11 These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel on this side the Jordan, in the wilderness, in the plain, opposite to Suph, between Paran and Tophel, Laban, Hazeroth, and Dizahab. 2 There are eleven days' journey from Horeb by the way of mount Seir to Kadesh-barnea. 3 And it came to pass in the fortieth year, in the eleventh month, on the first of the month, that Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that Jehovah had given him in command to them; 4 after he had smitten Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, who dwelt at Ashtaroth [and] at Edrei. 5 On this side the Jordan, in the land of Moab, began Moses to unfold this law, saying, 6 Jehovah our God spoke unto us in Horeb, saying, Ye have stayed long enough in this mountain. 7 Turn and take your journey, and go to the hill-country of the Amorites, and unto all the neighbouring places in the plain, in the mountain, and in the lowland, and in the south, and by the seaside, the land of the Canaanites, and Lebanon, unto the great river, the river Euphrates. 8 Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which Jehovah swore unto your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them.
9 And I spoke unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to bear you myself alone. 10 Jehovah your God hath multiplied you, and behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. 11 Jehovah, the God of your fathers, make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you as he hath said unto you! 12 How can I myself alone sustain your wear, and your burden, and your strife? 13 Provide you wise and understanding and known men, according to your tribes, that I may make them your chiefs. 14 And ye answered me, and said, The thing that thou hast spoken is good [for us] to do. 15 So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them chiefs over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers for your tribes. 16 And I commanded your judges at that time, saying, Hear [the causes] between your brethren, and judge righteously between a man and his brother, and him also that sojourneth with him. 17 Ye shall not respect persons in judgment: ye shall hear the small as well as the great; ye shall not be afraid of the face of man, for the judgment is God's; and the matter that is too hard for you shall ye bring to me, that I may hear it. 18 And I commanded you at that time all the things that ye should do.
19 And we departed from Horeb and went through all that great and terrible wilderness, which ye saw, on the way to the mountain of the Amorites, as Jehovah our God had commanded us; and we came to Kadesh-barnea. 20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountain of the Amorites, which Jehovah our God giveth us. 21 Behold, Jehovah thy God hath set the land before thee: go up, take possession, as Jehovah the God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be dismayed. 22 And ye came near to me all of you, and said, We will send men before us, who shall examine the land for us, and bring us word again of the way by which we must go up, and of the cities to which we shall come. 23 And the matter was good in mine eyes; and I took twelve men of you, one man for a tribe. 24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came to the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. 25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hand, and brought it down unto us, and brought us answer, and said, The land is good that Jehovah our God hath given us. 26 But ye would not go up, and rebelled against the word of Jehovah your God; 27 and ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because Jehovah hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither shall we go up? Our brethren have made our hearts melt, saying, [They are] a people greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there. 29 And I said unto you, Be not afraid, neither fear them; 30 Jehovah your God who goeth before you, he will fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; 31 and in the wilderness where thou hast seen that Jehovah thy God bore thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came to this place. 32 But In this thing ye did not believe Jehovah your God, 33 who went in the way before you, to search you out a place for your encamping, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in the cloud by day.
34 And Jehovah heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and swore, saying, 35 None among these men, this evil generation, shall in any wise see that good land, which I swore to give unto your fathers! 36 Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed Jehovah. 37 Also Jehovah was angry with me on your account, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither. 38 Joshua the son of Nun, who standeth before thee, he shall go in thither: strengthen him, for he shall cause Israel to inherit it. 39 And your little ones, of whom ye said, They shall be a prey, and your children, who this day know neither good nor evil, they shall go in thither, and unto them will I give it, and they shall possess it. 40 But ye, turn, and take your journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.
41 —And ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against Jehovah, we will go up and fight, according to all that Jehovah our God hath commanded us. And ye girded on every man his weapons of war, and ye would go presumptuously up the hill. 42 And Jehovah said to me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. 43 And I spoke unto you, but ye would not hear, and ye rebelled against the word of Jehovah, and acted presumptuously, and went up the hill. 44 And the Amorite that dwelt on that hill came out against you, and chased you, like as bees do, and cut you in pieces in Seir, as far as Hormah. 45 And ye returned and wept before Jehovah, but Jehovah would not listen to your voice, nor give ear unto you. 46 And ye abode in Kadesh many days, according unto the days that ye abode [there].
