John Wesley

“Does the LORD speak only through Moses?” they said. “Does He not also speak through us?” And the LORD heard this.

“For, as the quarrel seems to be about his marrying a stranger, it is probable it was a fresh occasion about which they contended.”

Now Moses was a very humble man, more so than any man on the face of the earth.

“Meek - This is added as the reason why Moses took no notice of their reproach, and why God did so severely plead his cause. Thus was he fitted for the work he was called to, which required all the meekness he had.”

I speak with him face to face, clearly and not in riddles; he sees the form of the LORD. Why then were you unafraid to speak against My servant Moses?”

“Dark speeches - Not in parables, similitudes, dark resemblances; as by shewing a boiling pot, an almond tree, &c. to Jeremiah, a chariot with wheels, &c. to Ezekiel.”

So the anger of the LORD burned against them, and He departed.

“He departed - From the door of the tabernacle, in token of his great displeasure, not waiting for their answer. The removal of God~s presence from us, is the saddest token of his displeasure.”

and said to Moses, “My lord, please do not hold against us this sin we have so foolishly committed.

“Lay not the sin - Let not the guilt and punishment of this sin rest upon us, upon her in this kind, upon me in any other kind, but pray to God for the pardon and removal of it.”

Please do not let her be like a stillborn infant whose flesh is half consumed when he comes out of his mother’s womb.”

“As one dead - Because part of her flesh was putrefied and dead, and not to be restored but by the mighty power of God.”

So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until she was brought in again.

“Journeyed not - Which was a testimony of respect to her both from God and from the people, God so ordering it, partly lest she should be overwhelmed by such a publick rebuke from God, and partly lest, she being a prophetess, the gift of…”

So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo-hamath.

“Zin - In the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto Egypt. To Hamath - From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it; Rehob was a city in the northwest part, Hamath…”

They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, dwelled. It had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.

“For the spies distributed their work among them, and went either severally, or by pairs; and it seems the survey of this part was left to Caleb.”

When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which they carried on a pole between two men.

“Upon a staff - Either for the weight of it, considering the, length of the way they were to carry it, or for the preservation of it whole and entire.”

and they went back to Moses, Aaron, and the whole congregation of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh.

“Kadesh - Kadesh-barnea, which some confound with Kadesh in the wilderness of Sin, into which they came not 'till the fortieth year after their coming out of Egypt, as appears from chap.”

The Amalekites live in the land of the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live by the sea and along the Jordan.”

“By the sea - Not the mid-land sea, which is commonly understood by that expression, but the salt or dead sea, as appears, 1. Because it is that sea which is next to Jordan, 2.”

“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that throughout the generations to come they are to make for themselves tassels for the corners of their garments, with a blue cord…

“In the borders - That is, in the four borders or quarters, as it is, Deut. xxii, 12. Of their garments - Of their upper garments. This was practiced by the Pharisees in Christ's time, who are noted for making their borders larger than ordinary.”

These will serve as tassels for you to look at, so that you may remember all the commandments of the LORD, that you may obey them and not prostitute yourselves…

“For a fringe - That is, the ribband, shall be unto you, shall serve you for a fringe, to render it more visible by its distinct colour, whereas the fringe without this was of the same piece and colour with the garment, and therefore less…”

They came together against Moses and Aaron and told them, “You have taken too much upon yourselves!

“All are holy - A kingdom of priests, an holy nation, as they are called, Exod. xix, 6, a people separated to the service of God, and therefore no less fit to offer sacrifice and incense, than you are.”

Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, place fire from the altar in it, and add incense.

“Incense - Which was a sign of intercession, and was to be accompanied with it. Go unto the congregation - He went with the incense, to stir up the people to repentance and prayer, to prevent their utter ruin.”

He stood between the living and the dead, and the plague was halted.

“The living - Whereby it may seem that this plague, like that fire, chap. xi, 1, began in the uttermost parts of the congregation, and so proceeded destroying one after another in an orderly manner, which gave Aaron occasion and direction so to place himself…”

“Speak to the Israelites and take from them twelve staffs, one from the leader of each tribe. Write each man’s name on his staff,

“Every man's name - Every prince's: for they being the first-born, and the chief of their tribes might above all others pretend to the priesthood, if it was communicable to any of their tribes, and besides each prince represented all his tribe: so that this…”

So Moses spoke to the Israelites, and each of their leaders gave him a staff—one for each of the leaders of their tribes, twelve staffs in all.

“Among their rods - Was laid up with the rest, being either one of the twelve, as the Hebrew affirm, or the thirteenth, as others think.”

But bring with you also your brothers from the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, that they may join you and assist you and your sons before the…

“Unto thee - About sacrifices and offerings and other things, according to the rules I have prescribed them. The Levites are said to minister to Aaron here, to the church, chap. xvi, 9, and to God, Deut. x, 8.”

A portion of the most holy offerings reserved from the fire will be yours.

“Most holy - Such as were to be eaten only by the priests, and that in the sanctuary. Reserved - That is, such sacrifices or parts of sacrifices as were not burnt in the fire.”

You are to eat it as a most holy offering, and every male may eat it. You shall regard it as holy.

“In the most holy place - In the court of the priests, where there were places for this use, which is called the most holy place, not simply and absolutely, but in respect of the thing he speaks of because this was the most holy…”

You are to pay the redemption price for a month-old male according to your valuation: five shekels of silver, according to the sanctuary shekel, which is twenty gerahs.

“Those that are to be redeemed - Namely, of men only, not of unclean beasts, as is manifest from the time and price of redemption here mentioned, both which agree to men; the time, ver. 16, the price, chap.”

The Levites are to perform the work of the Tent of Meeting, and they must bear their iniquity. This is a permanent statute for the generations to come.

“Their iniquity - The punishment due not only for their own, but also for the people's miscarriage, if it be committed through their connivance or negligence.”

For I have given to the Levites as their inheritance the tithe that the Israelites present to the LORD as a contribution.

“An heave-offering - An acknowledgment that they have all their land and the fruits of it from God's bounty.”