidio commorati ſunt; dimidium vero anni in itinere a Kadeſh ad Zered inſumpſerunt. Jun. viri belli vocantur qui 20 aetatis annum expleverant.(38 years ago) to this time, the whole Race of thoſe that mutined and rebelled againſt God, from twenty years old and upwards, were wholly extinct and dead, ſee Deut. 2. from 13. to 16. Their 39th Encamping was at Dibon-Gad, [Numb. 33.45.] Their 40th at Almon Diblathaim, verſ. 46. in the Wilderneſs of Moab. The Iſraelites now coming to paſs the borders of Moab at Ar, and approaching the Country of the Ammonites, God alſo forbad them to make any War upon them, or to diſtreſs them, or to ſeize upon their Land, for He had given it unto the Children of Lot for a Poſſeſſion, Deut. 2.19. Then God commanded them to paſs over the River Arnon, which at that time divided the Country of the Amorites from the Land of the Moabites. Indeed the Country beyond Arnon towards Jordan had been in the Poſſeſſion of the Moabites, but Sihon had taken it from them. Which Moſes notes to let us ſee how God by this means had provided this Country for the Iſraelites, who might not elſe have medled with it, if it had been ſtill in the Moabites poſſeſſion, but not being ſo now, the Iſraelites are commanded to take it from the Amorites, Deut. 2.24. Moſes alſo further to ſhew that the Iſraelites had good right to this Country, cites a writing or Relation call'd the Book of the Wars of the Lord, *Which probably was one of the Iſraelitiſh Annals, and then paſſed among them, but is ſince loſt, ſee Joſhua 10.13. 2 Sam. 1.18.wherein (it ſeems) the Victories which God gave the Iſraelites over their Enemies were largely deſcribed. In that writing Moſes ſhews it was related what God did at the Red-Sea, and at the Brook of Arnon, at the ſtream of the Brook that goeth down to the dwelling of Ar, and lieth upon the border of Moab. So that Arnon was at this preſent the border between the Land of Moab and the Land of the Amorites, though formerly the Land beyond Arnon belonged alſo to the Moabites.
Numb. 21. from verſ. 10. to 16.
SECT. LXXIV.
FRom thence they departed to Beer, which ſignifies a Well. Here the Lord did again miraculouſly ſupply them with water, and that in the ſight of all the people. He ſtayed not now till they murmured again, but of his own accord did appoint Moſes to gather the people together, and to ſet the Princes of the Tribes to dig with their Staves, having (as 'tis probable) little Spades or Paddles at the end of them, promiſing them that a Well ſhould thereupon miraculouſly ſpring up, in that dry and barren place, which accordingly came to paſs. And thereupon the people ſang that gratulatory Song wherein with much joy and thankfulneſs to God they acknowledged the miraculous manner of the Wells ſpringing up, ſaying, Spring up, O well, ſing ye unto it; that is, ſing Praiſes unto Him who gives it. This it ſeems was that renowned Well call'd Beer-Elim; Iſa. 15.8. that is, The Well of the mighty Ones.
Numb. 21. from 16. to 19.
SECT. LXXV.
FRom the Wilderneſs of Kedemoth Moſes ſent Meſſengers to Sihon the Amorite, King of Heſhbon, praying him to permit them quietly to paſs thorow his Country, which was a ſhorter cut to the Fords of Jordan; And they promiſe him they will not do any injury to him or his people by the way; they would not turn into their Fields or Vineyards to do them any damage, nor drink of their private Wells of water without paying for them.*See paraphraſe on Deut. 2. This poſſibly they did to make him the more inexcuſable. But he denying them paſſage, and making War upon them, He himſelf was ſlain, and his Hoſt diſcomfited, and ſo the Iſraelites poſſeſſed themſelves of all their Cities, utterly deſtroying all the Inhabitants thereof, and his Country, unto the borders of the Amorites, which was ſtrong, and therefore Sihon had not encroached upon their Country as he had upon the Moabites, at leaſt not beyond the River Jabbock. Among other Cities which they took, Heſhbon was one, which Sihon took from the former King of the Moabites, who was King before their preſent King Balak, and ſo both Heſhbon and the Country adjoyning was the poſſeſſion of Sihon when the Iſraelites took it. To prove this, Moſes alledgeth the proverbial or aenigmatical Song which (it ſeems) was firſt made and uſed by the Amorites, by way of triumph over the vanquiſhed Moabites: Come into Heſhbon, let the City of Sihon be built, and prepared; implying, that though Heſhbon periſhed,*Verſ. 30. being in Moabs hands, yet now it ſhould be more fairly built and fortified, being in Sihons hands. For there is a fire gone out of Heſhbon, a flame from the City of Sihon, it hath conſumed Ar of Moab, and the Lords of the high places of Arnon; that is, the fury of War which was kindled and began in the ſubverſion, and laying waſte of Heſhbon, brake out from thence, and conſumed the Country of the Moabites as far as Ar, a chief City of theirs, and the Lords of the high places of Arnon; that is, their great men and Prieſts that ſacrificed in their high places: Woe unto thee, O Moab! thou art undone O people of Chemoſh; In this clauſe of their Song the Amorites ſcoff at Chemoſh the God of the Moabites, (n)See Jer. 48.7, 13. The Ammonites god was Milcom, 1 Kings 11.5.[1 Kings 11.7.] becauſe he was not able to help them, but had permitted thoſe of them that eſcaped the Sword to be taken Captives by Sihon. They further triumphantly add, We have ſhot at them; that is, all their Country between Heſhbon and Dibon (one of their high places in the Land of Moab) we have taken from them; And we have waſted their Country even unto Nophah, which reacheth unto Medeba, (o)See Iſa. 15.2. & Jer. 48.18, 22.another City in the Land of Moab.
Numb. 21. from 18. to 31.
SECT. LXXVI.
AFter this Moſes ſent his Spies to Jaazer, a City alſo that had been Moabs, [Jer. 48.31, 32.] but now was the Amorites, which they took with the Towns thereunto belonging, and caſt out thence the Amorites from the River Arnon (which is the bound of Moab) to the Brook of Jabbock which parteth it from Arnon, yet medled not with the Country lying upon the River Jabbock, neither with any of the Lands belonging at that time to the Children of Ammon or Moab, as God commanded them. After this the Children of Iſrael marched to Baſhan, a rich Country, famous for its huge Oaks, [Ezek. 27.6.] and rich Paſtures which nouriſhed ſtrong and great Cattel, [Deut. 32.14. Amos 4.1.] Og King of this Country being a remnant of the Giants, whoſe Bedſted was of Iron nine Cubits in length and four in breadth, [Deut. 3.11.] came out againſt them and fought with them at Edrei, and was there with all his people utterly vanquiſhed and deſtroyed by Moſes and the Iſraelites (whom God encouraged to go out againſt him) and they poſſeſſed themſelves of all his Country, to wit, ſixty Cities, and all that Coaſt as far as Argob, Deut. 3. from verſ. 1. to 18.
Numb. 21. from verſ. 31. to the end.
SECT. LXXVII.
AFter theſe Victories the Iſraelites encamped in the plains(p)So called, becaſe they had been ſometimes Moabs, though ſince the Amorites, and now the Iſraelites by Conqueſt. of Moab, on this ſide of the Ford of Jordan, right over againſt Jerico, at Abel-Shittim, which was their 42d Encamping: Here they continued till after Moſes's death, and till under the Conduct of Joſhua they paſſed over Jordan unto the Land of Canaan. In which time many notable things fell out, even all recorded from this place to the end of Deuteronomy.
Numb. 22. verſ. 1.