21 And we turned, and took our journey into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea, as Jehovah had said unto me; and we went round mount Seir many days. 2 And Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 3 Ye have gone round this mountain long enough: turn you northward. 4 And command the people, saying, Ye are to pass through the border of your brethren the children of Esau, who dwell in Seir; and they will be afraid of you; and ye shall be very guarded: 5 attack them not; for I will not give you of their land, no, not so much as a foot-breadth; for I have given mount Seir as a possession unto Esau. 6 Ye shall buy of them food for money, that ye may eat; and water shall ye also buy of them for money, that ye may drink; 7 for Jehovah thy God hath blessed thee in all the work of thy hand. He hath known thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years hath Jehovah thy God been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
8 And we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, by the plain, by Elath, and by Ezion-geber, and we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of Moab. 9 And Jehovah said to me, Distress not the Moabites, neither engage with them in battle; for I will not give thee of their land a possession; for unto the children of Lot have I given Ar as a possession. 10 (The Emim dwelt therein in times past, a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim. 11 They also are reckoned as giants like the Anakim; but the Moabites call them Emim. 12 And in Seir dwelt the Horites in times past; and the children of Esau dispossessed them, and destroyed them from before them, and dwelt in their stead; as Israel did to the land of their possession, which Jehovah gave to them.) 13 Now rise up, and pass over the torrent Zered. And we passed over the torrent Zered. 14 Now the days in which we came from Kadesh-barnea, until we had come over the torrent Zered, were thirty-eight years; until the whole generation of the men of war was consumed from the midst of the camp, as Jehovah had sworn unto them. 15 Moreover the hand of Jehovah was against them to destroy them from the midst of the camp, until they were consumed. 16 And it came to pass when all the men of war were consumed, having died off from among the people, 17 that Jehovah spoke to me, saying, 18 Thou art to pass this day over the border of Moab, [which is] Ar, 19 and come near over against the children of Ammon; thou shalt not distress them nor attack them; for I will not give thee of the land of the children of Ammon a possession; for unto the children of Lot have I given it as a possession. 20 (That also is reckoned a land of giants: giants dwelt therein in time past, and the Ammonites call them Zamzummim; 21 a people great, and many, and tall as the Anakim; and Jehovah destroyed them before them, and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their stead; 22 as he did to the children of Esau, who dwelt in Seir, from before whom he destroyed the Horites; and they dispossessed them, and dwelt in their stead, even to this day. 23 And the Avvites who dwelt in the hamlets as far as Gazah—the Caphtorim, who came out of Caphtor, destroyed them, and dwelt in their stead.)
24 Rise up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon. Behold, I have given into thy hand Sihon the king of Heshbon, the Amorite, and his land: begin, take possession, and engage with him in battle. 25 This day will I begin to put the dread of thee and the fear of thee upon the peoples under the whole heaven; who will hear report of thee, and will tremble, and quake because of thee.
26 And I sent messengers out of the wilderness of Kedemoth unto Sihon the king of Heshbon with words of peace, saying, 27 Let me pass through thy land: by the highway alone will I go; I will neither turn to the right hand nor to the left. 28 Thou shalt sell me food for money that I may eat; and thou shalt give me water for money that I may drink; I will only pass through on my feet, 29 —as the children of Esau who dwell in Seir, and the Moabites who dwell in Ar, did to me,—until I shall pass over the Jordan into the land which Jehovah our God giveth us. 30 But Sihon the king of Heshbon would not let us pass by him; for Jehovah thy God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obdurate, that he might give him into thy hand, as it is this day. 31 And Jehovah said to me, Behold, I begin to give Sihon and his land before thee: begin, take possession, that thou mayest possess his land. 32 And Sihon came out against us for battle, he and all his people, to Jahaz. 33 But Jehovah our God gave him up before us; and we smote him, and his sons, and his whole people. 34 And we took all his cities at that time, and utterly destroyed every city, men, and women, and little ones: we let none escape. 35 Only the cattle we took as booty for ourselves, and the spoil of the cities which we took. 36 From Aroer, which is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the ravine even to Gilead, there was not one city too strong for us: Jehovah our God delivered all before us. 37 Only thou didst not approach the land of the children of Ammon, the whole border of the river Jabbok, nor the cities of the mountain, nor to whatsoever Jehovah our God had forbidden us.
