Mattot (Tribes)

Numbers 30:2-32:42
Jeremiah 2:4–28, 3:4

“Vows, Unity, Brotherly Love”

POSTED 25 JULY, 2008

by Mark Huey
mhuey@outreachisrael.net

“If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” (Numbers 30:2).

The Book of Numbers is coming to a close as the Israelites gather on the plains of Moab, overlooking the Dead Sea and the Jordan River valley. The Holy One through Moses is continuing to prepare them for the conquest of Canaan. Mattot or “Tribes” has three chapters that deal with three major topics. Typically for calendar purposes, Mattot is coupled with the final portion, Masa’ei or “Journeys,” that has four chapters. It is possible that the Lord has seven significant topics that He desires to instruct Israel about before their entrance into Canaan? Let us look at the first three.

The first chapter describes the importance of vows made by men and women. It details how vows can be annulled are included. The next chapter instructs the Israelites on how to go to war with the Midianites. It concludes with a description of the successful campaign and how to distribute the spoils of war. Finally, the third chapter discusses the request of the tribes of Reuben and Gad to settle in the land east of the Jordan. In many respects, these three unique and seemingly unrelated episodes are in many ways preparing Israel for the ultimate goal of occupying the Promised Land. Here in this Torah portion, the importance of honoring your word, seeking unity among the tribes, and practicing brotherly love are all critical components as Israel prepares to enter Canaan.

After almost forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Joshua generation is being prepared for its journey across the Jordan River to conquer Canaan. This is no easy task because we know that the land that God has promised Israel is occupied by six pagan nations who must be driven from it. We can remember that Moses gave explicit instructions to the Israelites soon after their departure from Egypt that these peoples were going to be driven out:

“Be sure to observe what I am commanding you this day: behold, I am going to drive out the Amorite before you, and the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Watch yourself that you make no covenant with the inhabitants of the land into which you are going, or it will become a snare in your midst. But rather, you are to tear down their altars and smash their sacred pillars and cut down their Asherim—for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God—otherwise you might make a covenant with the inhabitants of the land and they would play the harlot with their gods and sacrifice to their gods, and someone might invite you to eat of his sacrifice, and you might take some of his daughters for your sons, and his daughters might play the harlot with their gods and cause your sons also to play the harlot with their gods” (Exodus 34:11-16).

We know from our knowledge of Israel’s history that the generation that received this instruction was not a faithful group of people. After over thirty-nine years, most of the men—except Joshua and Caleb—who were twenty years or older at the time of the spies’ bad report had died in the desert. And now, here in the plains of Moab, many of the men of Israel were succumbing to the Moabite and Midianite women as discussed in greater detail in the previous two Torah portions (Balak and Pinchas). The warnings from the early days of wanderings the desert were clearly not being obeyed. The Israelites were exhibiting a tendency to become involved with the cultures that surrounded them. This would have devastating consequences as the Lord declares that He is a “jealous God whose name means Jealous.” The Holy One of Israel does not want a people who are going to play the harlot with other gods. He wants a people that are totally sold out to Him and Him alone. Obviously, the sins of the fathers have been inherited by the next generation. Let us see how He goes about preparing the Joshua generation for the task of occupying and conquering the Promised Land.

If you will recall, many Israelites had just died from a plague that came as a result of the entanglement with the Moabite and Midianite women. Phinehas’ zealous act abruptly stopped the plague and the Lord ordered Moses to conduct a census that records the number of Israelites by tribe, just prior to crossing the Jordan. As the previous portion concludes, God once again reiterates the importance of observing His moedim or appointed times and the offerings involved in them:

“You shall present these to the Lord at your appointed times, besides your votive offerings and your freewill offerings, for your burnt offerings and for your grain offerings and for your drink offerings and for your peace offerings. Moses spoke to the sons of Israel in accordance with all that the Lord had commanded Moses. Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the word which the Lord has commanded’” (Numbers 29:39-30:1)

The student of the Torah can certainly conclude that God is very concerned about His people remembering and observing His feasts.

Vows and Oaths

As Mattot begins, the Lord has Moses give to the leaders of the tribes some instruction about the importance of making vows and swearing oaths:

“Then Moses spoke to the heads of the tribes of the sons of Israel, saying, ‘This is the word which the Lord has commanded. If a man makes a vow to the Lord, or takes an oath to bind himself with a binding obligation, he shall not violate his word; he shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth’” (Numbers 30:1-2).

