Numbers 20; Numbers 21; Numbers 22; Mark 7:1-13

1 In the first month the whole community of Israel came into the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died and was buried there.

2 Since the community was without water, they came together to confront Moses and Aaron.

3 The people complained to Moses and said, "If only we had died when the other Israelites died in the LORD's presence!

4 Did you bring the LORD's assembly into this desert just to have us and our animals die here?

5 Why did you make us leave Egypt and bring us into this terrible place? This is no place to plant crops. Even figs, grapes, and pomegranates won't grow here. And there's no water to drink!"

6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance of the tent of meeting. Immediately, they bowed with their faces touching the ground, and the glory of the LORD appeared to them.

7 The LORD said to Moses,

8 "Take your staff, then you and your brother Aaron gather the community. Right before their eyes, tell the rock to give up its water. In this way you will give the community water from the rock for them and their animals to drink."

9 Moses took his staff out of [the tent in] the LORD's presence as he had been commanded.

10 Then Moses and Aaron assembled the community in front of the rock and said to them, "Listen, you rebels, must we bring water out of this rock for you?"

11 Moses raised his hand and hit the rock twice with the staff. Water came pouring out, and all the people and their animals drank.

12 But the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "You didn't trust me! You didn't show the Israelites how holy I am! So you will not bring this congregation into the land I'm giving them."

13 This was the oasis of Meribah [Complaining], where the Israelites complained about the LORD and where he showed them he was holy.

14 Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom. He said, "This is what your brother Israel says: You know all the hardships we've had.

15 Our ancestors went to Egypt, and we lived there for many years. The Egyptians mistreated us and our ancestors.

16 When we cried out to the LORD, he heard us, sent a messenger, and brought us out of Egypt. "Now we're here in Kadesh, a city on the edge of your territory.

17 Please let us go through your country. We won't go through any of your fields or vineyards, or drink any of the water from your wells. We'll stay on the king's highway and never leave it until we've passed through your territory."

18 But the Edomites answered, "You may not pass through our country. If you try, we'll come out and attack you."

19 The Israelites replied, "We'll stay on the main road, and if we or our livestock drink any of your water, we'll pay for it. We want to pass through on foot. That's all."

20 But the Edomites said, "You may not pass through." Then they came out and attacked with many well-armed troops.

21 Since the Edomites refused to let Israel go through their territory, the Israelites turned around and went a different way.

22 The whole community of Israel left Kadesh and came to Mount Hor.

23 At Mount Hor, near the border of Edom, the LORD said to Moses and Aaron,

24 "Aaron must now join his ancestors [in death], since he cannot enter the land I'm giving the Israelites. This is because you both rebelled against my command at the oasis of Meribah.

25 Bring Aaron and his son Eleazar up on Mount Hor.

26 Take off Aaron's priestly clothes, and put them on his son Eleazar. Then Aaron will die there and join [his ancestors]."

27 Moses did as the LORD commanded. The whole community saw them go up on Mount Hor.

28 Moses took off Aaron's priestly clothes and put them on his son Eleazar. Aaron died there on top of the mountain. Then Moses and Eleazar came down from the mountain.

29 The whole community saw that Aaron had died, and all the Israelites mourned for Aaron 30 days.

1 When the Canaanite king of Arad, who lived in the Negev, heard that the Israelites were coming on the road to Atharim, he fought them and took some of them as prisoners.

2 Then the Israelites made this vow to the LORD: "If you will hand these people over to us, we'll destroy their cities because you've claimed them."

3 The LORD listened to the Israelites and handed the Canaanites over to them. They destroyed the Canaanites and their cities. So they called the place Hormah [Claimed for Destruction].

4 Then they moved from Mount Hor, following the road that goes to the Red Sea, in order to get around Edom. The people became impatient on the trip

5 and criticized God and Moses. They said, "Why did you make us leave Egypt--just to let us die in the desert? There's no bread or water, and we can't stand this awful food!"

6 So the LORD sent poisonous snakes among the people. They bit the people, and many of the Israelites died.

7 The people came to Moses and said, "We sinned when we criticized the LORD and you. Pray to the LORD so that he will take the snakes away from us." So Moses prayed for the people.

8 The LORD said to Moses, "Make a snake, and put it on a pole. Anyone who is bitten can look at it and live."

9 So Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole. People looked at the bronze snake after they were bitten, and they lived.

