Num 36:13, These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho.  
	This morning we come to the end of our reading and consideration of the Book of Numbers. Lord willing it has been a journey into those elements of the worship and the praise and the majesty and the splendor of the nature and the character of God. We have seen that He makes every provision for His people today as He did with that Chosen Nation of Israel. He, Alone, is worthy of worship and adoration and honor and reverence and obedience. 
As we read, the Book of Numbers closes with the tribesmen of the daughters of Zelophehad expressing concern that the inheritance of the family would be diminished with any marriage of these women to men of the other tribes. It was a matter of maintaining the familial inheritance within the Promised Land as their portion in the land would become part of the husband’s inheritance. Thus the given tribal familial lands would become reduced. 
It is important to note that this was not a complaint against what the Lord had made clear concerning the properness of the daughters of Zelophehad to have an inheritance in the name of their father. This clan was not arguing against that unusual and most gracious declaration of God. Rather, they were concerned about the happenstance if the daughters were to marry men of some other tribe and then the land of the family would be lost. As a result, Zelophehad’s namesake in the land would then disappear. 
Moses understood this dilemma and took it to the Lord, and the Lord made very clear what should take place. It is in this context that we have the Book of Numbers being brought to a close and this is where we pick up with Dr. Ronald B. Allen, in his commentary on the Book of Numbers, concerning the value of even this final chapter of Numbers.  
Quote, Even though we regard this chapter as anticlimactic, this is not to say that it is not instructive. It shows a continuing pattern of the development of Torah in Israel. As the Lord would speak to Moses in general terms, specific cases would arise that would not seem to fit the general framework of the revelation. Moses could address the needs of the people in this instance to the Lord; and then he would receive new instructions that would not only care for the immediate needs but would serve as a further basis for application in Israel. This is the system of case law and precedent in the instruction of Torah.
	 …The Book of Numbers, which so often presents the rebellion of God’s people against His grace and in defiance of His will, ends here on a happy note. These noble women, who were concerned for their father’s name and their own place in the land, obeyed the Lord. There is a nice tie with this concluding section of the Book of Numbers to the epilogue of the Book of Proverbs. In the acrostic to the wise women (Prov 31:10-31), there is an exemplification of wisdom in action – in the life of a woman. Significantly, in a book so marred by disobedience, there is a final statement of obedience; and it is in the lives of these noble daughters of Zelophehad. We may observe that we would likely never have heard of him had he had sons instead of these daughters! End quote.    
When it comes to the manner in which the Lord gives His regard to women who are honoring the Lord in the course of their lives, the passage in Proverbs 31:10-31, is one which we should read together in thanksgiving to the Lord. Herein, God gives expression to a most exalted esteem of women, like these daughters of Zelophehad, in a time and within a society in which women were not otherwise given any consideration of worthiness to be praised. Please turn to it in your Bibles and read along with me. 
Prov 31:10-31, An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, And he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil All the days of her life. She looks for wool and flax, And works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; She brings her food from afar. She rises also while it is still night, And gives food to her household, And portions to her maidens. She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength, And makes her arms strong. She senses that her gain is good; Her lamp does not go out at night. She stretches out her hands to the distaff, And her hands grasp the spindle. She extends her hand to the poor; And she stretches out her hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the snow for her household, For all her household are clothed with scarlet. She makes coverings for herself; Her clothing is fine linen and purple. Her husband is known in the gates, When he sits among the elders of the land. She makes linen garments and sells them, And supplies belts to the tradesmen. Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and bless her; Her husband also, and he praises her, saying: "Many daughters have done nobly, But you excel them all." Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her the product of her hands, And let her works praise her in the gates.   
It is marvelous how the Lord details the character and essence of a godly wife. These are those women, much like the daughters of Zelophehad, who are obedient to the Lord and want to honor Him. The Lord extols their wisdom and their strength and their compassion and gives credence to their exceeding greatness and honor within His people. 
	We conclude our time in Numbers with this final observation from Dr. Allen. Quote, The Book of Numbers is far more than a record of commands and regulations. This true climax of the book is in 33:50-56. (Numbers 33:50-56, Then the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho, saying, "Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, 'When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. 'And you shall inherit the land by lot according to your families; to the larger you shall give more inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give less inheritance. Wherever the lot falls to anyone, that shall be his. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers. 'But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then it shall come about that those whom you let remain of them will become as pricks in your eyes and as thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land in which you live. 'And it shall come about that as I plan to do to them, so I will do to you.'") Yet there is a salutary feeling in this chapter of theoretical issues being put to practical work. There is hope in the actions of the daughters of Zelophehad that they will be representative of the nation: this generation will do well.