Apparently, the admonition to honor one’s word is critical when it comes to maintaining cohesiveness among a group of people. Here, the instructions are elaborated to include how vows and oaths are to be made by men, their wives, their daughters, and even widows and divorcees. It is imperative to understand that the Lord places a substantial amount of emphasis on the need for us to honor what proceeds out of our mouths. He understands the power of the spoken word, because it was through the spoken word that the Creation came into being.

“Then God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3).

In this third verse of the Scriptures, God simply uttered the phrase or word regarding light and the Creation came into being. A little later, it is recorded that Adam was given the responsibility to name each of the other creatures, and by naming them he described their characteristics and attributes. In other words, Adam’s words had a binding effect on the other creatures:

“Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the sky, and brought them to the man to see what he would call them; and whatever the man called a living creature, that was its name. The man gave names to all the cattle, and to the birds of the sky, and to every beast of the field, but for Adam there was not found a helper suitable for him” (Genesis 2:19-20).

The Book of Proverbs gives the tongue and the power of words the ultimate description of equating to death and life:

“With the fruit of a man's mouth his stomach will be satisfied; he will be satisfied with the product of his lips. Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit” (Proverbs 18:20-21).

The first time that the concept of vowing is mentioned in the Torah comes when Jacob is on his way east to Paran and he stops in Bethel or Luz and has the vision of the ladder with angels ascending and descending to Heaven. After arising on the following morning, he utters the first recorded vow in the Holy Writ:

“Then Jacob made a vow, saying, ‘If God will be with me and will keep me on this journey that I take, and will give me food to eat and garments to wear, and I return to my father's house in safety, then the Lord will be my God. This stone, which I have set up as a pillar, will be God's house, and of all that You give me I will surely give a tenth to You’” (Genesis 28:20-22).

Jacob’s commitment is absolute, and for the remainder of his life, as he sojourns from Canaan to Padan-Haran back to Canaan and ultimately to Egypt, he remains committed to his vow.

Of course, when the subject of vows comes to the surface, many think of the Nazirite vows that are detailed in Numbers 6:

“Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the Lord’” (Numbers 6:2).

These are specific vows that an Israelite can take in order to consecrate himself or herself to the Holy One for a specified period of time. As you read through this section of Scripture, you might begin to wonder why God did not put these instructions about vows in conjunction with the laws of the Nazirite. That would seem very logical, because of the details given about the Nazirite vows. But instead, for unknown reasons, the Lord places the instruction about personal vows at this critical juncture in the text. He is also embellishing the responsibilities that an Israelite man has regarding any vows that he takes, as well as monitoring the vows of his wife or daughters:

“Also if a woman makes a vow to the Lord, and binds herself by an obligation in her father's house in her youth, and her father hears her vow and her obligation by which she has bound herself, and her father says nothing to her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if her father should forbid her on the day he hears of it, none of her vows or her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand; and the Lord will forgive her because her father had forbidden her. However, if she should marry while under her vows or the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself, and her husband hears of it and says nothing to her on the day he hears it, then her vows shall stand and her obligations by which she has bound herself shall stand. But if on the day her husband hears of it, he forbids her, then he shall annul her vow which she is under and the rash statement of her lips by which she has bound herself; and the Lord will forgive her” (Numbers 30:3-8).

Once again, we see the power of the spoken word, or especially the vow, being described. Over and over again, you hear the term “bound the soul” (KJV), seeing the Hebrew word nephesh (vpn) being used. Nephesh means, “breath, the inner being with its thoughts and emotions” (AMG).[1] We are not told exactly what the vows are, but we are instructed to know that the father or husband can disallow the responsibility for the vow in the day that it is heard. This ability to promptly rescind a vow is something that helps explain many things regarding the parent-child relationship and the husband-wife relationship.

