Numbers 33:50 - Forerunner Commentary

Numbers 33:50

48 They departed from the mountains of Abarim and ^acamped in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho.

49 They camped by the Jordan, from Beth Jesimoth as far as the ^aAbel Acacia Grove in the plains of Moab.

Instructions for the Conquest of Canaan

50 Now the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan, across from Jericho, saying,

51 “Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ^a‘When you have crossed the Jordan into the land of Canaan,

52 ^athen you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, destroy all their engraved stones, destroy all their molded images, and demolish all their¹ high places;

53 you shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land and dwell in it, for I have given you the land to ^apossess.

54 And ^ayou shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone’s inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers.

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Numbers 33:50-52

The word in English means any resemblance, any portrayal. And if you have a King James, I believe they have the word "picture" there. That is not wrong. They have defined it a little bit more specifically, but it certainly would be included within the definition of that Hebrew word engraved stone, any resemblance, any portrayal, any memorial.

Again, this is meant in a religious sense. It does not mean a statue that had nothing at all to do with the worship of a god and those things are certainly permissible by God. Now any representation of God changes God into a different God from what He really is. This is where the damage begins to be done. It changes God into a different God from what He is because you are beginning with a lie; you saw no form. Nobody knows what He looks like. If God wanted us to know, He would have told us. But the fact that He did not tell us makes it obvious that He wants us to concentrate on something else, because He has not withheld any good thing from us. We do not need to know what He looks like.

Excerpted from The Commandments (Part Three) by John W. Ritenbaugh

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