My dear brethren and sisters in North America.
As previously mentioned, there are travel days ahead for me. Accordingly, there are three days worth of comments on the daily readings copied below. The next email you will receive from me will be for April 2, God willing. There are also two documents attached – Expositional notes on “A sweet savour” for April 1 and the finalized PDF document for March. This has be uploaded to the Home page of my web site https://jimcowie.info for reference and downloading together with the document for February. Saving the document for the month means you can delete the daily emails that you may have kept or saved.
I am declaring an amnesty. Some on the email list to receive daily emails from me have now had nearly two months to assess whether they would like to continue to receive these daily emails (they need to continue until early February 2026 if the Lord remains away). If you are finding that the emails are clogging up your Inbox; are not what you expected; or not to your liking, now is the time for that to be corrected. If you would like to have your email address removed from the list then please feel free to ask. I will not feel any less of you if you have the courage to do so, as I understand very well what it is like to have an overflowing Inbox which I can never fully catch up with. Bear in mind that if you are unable to use the comments on a daily basis, they will be available in a monthly document uploaded to my web site, or available on request. I can also make a list of those who just want the monthly document forwarded to them at the end of the month. If you are happy with the current situation, there is no need for you to reply.
In the bonds of the Truth,
Jim
March 30
Numbers 12
Num. 11:35 – Israel were encamped at Hazeroth when Miriam was stricken with leprosy (Num. 12:10). Hazeroth means “yards” i.e. enclosed by a fence. And so it is. A deep wadi only accessible from steep passes makes it an easily defendable refuge for a vast multitude of people. To this day, Bedouins live near the only water source – a well. (Those interested can see the movie of our visit there using this link and going to minute 21 to 28.20 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLsmUZDApxHVEdzpbDM5T2QaWOH8PQwTrO&v=SzR5oIjjf5I).
Moses’ older siblings used his marriage to Zipporah called an “Ethiopian” but really a Cushite, as grounds for asserting their right to equal status as prophets as Moses. It was a serious mistake. In dealing with the rebellion and its outcome, three things are noteworthy.
Firstly, the character of Moses is declared in V.3 in parenthesis – “meek” is anayv – depressed (figuratively), in mind (gentle). This is the first of 21 occurrences of this word in the O.T. It is most often rendered “meek” but also “humble”. This meekness is not weakness, for Moses was strong to defend the things of God, but slow to defend himself (see its final use in Zeph. 2:3). That is a rare characteristic among men. Hence, he was “faithful in all mine house” (V.7 is cited Heb. 3:2).
Secondly, Yahweh does speak through prophets, but Moses was different. Num. 12:8 – “With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of Yahweh shall he behold” (Ex. 33:11; Isa. 63:9). This is why Christ would be a prophet like unto Moses (Deut. 18:18).
Thirdly, it seems Miriam was the principal antagonist against Moses, given she is the one struck with leprosy (one symbol for sin). Sometimes the sins of others can interrupt the way to the Kingdom for others. So it was in this case – Num. 12:15 – “And Miriam was shut out from the camp seven days: and the people journeyed not till Miriam was brought in again.”
Numbers 13
It was not Yahweh’s, or Moses’ idea that suggested spies should be sent to spy out the land of Canaan – Deut. 1:22-23. Though Moses was initially pleased with the idea, it was actually an insult to Yahweh who had already spied out the Land for them – Deut. 1:32-33; Ezek. 20:6,15.
V.3-16 – Twelve “heads” of the tribes were chosen, including Caleb of the tribe of Judah (V.6) and Oshea (Joshua = “Yahweh’s salvation”) the son of Nun (“perpetuity”). Only these two presented a faithful report – one with a Gentile background (Kenezite – Num. 32:12; Gen. 15:19), and the other a type of the Lord Jesus Christ.
V.22 – Hebron, the resting place of three giants of faith and their wives, became the stumbling-block for 10 of the spies because of three giants of the flesh who represent “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” (1 John 2:15-16). Caleb understood that an inheritance in the Land promised to Abraham requires fighting against these three ‘giants’ of the flesh until they are finally destroyed (V.30). Salvation depends on “crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts” – Gal. 5:24.
Proverbs 8
‘Wisdom’ is beautifully personified in this marquee chapter of Proverbs. Its promise is well expressed in the final verses – Prov. 8:34-36 – “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates, waiting at the posts of my doors. For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of Yahweh. But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.”
Proverbs 9
This chapter pursues the theme of choosing for a life-long companion ‘Wisdom’, and eschewing the natural bent of our nature towards the ‘sinful woman’ of folly. Unfortunately, the appeal of forbidden things is often too strong with the ‘simple’ and ‘her’ mantra prevails – Prov. 9:17 – “Stolen waters are sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”
Luke 22
This chapter contains the preparation for, and the holding of the memorial supper; the Lord resorting to the garden to pray and wrestle with the awful prospects before him; his arrest and the healing of Malchus; and the first three of the six trials Christ underwent before his crucifixion. It largely speaks for itself, but some things prompt additional comment.
