READY FOR BATTLE (NUM.21)
EDOM `STICKS IT' TO YISHARAL (NUM.20 cont'd)
While Moses was at Kadesh, he sent messengers to the King of Edom with this message: “Greetings from your brother Yisharal. You know all the hardships we’ve been through and how our ancestors moved to Egypt many years ago and lived there a very long time. They were brutally mistreated by the Egyptians, but when we cried out to Yahuah, He heard us and sent a messenger to bring us out of Egypt. We are currently camped at Kadesh, a town on the border of your land. We request that you please let us travel through your land. We will be careful not to go through your fields and vineyards. We won’t even drink water from your wells. We will stay on the king’s road and never leave it until we have passed through your territory.”
But the King of Edom said, “STAY THE HELL OUTTA MY LAND, OR YOU’RE ALL DEAD-MEAT!”
But the messengers answered, “Please, we promise we’ll stay on the main road and if any of our livestock drink your water, we’ll pay for it immediately. Just let us pass through your country. Please, that’s all we ask.”
But the King of Edom replied, “Never! Stay out! There’s no way you’re passing over the border into our land.”
And with that he mobilised his entire army and marched out against them with an imposing force. So Yisharal was forced to turn around.
38 YEARS BEFORE, WHEN THE TWELVE EXPLORERS FIRST ENTERED THE PROMISED LAND, THEY ENTERED FROM THE SOUTH. HOWEVER, IN ORDER TO SPEED THINGS UP, MOSES DECIDED IT WOULD BE BEST TO ENTER FROM THE EAST WHICH WOULD ENTAIL CROSSING OVER THE JORDAN RIVER AND TRAVEL THROUGH THE TERRITORY OF EDOM AND THEY COULDN’T JUST PLOUGH THROUGH EDOMITE TERRITORY WITHOUT GETTING PERMISSION FROM THE TERRITORIAL POWERS THAT BE IN THE AREA. IN ACCORDANCE WITH PROPER PROTOCOL, YISHARAL WOULD HAVE TO DISPATCH MESSENGERS TO THE KING OF EDOM TO GET PERMISSION TO PASS THROUGH HIS LAND.
NOTICE THAT MOSES ADDRESSES EDOM AS YISHARAL’S “BROTHER“? HE WASN’T JUST BEING FRIENDLY OR APPLYING SOME FIGURE OF SPEECH HERE. EDOM WAS LITERALLY YISHARAL’S BROTHER. REMEMBER BEFORE HIS NAME WAS CHANGED, THE MAN YISHARAL WAS KNOWN AS JACOB, AND HIS BROTHER WAS ESAU? WELL ESAU ALSO WENT BY THE NAME EDOM! SO THESE TWO NATIONS WERE LITERALLY BROTHERS, THE SONS OF ISAAC. REMEMBER THE AGGRESSIVE HISTORY JACOB AND ESAU HAD AND EVEN THOUGH IT APPEARS THEIR HEARTS WERE SOFTENED AND THEY PATCHED UP THEIR RELATIONSHIP TWENTY ODD YEARS LATER, OVER THE LAST FIVE CENTURIES THINGS WERE NO LONGER FRIENDLY AND THE KING OF EDOM COMPLETELY DISREGARDED MOSES` PLEA TO REMEMBER THAT THEY SHARE A COMMON BLOOD HERITAGE.
WHAT’S INTERESTING IS THAT ACCORDING TO OTHER HISTORICAL RECORDS FROM THE TIME, INCLUDING EGYPTIAN RECORDS, EDOM DIDN’T APPEAR TO BE AN ESTABLISHED GROUP OF PEOPLE WITH WALLED CITIES AND PERMANENT VILLAGES, BUT WERE MORE NOMADIC THAN A SETTLED NATION. YET THEY WERE STILL POWERFUL ENOUGH TO GATHER A MILITIA TO PROTECT THEMSELVES FROM OUTSIDE THREATS WHEN THE OCCASION AROSE. AND THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT EDOM DID…AGAINST YISHARAL. NO MATTER WHAT PROMISES MOSES MADE, THE STUBBORN KING OF EDOM DIDN’T BUDGE. SO YISHARAL TURNED AROUND AND HEADED TO MT HOR (MEANING MOUNTAIN), SO THEY WENT TO `MOUNT MOUNTAIN’.
THE DEATH OF AARON
So the whole community of Yisharal left Kadesh and arrived at Mount Hor, and there on the border of the land of Edom, YAHUSHA spoke to Moses and Aaron, “The time has come for Aaron to join his ancestors in death. He won’t be entering the land I’m giving Yisharal, because the two of you threw a hissy-fit tantrum, lifted yourselves up and rebelled against My Instructions back at the rock in Meribah. Now take Aaron and his son Eleazar up Mount Hor and remove Aaron’s priestly garments, putting them on his son, because Aaron will die there and join his ancestors.”
So Moses did as YAHUSHA instructed and the three of them went up Mount Hor together as the whole community watched. And when they reached the summit, Moses removed the priestly garments from Aaron and put them on Eleazar his son. Then Aaron died there on top of the mountain, and Moses and Eleazar went back down. And when the people heard that Aaron had died, all of Yisharal mourned him for thirty days.
