So Israel made a vow to the LORD: "If You will deliver this people into our hands, we will devote their cities to destruction." So Israel made a vowThe act of making a vow in ancient Israel was a solemn promise or commitment made to God, often in times of distress or need. The Hebrew word for vow, "נֶדֶר" (neder), signifies a binding promise that must be fulfilled. Vows were not taken lightly, as they were considered sacred and inviolable. This reflects Israel's deep reliance on God and their understanding of the seriousness of their covenant relationship with Him. In the broader biblical context, vows were often made in exchange for divine intervention or favor, highlighting the reciprocal nature of Israel's faith and devotion. to the LORD
The use of "the LORD" here refers to the covenant name of God, Yahweh, emphasizing His personal and relational nature with Israel. This name is a reminder of God's faithfulness and His role as the covenant-keeping God who delivered Israel from Egypt. It underscores the intimate relationship between God and His people, where Israel acknowledges Yahweh as their ultimate authority and source of deliverance. The invocation of God's name in a vow signifies the seriousness and sincerity of Israel's plea. If You will indeed deliver
This phrase reflects a conditional plea, demonstrating Israel's dependence on God's power and willingness to act on their behalf. The Hebrew root "נָתַן" (natan), meaning "to give" or "to deliver," conveys the idea of God granting victory or success. It highlights the Israelites' recognition that their success in battle is contingent upon divine intervention. This conditional aspect of the vow shows Israel's faith in God's ability to control the outcome of events and their trust in His providence. this people into our hands
The phrase "into our hands" is a common biblical expression denoting victory or control over an enemy. It signifies the transfer of power and authority from one group to another. In the historical context, the Israelites were often engaged in battles with surrounding nations as they journeyed to the Promised Land. This request for deliverance into their hands reflects the ongoing struggle for survival and the fulfillment of God's promises to Israel. It also underscores the belief that God is the one who grants victory and establishes His people's dominion. we will devote their cities to destruction
The term "devote to destruction" comes from the Hebrew word "חֵרֶם" (cherem), which means to consecrate or dedicate something to God, often through complete destruction. This concept is rooted in the idea of holy war, where certain things were set apart for God, either by being destroyed or given as an offering. In this context, it reflects Israel's commitment to obey God's commands regarding the conquest of the land and the removal of idolatrous influences. This act of devotion is both an expression of faithfulness to God and a means of purifying the land for His purposes. It serves as a reminder of the seriousness of sin and the need for holiness among God's people. Persons / Places / Events 1. IsraelThe collective name for the descendants of Jacob, also known as the Israelites. At this point in their journey, they are wandering in the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. 2. The LORD (Yahweh)The covenant name of God, who is the central figure in the Israelites' journey, guiding and delivering them according to His promises. 3. The CanaanitesThe people living in the land of Canaan, whom the Israelites are encountering as they journey towards the Promised Land. 4. VowA solemn promise made by Israel to God, indicating their dependence on Him for victory and their commitment to follow through on their promise. 5. Devote to Destruction (Herem)A term indicating the complete dedication of something to God, often through destruction, as a form of divine judgment and purification. Teaching Points The Seriousness of VowsVows made to God are not to be taken lightly. They reflect a deep commitment and trust in God's provision and guidance. Believers today should consider the weight of their promises to God and others. Dependence on God for VictoryIsrael's vow reflects their understanding that victory comes from the Lord. In our lives, we should recognize that true success and deliverance come from God, not our own strength. Devotion to God’s CommandsThe concept of "devoting to destruction" underscores the importance of obedience to God's commands, even when they are difficult. Believers are called to be set apart and to remove anything that hinders their relationship with God. God’s FaithfulnessThis passage reminds us of God's faithfulness to His people. When we align our actions with His will, we can trust in His provision and protection. Bible Study Questions 1. What does the vow made by Israel in Numbers 21:2 teach us about the nature of promises made to God? 2. How does the concept of "devoting to destruction" challenge us to examine areas of our lives that may need to be surrendered to God? 3. In what ways can we demonstrate our dependence on God for victory in our personal battles today? 4. How does the account of Israel's vow and subsequent actions connect with the broader biblical theme of obedience to God's commands? 5. Reflect on a time when you made a promise to God. How did you fulfill it, and what did you learn from the experience? Connections to Other Scriptures Leviticus 27Discusses the concept of vows and the seriousness with which they should be taken, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling promises made to God. Deuteronomy 7Provides instructions on how the Israelites are to deal with the inhabitants of the land, including the command to devote them to destruction to avoid idolatry. Judges 11The account of Jephthah, who also made a vow to the Lord, highlighting the importance and potential consequences of making vows. People Ammonites, Amon, Amorites, Arad, Canaanites, Chemosh, Israelites, Moses, Og, SihonPlaces Ar, Arad, Arnon, Bamoth, Bashan, Beer, Dedan, Dibon, Edom, Edrei, Egypt, Heshbon, Hormah, Iye-abarim, Jabbok River, Jahaz, Jazer, King's Highway, Mattanah, Medeba, Moab, Mount Hor, Nahaliel, Negeb, Nophah, Oboth, Pisgah, Red Sea, Suphah, Valley of Zered, WahebTopics Certainly, Cities, Complete, Deliver, Destroy, Destruction, Devoted, Hands, Indeed, Oath, Totally, Towns, Utterly, Vow, Vowed, Voweth, Wholly, WiltDictionary of Bible Themes Numbers 21:2 5741 vows Numbers 21:1-3 1305 God, activity of Library The Poison and the Antidote
'And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to compare the land of Edom: and the soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. 5. And the people spake against God, and against Moses, Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any water; and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6. And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died. 7. Therefore …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy ScriptureMan's Ruin and God's Remedy
Man has very many wants, and he should be grateful whenever the least of them is supplied. But he has one want which overtops every other: it is the want of bread. Give him raiment, house him well, decorate and adorn him, yet if you give him not bread, his body faints, he dies of hunger. Hence it is that while the earth when it is tilled is made to bring forth many things that minister unto the comfort and luxury of men, yet man is wise enough to understand that since bread is his chief want, he …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859 The Disciple, -- Master, in These Days Some Learned Men and their Followers Regard Thy...