V.10-13 – This was Christ’s Passover (“With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer” – the Jews’ Passover was the next day), so he had already prepared for it through the “goodman” (housemaster) of a unique character – “bearing a pitcher” (the work of women normally). The room and the ‘supper’ were ready when the disciples arrived. Christ has prepared everything for us. We need to join him with humility and gratitude in the ‘room’ and not be hatching betrayal like Judas (V.3), or jousting with others about our importance in the community (V.24).
V.19-21 – Some have questioned whether Jesus would have fellowshipped Judas Iscariot by partaking bread and wine with him. These verses put an end to that debate. It is short-sighted to think that way. We all share the emblems regularly with some who may at some point forsake and/or betray their Lord. Fellowship is with the Father and Son (1 John 1:3). There was still a chance (though unlikely) that Judas could be turned around. He had the free will to do so. Our obligation to refuse fellowship is when the apostasy/departure is in the open and declared – 2 John 9-11; 1 Cor. 5:1-5.
V.54-62 – The three denials by Peter are chilling reminders of the weakness of the flesh. All the loud assertions of loyalty and aspersions on the loyalty of others comes back to haunt him. Hurtful as it may be, it was a necessary phase in the life of Peter. His spontaneous zeal and enthusiasm needed to mature and produce a humility that was absent it seems from all the disciples who strove along the way over their importance (V.24; Rom. 12:3; Matt. 18:1-4).
March 31
Numbers 14
This chapter is terminal for an entire generation over the age of 20, except for a handful of Levites. Ten times the nation had “tempted” (nasah – to test) Yahweh after having seen His glory manifested many times, in many different ways, in the wilderness in the previous two years (V.22). They are condemned to perish in the wilderness over the next 38 years (V.29). Christ spoke of their situation in John 6:49 – “Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.” Of course they were dead, but he didn’t mean their first death in the wilderness. Their names had been erased from the Book of Life, and so they were “twice dead” or Second Death ‘dead’. They will appear alive again in the same wilderness, but be dismissed to die there again.
Num. 14:4 – “And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.” Having accused Yahweh of having called them out of Egypt to kill them in the wilderness (a blasphemy against God), they then decide to appoint a captain to take them back there. There was an ideal candidate for the job already hatching a plot to evict Moses and Aaron from the leadership and lead Israel back to Egypt, namely, Korah – Num. 16:1-3. This is evident from the accusations of Dathan, Abiram and On, sons of Reuben who lived adjacent to Korah in the camp (Num 16:13-14). They had obviously been consorting with Korah and left it to him to deal with Moses, refusing to come up.
V.21 – “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of Yahweh (He who will become).” Leaving out the italicised words “as” gives the proper sense. It is an oath like that of Gen. 22:16 grounded on the undeniable existence of Yahweh (Heb. 6:13).
V.30 – Both Caleb and Joshua appear in this verse, but Caleb is singled out in V.24 as having “another spirit.” It would appear Caleb was the foremost spokesman for the two who stood against the 10 faithless spies who now met a just fate – Num. 13:30; 14:36-37.
V.39-45 – The ill-fated expedition to take the Land in the absence of Yahweh, the Ark and Moses illustrates the folly of faithless possessors of a promise. That promise is rejected, but when the realisation of what has been lost comes upon them, a pleading foolishness takes over. This was the case with Esau (Heb. 12:17) and is the scenario for the foolish virgins in the parable – Matt. 25:8-9. The presumptuous fools were destroyed at Hormah = “utter destruction” (V.45). The Land of Promise is unattainable without faith and obedience.
Proverbs 10
The chapter contains a long list of contrasts between the wise and the foolish; the righteous and the wicked; and their respective destinies.
Luke 23
This chapter contains the last three trials of the six that the Lord faced before being crucified – Pilate, Herod and Pilate again.
V.27-31 – The encounter with the weeping women reveals where the mind of the Lord was as he stumbled towards Golgotha. It was in Hosea. Grieved, but not surprised by his complete rejection by the leaders of Israel, Christ’s mind went right back to “the days of Gibeah” when Israel having not dealt with the brazen manifestations of idolatry by Micah, supported by Moses’ grandson, then allowed a portion of the tribe of Dan to set up that apostasy in Dan breaking Yahweh’s covenant (Deut. 31:16,20). They then failed to keep their own oaths when reacting to the dreadful sin of Gibeah (Judges 19-21).
In John 19:15 the leaders of God’s people repudiate the Davidic covenant when they say, “We have no king but Caesar.” The following slides show how deeply the Lord had been impacted by the rejection, not only of him as their Messiah, but by the total rejection of the covenants of promise by the spiritual leaders of Israel. It could not get worse than that, except for them to crucify their king.
Christ’s rejection and message to the weeping women had been prophesied in Hosea, hence the citations and allusions in Luke 23:28-31. Gibeah was the place where covenants were made and broken in Israel’s history – Judges 19-21; Saul of Gibeah was a serial breaker of oaths (1 Sam. 19, etc.).
Luke 23:30 – “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.” This direct citation of Hosea 10:8 by Christ seals the matter. His mind was on the incredible perfidy of a people who could reject the very promises that were the basis of their existence.