10 The Israelites moved and set up camp at Oboth.

11 Next they moved from Oboth and set up camp at Iye Abarim in the desert west of Moab.

12 From there they moved and set up camp at the Zered River.

13 They moved from there and set up camp on the other side of the Arnon Valley in the desert that extends into Amorite territory. (The Arnon Valley is the border between Moab and the Amorites.)

14 This is how it's described in the Book of the Wars of the LORD: "...Waheb in Suphah and the valleys,

15 Arnon and the slopes of the valleys that go down to the site of Ar and lie along the border of Moab...."

16 From there they went to Beer [Well]. This is the well where the LORD said to Moses, "Gather the people, and I will give them water."

17 Then Israel sang this song about the well: "Make your water spring up! Sing to the well,

18 the well dug by princes, dug out by the nobles of the people with their scepters and staffs." From the desert they went to Mattanah,

19 and from Mattanah to Nahaliel, and from Nahaliel to Bamoth,

20 and from Bamoth to the valley in Moab where Mount Pisgah overlooks Jeshimon.

21 Then Israel sent messengers to say to King Sihon of the Amorites,

22 "Let us go through your country. We won't go through any of your fields or vineyards or drink any of the water from your wells. We'll stay on the king's highway until we've passed through your territory."

23 Sihon wouldn't let Israel pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his troops and came out into the desert to attack Israel. When Sihon's troops came to Jahaz, they fought against Israel.

24 But Israel defeated them in battle and took possession of their land from the Arnon Valley to the Jabbok River. [They stopped at] the border of the Ammon because it was fortified.

25 Israel took all those Amorite cities, including Heshbon and all its villages, and lived in them.

26 Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites. He had fought the former king of Moab and had taken all his land up to the Arnon Valley.

27 This is why the poets say: "Come to Heshbon! Rebuild it! Restore Sihon's city!

28 Fire came out of Heshbon, flames from Sihon's city. They destroyed Ar of Moab, the rulers of Arnon's worship sites.

29 How horrible it is for you, Moab! You are destroyed, you people of the god Chemosh. Chemosh let his sons become refugees and he let his daughters become prisoners of King Sihon of the Amorites.

30 But we shot the Amorites full of arrows. From Heshbon to Dibon they all died. We destroyed everyone and everything between Nophah and Medeba."

31 So Israel settled in the land of the Amorites.

32 After Moses sent spies to Jazer, the Israelites captured its cities and villages and forced out the Amorites who were there.

33 Then they turned and followed the road that goes to Bashan. King Og of Bashan and all his troops came out to fight the Israelites at Edrei.

34 The LORD said to Moses, "Don't be afraid of him. I'll hand him, all his troops, and his land over to you. Do to him what you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon."

35 The Israelites defeated him, his sons, and all his troops, leaving no survivors. And they took possession of his land.

1 Then the Israelites moved and set up camp across from Jericho, on the plains of Moab east of the Jordan River.

2 Balak, son of Zippor, saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites.

3 The Moabites were very afraid because there were so many Israelites. Besides, the Moabites couldn't stand these people.

4 So the Moabites said to the leaders of Midian, "All those people will eventually eat up everything around us the same way an ox eats up the grass in a field." At that time Balak, son of Zippor, was king of Moab.

5 He sent messengers to summon Balaam, son of Beor, who was at Pethor, on the Euphrates River, in the land where his people lived. Balak's message was, "A nation has just come here from Egypt. They've spread out all over the countryside and are setting up their camp here in front of me.

6 Please come and curse these people for me, because they are too strong for me. Maybe then I'll be able to defeat them and force them out of the country. I know that whomever you bless is blessed and whomever you curse is cursed."

7 The leaders of Moab and Midian left, taking money with them to pay for Balaam's services. They came to Balaam and told him what Balak had said.

8 "Spend the night here," Balaam said to them, "and I'll report to you what the LORD tells me." So the princes of Moab stayed with Balaam.

9 God came to Balaam and asked, "Who are these men with you?"

10 Balaam answered, "Balak, son of King Zippor of Moab, sent them with this message:

11 'Some people have just come from Egypt and are spreading out all over the countryside. Now come and curse them for me. Maybe I'll be able to fight them and force them out.'"

