SPEAKER_00 0:08

Welcome. I'm Cliff Hedges. This is Pastor Cliff's Notes. This is a podcast where we are studying the Bible. We're working our way through the book of Numbers. Today is episode 1640, and we're looking at Numbers chapter 20, verses 14 through 21. So God had brought the Israelites right to the very edge of the promised land, but they rebelled. They said it was too scary and they wouldn't go. So God's response was to send them back into the wilderness and to remain there until the faithless generation died. He said it'd be forty years. And later sometime a Levite named Korah led another rebellion. He challenged the priesthood. God struck down Korah and his followers, and he demonstrated his choice of Aaron as his high priest by causing Aaron's staff to bud and grow almonds. Now last time we saw Miriam, Moses' sister, die, and this was at the beginning of the fortieth year out of Egypt. So we've fast forward, it seems, without a whole lot of detail in between to the fortieth year. Then last time we saw Moses sin by not following God's instructions accurately when he and Aaron went to provide water for the people. Moses sent messengers from Kiddish to the king of Edom. This is what your brother Israel says. So Moses is now sending a message to the king of Edom. Now Edom, you remember way back in Genesis, the two twins, Jacob and Esau. Jacob was later named Israel by the Lord. So Israel are the descendants of Jacob. His twin brother Esau was also called Edom. And several times we saw Esau, which is Edom, and the descendants of Esau is the group called Edom. So that's why he says, this is what your brother Israel says, because Israel, the descendants of Jacob, Edom's the descendants of Esau. So they have that common background. Now he addresses it to the king of Edom. And there was probably not a consolidated kingdom of Edom at that time, but a loose confederation of tribes or clans. But addressing something to the king of Edom would it would work for whoever he encountered who was in charge of whatever Edomite clan they encountered. And he says, You know all the hardships that have overtaken us. This is something to take note of that what they are doing, what they're going through, is known throughout the region. We'll see later in the book of Joshua when they come to Jericho. The people in Jericho have heard all about what has happened with the nation of Israel. Verse 15. When we cried out to the Lord, he heard our plea and sent an angel and brought us out of Egypt. Now look, we are in Kidish, a city on the border of your territory. Please let us travel through your land. We won't travel through any field or vineyard or drink any well water. We will travel the king's highway. We won't turn to the right or left until we have traveled through your territory. So he's asking nicely, please let us pass through your territory. He says we're in Kadish, a city on the border. There's probably no real city, Kadish, there's just a series of wells there. And so this isn't meant to give some scientific-oriented map. He's just using broad terms. We're near you, and we want to pass through your area. We don't mean you any harm. Please let us pass through. It says, you know, we're not going to loot the land. We don't want any military stuff. We just want to pass through. It says we will travel the King's Highway. Well, the King's Highway is not a four-lane limited access paved highway. It's just a path that is followed. It's a north-south road. It goes from Damascus, Syria, all the way down to the Gulf of Aqaba. Goes through cities like Bashan, Gilead, Ammon, Moab, and Edom. And so it's a well-traveled area. And we'll just do that. We won't mess with anything. We won't touch anything. Now, question, is this God's idea or is this Moses' idea to take this route through Edom? Well, actually, as Moses is recounting what went on later in Deuteronomy. If we look at Deuteronomy chapter 2, verses 1 through 7, Moses says, Then we turned back and headed for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea, as the Lord had told me, and we traveled around the hill country of Seir for many days. The Lord said to me, You've been traveling around this hill country long enough, turn north. Command the people, you are about to travel through the territory of your brothers, the descendants of Esau who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, so be very careful, don't provoke them, for I will not give you any of their land, not even a foot of it, because I have given Esau the hill country of Seir as his possession. You may purchase food from them, so that you may eat, buy water from them to drink, for the Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He's watched over your journey through this immense wilderness. The Lord your God has been with you these past forty years, and you have lacked nothing. So that answers the question. This is God's idea. God says to Moses, Go through Edom, be nice, play nice, don't cause any trouble. And so Moses is following those instructions. He sends messengers to the king of Edom, says, We want to pass through your area, and we won't cause any trouble. Please don't cause us any trouble. Verse 18. But Edom answered him, You will not travel through our land, or we will come out and confront you with the sword. Well, we don't know how populous the area of Edom was, but it probably didn't match the armed force of the Israelites as they were coming through. But the instructions from God were don't mess with the Edomites. This is their land. Don't provoke them. So even though they probably could have easily defeated the Edomites in an actual war, and we'll see later they actually defeat forces that are much larger than them because God has provided. But Moses sends a counter proposal, verse 19. We will go on the main road, the Israelites replied to them. And if we or our herds drink your water, we will pay its price. There will be no problem. Only let us travel through on foot. They're making the point here, we're walking. We're not providing a bunch of military equipment, we don't have chariots, anything like that. We're just coming through. Verse 20. Yet Edom insisted, You may not travel through. And they came out to confront them with a large force of heavily armed people. Edom refused to allow Israel to travel through their territory, and Israel turned away from them. Moses says, So we bypassed our brothers, the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir. We turned away from the Arabah road and from Eliath and Ezion Gerber. We traveled along the road to the wilderness of Boab. So God instructed them, Don't harass the Edomites, don't provoke them. And so they did. When the Edom says, Nope, can't travel through here. They're now going to have to go around Edom. So they were at Kadesh Barnea, the very southern point of Canaan. And now they're starting to move to get in position to actually go into the land of Canaan. It's the fortieth year out of Egypt. Not all of this faithless generation has died yet. And that was the reason they were sent back out in the wilderness until 40 years after leaving Egypt. So this faithless generation could die. So we've still got some time, but they're starting to move to get in position to enter Canaan. So they're going to move north. And the most direct route would be to pass through Edom. But can't now, so we've got to go around Edom. That will take them up eventually to the area aligned with Jericho, where we'll see them actually enter in the book of Joshua. So we're starting to move now. Can't go through Edom. Got to go around Edom. We've still got issues with many. I don't know how many. But some of these people from this faithless generation are actually still around. Thanks for joining me. Join me again next time as we continue working through numbers.