Luke 23:38 – “And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.” The mention of Greek first is consistent with the assertion by commentators that Luke uses the Greek form of the inscription; Mark the Latin; Matthew and John the Hebrew. This is because of the respective audiences of each Gospel writer – Matthew for Jews; Mark for Romans; Luke for Greeks, and John for the spiritual (note in John 19:20 “Hebrew” is ranked first).
Luke 23:43 – Rotherham – “And he said unto him—Verily, I say unto thee this day: With me, shalt thou be in Paradise.” This translation removes the Apostasies’ concept that the thief was promised heaven that day. His future will be Christ in the Kingdom.
April 1
Numbers 15 – An appeal to the generation that would enter the Land
Numbers 14 records the condemnation of all over the age of 20 to perish in the wilderness in the ensuing 38 years, except for Caleb and Joshua (Num. 14:22-24; 32:11-12). True to the character of Yahweh, He extends to the younger generation an invitation to endure the next 38 years with faith and patience and to enter the Land of Promise. The phrase “a sweet savour” occurs six times in Numbers 15 – Vv.3,7,10,13,14,24 – Lit. “a fragrance of rest.” (For detail see attached document on a “sweet savour”).
V.1-16 constitute the first section of the chapter. This is an appeal (“speak” V.2, not a command as is often the case in the Law).
V.2 – “When ye be come into the land of your habitations, which I give unto you.” This is a promise that Yahweh would fulfil His promise to Abraham (Gen. 15:13-16). Some would finally enter the Land promised to Abraham (Heb. 4:6).
Voluntary offerings sought
V.3 – “And will make an offering by fire unto Yahweh” – These are specified as burnt and peace offerings (vow and freewill). Both required a meal and a drink offering to be offered in conjunction with them.
A compulsory requirement for meal and drink offerings
V.4 – “Then shall he that offereth…” – If one chose to make offerings indicating a desire to dedicate oneself (burnt), or to make commitments (vow and freewill – peace), then they had to also make an attendant meal (flour) and drink (wine) offering. This was compulsory. Why? When an offeror made a burnt or a peace offering under the Law, all that was required was to select an unblemished animal from herd or flock and take it to the priest at the place of sacrifice. Not a great deal of effort on the offeror’s part was required. However, bringing along a meal and drink offering was quite different.
To produce fine flour takes many months of labour. There is ploughing (in cold wet weather); patient maintenance as the crop grows; harvesting in the heat of summer; threshing; winnowing; grinding; sifting, and preparation of the meal offering from fine flour. Similarly, to produce wine takes many months, and a lot of work. What was Yahweh teaching here? The obvious lesson was that good intentions and a desire to commit to Him were not enough of themselves. Yahweh wants ongoing dedication in the form of labours and ministration to others, works of faith and commitment to produce fruit.
Numbers 15:13-16 reveal the breadth of this requirement. Not only were Israelites to keep this ordinance, but also “strangers”” (i.e. Gentiles) who attached themselves to Israel as “sojourners” (a word used 3 times in this bracket of verses). That is exactly our spiritual position if we are in Christ. The principle applies equally to us.
The meal and drink offerings of old are matched by the bread and wine of the table of remembrance in our experience. In baptism, we identified with the sacrifice of Christ, the fulfillment of all the altar sacrifices. Our responsibility is to daily take up the cross sharing his sacrifice – Luke 9:23 – “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”
V.22-31 – While offerings could be made for sins of ignorance it was not so for sins of presumption. The offender would be “cut off” from his people (disfellowshipped). In some cases the presumption was so egregious that death was the punishment. This was the case with the man found gathering sticks on the Sabbath (one of just two recorded incidents in 38 years). Despising the promise of rest in the Land (‘Kingdom’) was what Korah, Dathan and Abiram also did.
V.37-41 – The focus is normally on the ribband of blue, but it is actually an accessory, like the cord that tied the golden plate to the high priest’s mitre (Ex. 28:36-37). It is the “fringe” that is important as careful reading reveals.
“fringe” – Strong #6734 – tsı̂ytsith – fringe, tassel, lock. This word occurs only 4 times in the O.T. – three here and in Ezek. 8:3 (“lock”). It is in the feminine form in the Hebrew.
This word is cognate with tsı̂yts (Strong #6731) which first occurs in Ex. 28:36 of the “plate” of pure gold on the high priest’s ‘holy crown’ on which was inscribed “Holiness to Yahweh.” The same word occurs again of that crown in Ex. 39:30; Lev. 8:9 (there are 15 occs. in the O.T.). It is in the masculine form in the Hebrew.
It is not difficult to see the relationship to Christ (our High Priest) and ourselves (his ‘body’ and future bride wandering in the wilderness of life) walking towards the Land of Promise. Our walk must be governed by his mind (Phil. 2:5), and our feet kept within the bounds of his commandments (John 14:15,21; 15:10).
Proverbs 11
The focus in this chapter turns from emphasizing the importance of choosing wisdom over folly to the consequences of that choice.
Luke 24
(Given the extent of the comments above, this chapter will be reserved until the second half of the year)