People of the World where are you going? Turn back to God! Back to your faithful principles!
THE VOW OF SEPARTION
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
“Say to the sons of Israel, ‘When a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, that is, one separated and dedicated to the LORD, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes.
THE SUBSTITUTE FOR THE FIRST BORN
Again the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the sons of Israel instead of and as a substitute for every firstborn, that is, the first that opens the womb among the Israelites. So the Levites shall be Mine,
for all the firstborn are Mine. On the day that I killed all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for Myself all the firstborn in Israel, both man and animal. They shall be mine; I am the LORD.”
ARRANGEMENT OF THE CAMP
Arrangement of the Camp. The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying,
“The sons of Israel shall camp, each by his own standard, with the banners of their fathers’ households; they shall camp around the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle), but at a distance.
A CENSUS OF ISRAEL’S WARRIORS
A Census of Israel’s Warriors. he LORD spoke [by special revelation] to Moses in the Wilderness of Sinai in the Tent of Meeting (tabernacle) on the first day of the second month in the second year after the Israelites came out of the land of Egypt, saying,
“Take a census of all the congregation of the sons of Israel, by their families (clans), by their fathers’ households, according to the number of names, every male, head by head
from twenty years old and upward, all in Israel who are able to go out to war. You and Aaron shall number them, army by army.
THE BIBLE BOOK OF NUMBERS
In the Hebrew this book is called “In the desert.” The ordinary name by which we know it is derived from the two “numberings” of Israel
LAWS ABOUT VOWS
Laws About Vows. Again, the LORD spoke to Moses, saying,
“Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man makes a special vow [consecrating himself or a member of his family], he shall be valued according to your [established system of] valuation of people belonging to the LORD [that is, the priest accepts from the man making the vow a specified amount of money for the temple treasury in place of the actual person].
DESOLATION AND CAPTIVITY FOR THE STUBBORN
Desolation and captivity for the stubborn. ‘If then, you act with hostility toward Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times in accordance with your sins.
RESULTS OF OBEDIENCE AND DISOBEDIENCE
Results of obedience and disobedience. If you walk in My statutes and keep My commandments and [obediently] do them, then I will give you rain in its season, and the land will yield her produce and the trees of the field bear their fruit.
CONSIDERATION FOR THE POOR
Consideration for the poor. ‘If a fellow countryman of yours becomes so poor he has to sell some of his property, then his nearest relative is to come and buy back (redeem) what his relative has sold.
THE SABBATICAL YEAR AND THE JUBILEE
But in the seventh year there shall be a Sabbath of rest for the land, a Sabbath to the LORD; you shall not sow [seed in] your field nor prune your vineyard.