As we read these words, who among us would have the temerity to say that we are

sure that that crown and prize are ours? We do not, of course, mean to cast the slightest

doubt upon the absolutely perfect and inalienable position that every believer occupies in

grace. The passage in view is not dealing with position in grace, but with service,

running a race, fighting a good fight, finishing a course. There is as much difference

between these two things as between the rock foundation once laid, and the subsequent

erection built upon it that shall be tried by fire (I Cor. 3:). When we are dealing with

Israel in the Book of Numbers, we must remember that they are a redeemed people.

Redemption had delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, and the Red Sea flowed

between them. Moses himself was a saved man; yet he "suffered loss". The reader

would be helped in his study if he were to read Psalm 90: and 91:, noticing that

Psalm 90: speaks of those whose carcasses fell in the wilderness, while Psalm 91:

speaks of those who, being under twenty years of age, were preserved for those

forty years, and led into the land under Joshua.

A beautiful spirit is manifested in the reply of Moses in Numb. 27: to the sentence

of death. He makes no complaint, he offers no excuses; he bows before the Lord, but

asks that a successor shall be appointed.

Numb. 27: deals with the request of the daughters of Zelophedad, and the Lord's

answer. The latter, together with the further enactment given in the last chapter of

Numbers, has to do with the law of the kinsman-redeemer, an important principle which

underlies the beautiful account in the book of Ruth and the teaching of Scripture in

connection with the Redeemer Himself (See the series on "Redemption", Volume XII,

page 109).  Chapters 28: and 29: restate the law regarding various offerings and

feasts. This was necessary for the guidance of the people about to enter the land, but

does not demand a detailed study here.

Chapter 30:  is devoted to the question of vows:  their fulfillment and their

cancellation. A special place is given to the woman in the matter. Her vow can be

rendered void either by her father, if she be unmarried, or by her husband, if she be

married. The words, "He shall bear her iniquity" (30: 15) give us a faint picture of the

relationship between Christ and His people. Moreover, the passage throws light upon the

true status of women. It is introduced by the words: "This is the thing which the Lord

hath commanded." A word here may perhaps be in season when the tendency of the

times, even among the Lord's people, is to throw over the restraints of Scripture in the

interests of a false "liberty" and "equality".  The treatment of the daughters of

Zelophedad, taken together with this chapter, would help to give a balanced judgment.

In chapter 31: Moses is commanded to avenge the children of Israel upon the

Midianites. This is the last command laid upon Moses: "afterward shalt thou be gathered

unto thy people." Midian is defeated. Balaam is slain. The spoils of war are purified

with fire and the water of separation. A great difference is made between the levy

imposed upon those who actually went out to the battle, and the remainder of the

congregation who stayed at home.