IF AARON HAD NOT BEHAVED THE WAY HE DID WITH MOSES AT THE ROCK, YAHUSHA WOULDN’T HAVE BARRED HIM FROM ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND AND HIS LIFE WOULD HAVE BEEN EXTENDED. SO HIS VERY LIFE (AND MOSES` AS WELL) WAS LINKED TO ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND. THEREFORE, ONCE THE POSSIBILITY OF ENTERING THE PROMISED LAND DISAPPEARED, SO DID AARON’S VERY PURPOSE FOR LIVING. SO HE DIED! NO EULOGY IS GIVEN RECOUNTING HIS LIFE AND ALL THE SERVICE HE PROVIDED YISHARAL, NEVERTHELESS, HE DIED A BLESSED MAN, LIVING TO SEE HIS SON SUCCEED HIM AS THE HIGH PRIEST AND IN THOSE DAYS, IT WAS CONSIDERED A GREAT BLESSING FOR THE FATHER TO BE ABLE TO PASS HIS MANTLE OF LEADERSHIP OVER TO HIS SON.
GREAT SPIRITUAL EVENTS USUALLY TAKE PLACE ON MOUNTAINTOPS, WHY? IN FACT THE WORD AL SHADDAI, ACTUALLY MEANS “MIGHTY ALAHIM OF THE MOUNTAIN“. BUT IF HIS PORTAL WAS IN THE TABERNACLE, WHY NOT DO THIS `GOODBYE’ CEREMONY THERE? BECAUSE THERE IS NOTHING MORE DEFILING TO YAHUSHA’S SET-APARTNESS THAN DEATH. HENCE, THE OFFICIATION OVER AARON’S DEATH HAD TO TAKE PLACE IN AN AREA FAR AWAY FROM THE SET-APART CAMP OF YISHARAL.
BATTLING THE CANAANITES (NUM.21)
The Canaanite King of Arad (who lived in the south) heard that the Yisharalites were approaching on the road through Atharim, so he attacked them and took some of them as prisoners (HE WASN’T GOING TO WAIT FOR THEM TO ATTACK HIM). Then the leaders of Yisharal made this promise to YAHUSHA, “If you’ll let us conquer these people, we’ll seize this place and devote all it’s wealth to You.”
THEY WOULDN’T LOOT THE GOODS FOR THEMSELVES BUT TREAT THEM AS `BANNED’ AND OFFER THEM TO YAHUSHA IN A HUGE ACT OF SELF-DENIAL). ACCORDING TO THE WAR CUSTOMS OF THAT ERA, WHENEVER AN ENEMY CITY WAS TAKEN OVER, THE SOLDIERS WERE PERMITTED BY THEIR COMMANDERS TO LOOT THE AREA AND HELP THEMSELVES TO AS MANY VALUABLES AS THEY COULD CARRY BACK HOME AND THIS WAS CONSIDERED THEIR PAY FOR SERVING THEIR NATION. HOWEVER, IN THIS CASE, IN EXCHANGE FOR YAHUSHA’S SUPERNATURAL POWER TO GAIN VICTORY, THE YISHARALITES VOWED THAT INSTEAD OF TAKING THE BOOTY OF THE ENEMY FOR THEMSELVES, THEY WOULD INSTEAD OFFER IT UP TO YAHUSHA. AND SINCE HE IS A SPIRIT-BEING AND IS NOT GOING TO LITERALLY RECEIVE MATERIAL THINGS, THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE BOOTY IS OFFERED TO HIM IS BY DESTROYING AND BURNING IT UP. THIS IS WHY MOST TRANSLATIONS SAY `PUT THEM UNDER THE BAN.’
And YAHUSHA heard their request and gave them the advantage over the Canaanites, allowing them to completely overthrow the people and their towns, and the place has been called Hormah (TO DESTROY) ever since.
IT WAS NO SECRET TO THE PEOPLE OF CANAAN THAT YISHARAL WAS GOING TO ATTEMPT TO INVADE THEIR LAND. SO AS A RESULT, YISHARAL’S EVERY MOVEMENT WAS BEING CAREFULLY MONITORED AND EVERY CANAANITE STATE-NATION IN THE AREA HAD SENT OUT SPIES FOR THE SOLE PURPOSE OF TRACKING YISHARAL’S WHEREABOUTS ON A DAY-TO-DAY BASIS. THERE’S JUST NO WAY YOU CAN HIDE THE MOVEMENTS OF 3 MILLION PEOPLE. THE CANAANITES ALL HAD THEIR EYES GLUED LIKE HAWKS TO THESE HEBREW WANDERERS. YOU’VE GOT ONE NATION (YISHARAL) WHO (ON THE INSTRUCTIONS OF THEIR MIGHTY ALAHIM) IS PLANNING TO ATTACK AND TAKE OVER PRETTY MUCH A WHOLE CONTINENT (CANAAN) CONSISTING OF SEVERAL STATE-NATIONS. AND IN RETURN THE STATE-NATIONS WERE WELL AWARE OF YISHARAL’S INTENTIONS AND WHAT HAD HAPPENED IN EGYPT ABOUT 40 YEARS AGO. TO SAY THE SITUATION WAS TENSE WOULD HAVE BEEN A HUGE UNDERSTATEMENT!