Apparently, the father or husband has the additional responsibility to scrutinize the vows of his spouse and daughters. Now as this instruction is given to the leaders of Israel, the responsibility for the approval of vows for daughters and wives is clearly articulated. If the man does not rescind the vow on the day it is heard, then in essence he affirms the vow—even if the vow is detrimental to the woman:

“But the vow of a widow or of a divorced woman, everything by which she has bound herself, shall stand against her. However, if she vowed in her husband's house, or bound herself by an obligation with an oath, and her husband heard it, but said nothing to her and did not forbid her, then all her vows shall stand and every obligation by which she bound herself shall stand. But if her husband indeed annuls them on the day he hears them, then whatever proceeds out of her lips concerning her vows or concerning the obligation of herself shall not stand; her husband has annulled them, and the Lord will forgive her. Every vow and every binding oath to humble herself, her husband may confirm it or her husband may annul it. But if her husband indeed says nothing to her from day to day, then he confirms all her vows or all her obligations which are on her; he has confirmed them, because he said nothing to her on the day he heard them. But if he indeed annuls them after he has heard them, then he shall bear her guilt” (Numbers 30:9-15).

Once while in ministry, I had an opportunity to see this instruction at work. While attending a gathering of Believers, I recall how a woman got up and made a declarative statement that essentially brought a curse upon herself and her household. She said, in the presence of her husband and the crowd gathered, “if such-and-such occurred, then may God strike us dead!” There were some gasps in the audience, but by-and-large nothing was said. The husband let the statement stand and the meeting proceeded to a conclusion. Then the next day, a Messianic Jewish friend of mine, who grew up in a Conservative Jewish home where the Torah was honored, asked me if I had been at all disturbed by the comments made the previous evening. I said I had been, but I had no control over the statements. At that point, he said that he believed that the husband had the opportunity to annul the statement and avoid the curse. I encouraged him to tell the husband what the Torah said about his responsibility to annul a vow or oath. Unfortunately, the husband was unwilling to annul the statement of his wife. As far as this commandment is concerned, there is currently a curse over this family if “such-and-such occurs.” Husbands, take your responsibilities seriously!

As one thinks about the concept of vows and the power of words, it is not uncommon to be reminded of some of the words that Yeshua stated about this subject. Some think that He might have differed with the words of Moses, but in fact, He strengthens the argument to let your spoken words be totally accurate:

“Again, you have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not make false vows, but shall fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I say to you, make no oath at all, either by heaven, for it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of His feet, or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king. Nor shall you make an oath by your head, for you cannot make one hair white or black. But let your statement be, ‘Yes, yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil” (Matthew 5:33-37).

In this passage, Yeshua uses an expression of speech that moves the concept of making false statements just as sinful as breaking a vow. This is similar to earlier in the Sermon of the Mount when He elevated the act of murder or adultery from the physical act to calling someone a fool or simply thinking about illicit sex:

“You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell…You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery’; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell” (Matthew 5:21-22, 27-30).

You can see that Yeshua not only raises the bar on our thought life, but He makes our very yes and no rise to the level of vows and oaths before the Father. Are you beginning to see how important our tongues really are?

For whatever reasons, the Lord knows at this point in the journey that the Israelites are going to enter into the Promised Land where they are going to be required to displace six other pagan nations. Perhaps He knows that the need to keep and maintain vows, and honor one’s spoken words, would be critical to a successful conquest. We can certainly see now how critical it was for the Israelites to be honest with one other, especially if they were ready to go to battle.

Unity Over the Midianites

After the instruction about making vows is completed, Moses commands the Israelites to take up war with the Midianites. The instructions are very explicit and they comply with the orders:

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Take full vengeance for the sons of Israel on the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered to your people.’ Moses spoke to the people, saying, ‘Arm men from among you for the war, that they may go against Midian to execute the Lord's vengeance on Midian. A thousand from each tribe of all the tribes of Israel you shall send to the war.’ So there were furnished from the thousands of Israel, a thousand from each tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. Moses sent them, a thousand from each tribe, to the war, and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war with them, and the holy vessels and the trumpets for the alarm in his hand. So they made war against Midian, just as the Lord had commanded Moses, and they killed every male’” (Numbers 31:1-7).

One thousand from each of the twelve tribes (excluding Levi) are commissioned for the war. With tremendous unity of purpose and accompanied by Phinehas, the son of the high priest, and the holy vessels and the silver trumpets, the fighting men of Israel take on the Midianites and utterly destroy them. What is interesting to note is the following declaration made after all of the spoils of war are equitably distributed:

“Then the officers who were over the thousands of the army, the captains of thousands and the captains of hundreds, approached Moses, and they said to Moses, ‘Your servants have taken a census of men of war who are in our charge, and no man of us is missing’” (Numbers 31:48-49).