	The chapter presents the idea of Psalm 78:8 (And not be like their fathers, A stubborn and rebellious generation, A generation that did not prepare its heart, And whose spirit was not faithful to God.) – Let this people not be like their fathers, but let them obey the Lord and enjoy the good land! Based on the story of the daughters of Zelophehad, the provisional outlook is very good indeed! End Quote.
    	As we will next read the Book of Deuteronomy together, we can look ahead briefly to how this morning’s text of the Lord giving such specific instruction to His people before they actually entered the Promised Land is further developed. As we have recorded in Deut 4:44-46, the encouragement to the nation was spoken by Moses from the far side of the Jordan before they crossed over to conquer the land. 
Deut 4:44-46, Now this is the law which Moses set before the sons of Israel; these are the testimonies and the statutes and the ordinances which Moses spoke to the sons of Israel, when they came out from Egypt, across the Jordan, in the valley opposite Beth-peor, in the land of Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon, whom Moses and the sons of Israel defeated when they came out from Egypt. 
    	This is further developed in Deut 6:1-12, if you would please turn to it. In this passage we have some of the most poignant declarations by Moses unto the people to encourage their absolute honoring of the Lord and their complete obedience to His commandments and statues. All that had been given by God through Moses in the Torah was set before the nation as they were preparing to cross the Jordan River. Moses was withholding no truth from them and was setting before them the course of what would be if they would only hold true to the Lord God Almighty.
	Deut 6:1-12, "Now this is the commandment, the statutes and the judgments which the Lord your God has commanded me to teach you, that you might do them in the land where you are going over to possess it, so that you and your son and your grandson might fear the Lord your God, to keep all His statutes and His commandments, which I command you, all the days of your life, and that your days may be prolonged. O Israel, you should listen and be careful to do it, that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, has promised you, in a land flowing with milk and honey. "Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart; and you shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. And you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontals on your forehead. And you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. "Then it shall come about when the Lord your God brings you into the land which He swore to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you, great and splendid cities which you did not build, and houses full of all good things which you did not fill, and hewn cisterns which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant, and you shall eat and be satisfied, then watch yourself, lest you forget the Lord who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 
    	There was tremendous assurance of the grace and the mercy and the bounty of the Lord’s supply if only the people would hold true to God, if they would honor Him with their obedience and never forsake Him as their Lord God, Jehovah. Such would be the glorious outcome of their inheritance in the land, for themselves and for their posterity. They would receive of the bounty of the Lord in limitless measure as long as they never forgot to honor Him with their obedience and their reverent observance of all that He commanded.
	The Prophet Isaiah, in Isa 26:7-9, details for us the manner in which we should all be bearing in mind the Sovereignty of God and our utter fealty unto Him. We truly are a most blessed people and yet are so often prone to complain and to murmur and to disobey as did that first generation of God’s Chosen people. We must never take Him or His ways for granted. We are always to hold to Him with reverence and with obedience and with the earnest desire to be a living testimony of the One Who has given us eternal life.
Isa 26:7-9, The way of the righteous is smooth; O Upright One, make the path of the righteous level. Indeed, while following the way of Thy judgments, O Lord, We have waited for Thee eagerly; Thy name, even Thy memory, is the desire of our souls. At night my soul longs for Thee, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently; For when the earth experiences Thy judgments The inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. 
As we are at the end of this Book of Numbers, my prayer is that it has been a worthwhile time of exploring how the Holy Spirit manifested the grace and the mercy and the love of God in such detail. Lord willing, it has been in such a manner as to open our eyes to the fact that we need to be a people who are in love with God. We need to prepare ourselves to more perfectly honor God in our praise and adoration. We need to ask Him to show us, in greater depth and reality, what it truly means to worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. 
Next time we are together, Lord willing, we will begin our reading and our study of the Book of Deuteronomy. However, I must confess that I will miss this Book of Numbers. I began it with great trepidation at the lists and the numbers and the details. But I have come to love the vibrant witness of the Lord’s grace and mercy and order presented in such a glorious manner. As a number of you have commented, we have seen the majesty of Jesus throughout this text. Let us pray that our hearts will so embrace our next Book of the Word of God. So be it!
These are the commandments and the ordinances which the Lord commanded to the sons of Israel through Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan opposite Jericho. Amen

			 
					
This morning’s benediction is Isa 26:4. "Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock. Amen.