12 But God said to Balaam, "Don't go with them! Don't curse these people, because they are blessed."

13 When Balaam got up in the morning, he said to Balak's princes, "Go back to your own country, because the LORD has refused to let me go with you."

14 So the Moabite princes went back to Balak and said, "Balaam refused to come with us."

15 Balak sent a larger group of more highly respected princes.

16 When they came to Balaam, they said to him, "This is what Balak, son of Zippor, says: Don't let anything keep you from coming to me.

17 I will make sure you are richly rewarded, and I will do whatever you ask. Please, come and curse these people for me."

18 But Balaam answered Balak's servants, "Even if Balak gave me his palace filled with silver and gold, I couldn't disobey the command of the LORD my God no matter whether the request was important or not.

19 Now, why don't you stay here tonight, as the others did, and I'll find out what else the LORD may have to tell me."

20 That night God came to Balaam and said, "If these men have come to summon you, go with them, but do only what I tell you."

21 When Balaam got up in the morning, he saddled his donkey and left with the Moabite princes.

22 God became angry that he was going. So the Messenger of the LORD stood in the road to stop him. Balaam was riding on his donkey, accompanied by his two servants.

23 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD standing in the road with his sword drawn, the donkey turned off the road into a field. Balaam hit the donkey to get it back on the road.

24 Where the road went through the vineyards, it was narrow, with stone walls on both sides. Now the Messenger of the LORD stood there.

25 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD, it moved over and pinned Balaam's foot against the wall. So Balaam hit the donkey again.

26 Then the Messenger of the LORD moved ahead and stood in a narrower place where there was no room to turn to the right or the left.

27 When the donkey saw the Messenger of the LORD, it lay down under Balaam. Balaam became so angry he hit the donkey with his stick.

28 Then the LORD made the donkey speak, and it asked Balaam, "What have I done to make you hit me three times?"

29 Balaam answered, "You've made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I'd kill you right now."

30 The donkey said to Balaam, "I'm your own donkey. You've always ridden me. Have I ever done this to you before?" "No," he answered.

31 Then the LORD let Balaam see the Messenger of the LORD who was standing in the road with his sword drawn. So Balaam knelt, bowing with his face touching the ground.

32 The Messenger of the LORD asked him, "Why have you hit your donkey three times like this? I've come here to stop you because the trip you're taking is evil.

33 The donkey saw me and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, I would certainly have killed you by now but spared the donkey."

34 Balaam said to the Messenger of the LORD, "I've sinned. I didn't know you were standing there in the road to stop me. If you still think this trip is evil, I'll go back."

35 The Messenger of the LORD said to Balaam, "Go with the men, but say only what I tell you." So Balaam went with Balak's princes.

36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir Moab, in the region of the Arnon Valley, right on the border of Moab.

37 Balak said to Balaam, "Why didn't you come when I summoned you? You knew I'd be able to reward you."

38 Balaam replied, "Well, I've come to you now. But I can't say whatever I want to. I can only say what God tells me to say."

39 Balaam went with Balak to Kiriath Huzoth.

40 Balak sacrificed cattle, sheep, and goats, and sent some of the meat to Balaam and the princes who were with him.

41 The next morning Balak took Balaam up to Bamoth Baal. From there he could see the outskirts of the Israelites' camp.

1 The Pharisees and some scribes who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus.

2 They saw that some of his disciples were unclean because they ate without washing their hands.

3 (The Pharisees, like all other Jewish people, don't eat unless they have properly washed their hands. They follow the traditions of their ancestors.

4 When they come from the marketplace, they don't eat unless they have washed first. They have been taught to follow many other rules. For example, they must also wash their cups, jars, brass pots, and dinner tables. )

5 The Pharisees and the scribes asked Jesus, "Why don't your disciples follow the traditions taught by our ancestors? They are unclean because they don't wash their hands before they eat!"

6 Jesus told them, "Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites in Scripture: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.

7 Their worship of me is pointless, because their teachings are rules made by humans.'

8 "You abandon the commandments of God to follow human traditions."

9 He added, "You have no trouble rejecting the commandments of God in order to keep your own traditions!

10 For example, Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother' and 'Whoever curses father or mother must be put to death.'

11 But you say, 'If a person tells his father or mother that whatever he might have used to help them is corban (that is, an offering to God),

12 he no longer has to do anything for his father or mother.'

13 Because of your traditions you have destroyed the authority of God's word. And you do many other things like that."