It seems that after all of the booty is distributed, a census is taken and the officers of the army discover that not one of the Israelites is missing. This was exceptionally wonderful news, especially in light of the soon coming attack on the six nations of Canaan. You can see how unity of purpose and resolve is rewarded with such an outstanding victory. You can imagine that the confidence level of Israel was sky high as they pondered the annihilation of the Midianites without loosing one fellow combatant. The Holy One was definitely preparing them for the battles to come.

Brotherly Love

As Numbers 32 begins, another challenge is presented to Moses. The Reubenites and Gadites have decided that they would like to settle on the east side of the Jordan, because the land appears to be good for grazing their plentiful livestock. This request generates a lengthy tirade from Moses who likens this request to the judgment that came as a result of the bad report from the ten spies:

“But Moses said to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben, ‘Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? Now why are you discouraging the sons of Israel from crossing over into the land which the Lord has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. For when they went up to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the sons of Israel so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them. So the Lord's anger burned in that day, and He swore, saying, ‘None of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob; for they did not follow Me fully, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have followed the Lord fully.’ So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and He made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the entire generation of those who had done evil in the sight of the Lord was destroyed. Now behold, you have risen up in your fathers' place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the burning anger of the Lord against Israel. For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people” (Numbers 32:6-15).

This was a horrible rebuke. For ten verses, Moses tears into the spokesmen for the tribes of Reuben and Gad. But at the end of the chastisement, the Reubenites and Gadites decide that they will indeed be among the Israelites who help secure the Promised Land with their other tribesmen:

“Then they came near to him and said, ‘We will build here sheepfolds for our livestock and cities for our little ones; but we ourselves will be armed ready to go before the sons of Israel, until we have brought them to their place, while our little ones live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until every one of the sons of Israel has possessed his inheritance. For we will not have an inheritance with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this side of the Jordan toward the east’” (Numbers 32:16-19).

As it turns out, Moses not only places the Reubenites and Gadites on the eastern side of the Jordan, but he also discerns that it is the place for part of the tribe of Manasseh. In a great gesture of unity and brotherly love, the two-and-a-half tribes commit to securing the land with their other brothers before they return to live with their families in Gilead and Bashan. Their request for the land is granted, but they have made the decision to stand with the other tribes to take the land west of the Jordan. The Reubenites, Gadites, and some Manassehites are making declarations that indicate that they are willing to honor their commitments to their other brothers.

Summary

After nearly forty years in the wilderness, you would think that Israel is ready for the challenge of conquering the nations of the Promised Land. But in reality, the final instructions that come in this Torah portion, and the next one are simply “fine tuning” the hearts of the Israelites. They are learning the valuable lessons of keeping their vows and oaths to one another. They are finding out some of the additional responsibilities of being husbands and fathers, and how one is to care for his spouse and daughters. Each instruction is critical to maintaining the Israelite culture and preventing the erosion that comes from within and without.

Israel had the privilege of watching how unity among the armed forces brought tremendous victory back to the camp. This had to be very encouraging as they were preparing to challenge the six nations occupying the Promised Land. They discovered that carrying the proper implements, blowing the silver trumpets for war, and honoring the priesthood produced great results by following the commands of the Lord.

Finally, the example of how all the tribes understood their responsibilities to one another is exemplified in the decisions made by the leaders of Reuben, Gad, and eventually Manasseh, pays off by bringing unity into the camp. This great example of brotherly love further solidifies their resolve to take the Promised Land.

Even today, we all need to recognize that we are still in training for the ultimate restoration of all things that the Prophets describe. In many respects, Messianic Believers will always be in a mode where we are constantly being trained up in new instructions that are designed to help us become better, obedient servants of the Most High. Whether we are learning to take on new responsibilities as husbands or parents, the key is that we are maturing in our walk with the Messiah Yeshua. Hopefully, in His time we will be able to attain the unity that will make our victory sure and complete. Of course, in order to get there, we are going to have to display the brotherly love that will seal the victory!

NOTES

Mark Huey (B.A., Vanderbilt University in History and Graduate Studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University) is the Director of Outreach Israel Ministries (www.outreachisrael.net). He is the author of several books, including: TorahScope, Volumes I & II, and Counting the Omer: A Daily Devotional Toward Shavuot. He is also co-author of Hebraic Roots: An Introductory Study.