Numbers

Numbers 23:19KJV

"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" (Numbers 23:19 KJV).

This verse is commonly used to claim Jesus couldn't have been God, so let us debunk this shall we?

"God is not a man" seems to mean God can't become flesh as we read in Philippians 2:5-11 and 1 Timothy 2:5, but we must read the entire sentence before jumping to a conclusion! "God is not a man that he should lie," it is saying God is above lying or that he does not lie as mankind does, not that he can't be a man.

Jesus is called the son of man in Matthew 11:9, but Numbers says "neither the son of man." Once again, read the entire section, "neither the son of man, that he should repent." It is just saying God doesn't have to repent as man does. Context is always important!

Numbers 31:1-6 KJV

"And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Avenge the children of Israel of the Midianites: afterward shalt thou be gathered unto thy people. And Moses spake unto the people, saying, Arm some of yourselves unto the war, and let them go against the Midianites, and avenge the Lord of Midian. Of every tribe a thousand, throughout all the tribes of Israel, shall ye send to the war. So there were delivered out of the thousands of Israel, a thousand of every tribe, twelve thousand armed for war. And Moses sent them to the war, a thousand of every tribe, them and Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, to the war, with the holy instruments, and the trumpets to blow in his hand," (Numbers 31:1-6 KJV).

We see that the Midianites begin speaking with the Moabites. These Moabites convince the Midianites to go to war. The Lord tells Moses to bring justice upon the Midianites for these actions.

Work Cited:

“Live Stream #109: A Revised View of Pseudoscience.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 June 2023, https://www.youtube.com/live/rson-uLBhPk?feature=share. Accessed 6 June 2023.

Numbers 31:31-41 KJV

"Moses and Eleazar the priest did just as the Lord had commanded Moses. Now the booty that remained from the spoil which the men of war had plundered was 675,000 sheep, and 72,000 cattle, and 61,000 donkeys, and of human beings, of the women who had not known man intimately, all the persons were 32,000. The half, the portion of those who went out to war, was as follows: the number of sheep was 337,500, and the Lord’s levy of the sheep was 675; and the cattle were 36,000, from which the Lord’s levy was 72; and the donkeys were 30,500, from which the Lord’s levy was 61; and the human beings were 16,000, from whom the Lord’s levy was 32 persons. Moses gave the levy which was the Lord’s offering to Eleazar the priest, just as the Lord had commanded Moses," (Numbers 31:31-41 NASB1995).

In this passage, we are seeing the spoils of war: what was given to the Israelites, the Levites(Numbers 31:30 and Numbers 31:47), and the Lord(Numbers 31:40). According to many scholars such as Dr. David A. Falk, the people given to the Lord likely would work for the Tabernacle. Not necessarily priests/priestesses, but more likely people who would do manual labor around the temple like cutting down wood for the Tabernacle.

Work Cited:

“Live Stream #109: A Revised View of Pseudoscience.” YouTube, YouTube, 3 June 2023, https://www.youtube.com/live/rson-uLBhPk?feature=share. Accessed 6 June 2023.