The Disciple,--Master, in these days some learned men and their followers regard Thy atonement and the redemption by blood as meaningless and futile, and say that Christ was only a great teacher and example for our spiritual life, and that salvation and eternal happiness depend on our own efforts and good deeds. The Master,--1. Never forget that spiritual and religious ideas are connected less with the head than with the heart, which is the temple of God, and when the heart is filled with the presence …
Sadhu Sundar Singh—At The Master's Feet Messiah Suffering and Wounded for Us
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: ..... He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed. W hen our Lord was transfigured, Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and conversed with Him. Had we been informed of the interview only, we should probably have desired to know the subject of their conversation, as we might reasonably suppose it turned upon very interesting and important …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 The Nations of the South-East
Israel was cut in two by the Jordan. The districts east of the Jordan were those that had first been conquered; it was from thence that the followers of Joshua had gone forth to possess themselves of Canaan. But this division of the territory was a source of weakness. The interests of the tribes on the two sides of the river were never quite the same; at times indeed they were violently antagonistic. When the disruption of the monarchy came after the death of Solomon, Judah was the stronger for the …
Archibald Sayce—Early Israel and the Surrounding Nations The Lamb of God, the Great Atonement
Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! G reat and marvellous are the works of the LORD God almighty! We live in the midst of them, and the little impression they make upon us, sufficiently proves our depravity. He is great in the very smallest; and there is not a plant, flower, or insect, but bears the signature of infinite wisdom and power. How sensibly then should we be affected by the consideration of the Whole , if sin had not blinded our understandings, and hardened …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Ninth Sunday after Trinity Carnal Security and Its vices.
Text: 1 Corinthians 10, 6-13. 6 Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 7 Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 8 Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. 9 Neither let us make trial of the Lord, as some of them made trial, and perished by the serpents. 10 Neither murmur ye, as …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III Covenanting Performed in Former Ages with Approbation from Above.
That the Lord gave special token of his approbation of the exercise of Covenanting, it belongs to this place to show. His approval of the duty was seen when he unfolded the promises of the Everlasting Covenant to his people, while they endeavoured to perform it; and his approval thereof is continually seen in his fulfilment to them of these promises. The special manifestations of his regard, made to them while attending to the service before him, belonged to one or other, or both, of those exhibitions …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting Nature of Covenanting.
A covenant is a mutual voluntary compact between two parties on given terms or conditions. It may be made between superiors and inferiors, or between equals. The sentiment that a covenant can be made only between parties respectively independent of one another is inconsistent with the testimony of Scripture. Parties to covenants in a great variety of relative circumstances, are there introduced. There, covenant relations among men are represented as obtaining not merely between nation and nation, …
John Cunningham—The Ordinance of Covenanting The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am o jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of then that hate me; and shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments.' Exod 20: 4-6. I. Thou shalt not …
Thomas Watson—The Ten Commandments The Hebrews and the Philistines --Damascus
THE ISRAELITES IN THE LAND OF CANAAN: THE JUDGES--THE PHILISTINES AND THE HEBREW KINGDOM--SAUL, DAVID, SOLOMON, THE DEFECTION OF THE TEN TRIBES--THE XXIst EGYPTIAN DYNASTY--SHESHONQ OR SHISHAK DAMASCUS. The Hebrews in the desert: their families, clans, and tribes--The Amorites and the Hebrews on the left bank of the Jordan--The conquest of Canaan and the native reaction against the Hebrews--The judges, Ehud, Deborah, Jerubbaal or Gideon and the Manassite supremacy; Abimelech, Jephihdh. The Philistines, …
G. Maspero—History Of Egypt, Chaldaea, Syria, Babylonia, and Assyria, V 6 The Two Classes.
"Two men went up into the temple to pray."--Luke xvii. 10. I now want to speak of two classes: First, those who do not feel their need of a Saviour who have not been convinced of sin by the Spirit; and Second, those who are convinced of sin and cry, "What must I do to be saved?" All inquirers can be ranged under two heads: they have either the spirit of the Pharisee, or the spirit of the publican. If a man having the spirit of the Pharisee comes into an after-meeting, I know of no better portion …
Dwight L. Moody—The Way to God and How to Find It Numbers
Like the last part of Exodus, and the whole of Leviticus, the first part of Numbers, i.-x. 28--so called,[1] rather inappropriately, from the census in i., iii., (iv.), xxvi.--is unmistakably priestly in its interests and language. Beginning with a census of the men of war (i.) and the order of the camp (ii.), it devotes specific attention to the Levites, their numbers and duties (iii., iv.). Then follow laws for the exclusion of the unclean, v. 1-4, for determining the manner and amount of restitution …
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament Links Numbers 21:2 NIVNumbers 21:2 NLTNumbers 21:2 ESVNumbers 21:2 NASBNumbers 21:2 KJV
Numbers 21:2 Commentaries
Bible Hub |