31 And we turned, and went up the way to Bashan; and Og the king of Bashan came out against us, he and all his people, for battle at Edrei. 2 And Jehovah said to me, Fear him not; for into thy hand have I given him, and all his people, and his land; and thou shalt do unto him as thou didst unto Sihon the king of the Amorites, who dwelt at Heshbon. 3 And Jehovah our God gave into our hand Og the king of Bashan also, and all his people; and we smote him until none was left to him remaining. 4 And we took all his cities at that time: there was not a town which we took not from them, sixty cities, the whole region of Argob, the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 5 All these cities were fortified with high walls, gates, and bars; besides unwalled towns very many. 6 And we utterly destroyed them, as we had done to Sihon the king of Heshbon, utterly destroying every city, men, women and little ones. 7 But all the cattle and the spoil of the cities we took as booty for ourselves. 8 And we took at that time the land out of the hand of the two kings of the Amorites, that were on this side the Jordan, from the river Arnon to mount Hermon 9 (the Sidonians call Hermon Sirion, and the Amorites call it Senir): 10 all the cities of the plateau, and all Gilead, and all Bashan, as far as Salchah and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. 11 For only Og the king of Bashan remained of the residue of giants: behold, his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in Rabbah of the children of Ammon? its length was nine cubits, and its breadth four cubits, after the cubit of a man.
12 And this land we took in possession at that time. From Aroer, which is by the river Arnon, and the half of mount Gilead, and its cities, I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites; 13 and the rest of Gilead, and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to half the tribe of Manasseh. (The whole region of Argob, even all Bashan, is called a land of giants. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh took the whole region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and called Bashan after his own name, Havoth-Jair, to this day.) 15 And I gave Gilead to Machir. 16 And to the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even to the river Arnon, the middle of the ravine and its border, as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the children of Ammon; 17 the plain also, and the Jordan, and [its] border from Chinnereth as far as the sea of the plain, the salt sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward. 18 And I commanded you at that time, saying, Jehovah your God hath given you this land to take possession of it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the children of Israel, all [who are] combatants. 19 Only your wives, and your little ones, and your cattle,—I know that ye have much cattle,—shall abide in your cities which I have given you, 20 until Jehovah give rest to your brethren, as well as to you, and they also take possession of the land that Jehovah your God giveth them beyond the Jordan; then shall ye return, each man to his possession, which I have given you.
21 And I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, Thine eyes have seen all that Jehovah your God hath done to these two kings: so will Jehovah do to all the kingdoms to which thou shalt go. 22 Ye shall not fear them; for Jehovah your God, he will fight for you.
23 And I besought Jehovah at that time, saying, 24 Lord Jehovah, thou hast begun to shew thy servant thy greatness, and thy powerful hand; for what God is in the heavens or in the earth that can do like to thy works, and like to thy might? 25 Let me go over, I pray thee, and see the good land that is beyond the Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon. 26 But Jehovah was wroth with me on your account, and did not hear me; and Jehovah said to me, Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter! 27 Go up to the top of Pisgah, and lift up thine eyes westward, and northward, and southward, and eastward, and behold it with thine eyes; for thou shalt not go over this Jordan. 28 But charge Joshua, and encourage him and strengthen him; for he shall go over before this people, and he shall put them in possession of the land which thou shalt see. 29 And we abode in the valley opposite to Beth-Peor.
32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was going on before them; and they were amazed, and were afraid as they followed. And taking the twelve again to [him], he began to tell them what was going to happen to him: 33 Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man shall be delivered up to the chief priests and to the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, and shall deliver him up to the nations: 34 and they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him; and after three days he shall rise again.
35 And there come to him James and John, the sons of Zebedee, saying [to him], Teacher, we would that whatsoever we may ask thee, thou wouldst do it for us. 36 And he said to them, What would ye that I should do for you? 37 And they said to him, Give to us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and one on thy left hand, in thy glory. 38 And Jesus said to them, Ye do not know what ye ask. Are ye able to drink the cup which I drink, or be baptised with the baptism that I am baptised with? 39 And they said to him, We are able. And Jesus said to them, The cup that I drink ye will drink and with the baptism that I am baptised with ye will be baptised, 40 but to sit on my right hand or on my left is not mine to give, but for those for whom it is prepared. 41 And the ten having heard [of it], began to be indignant about James and John. 42 But Jesus having called them to [him], says to them, Ye know that those who are esteemed to rule over the nations exercise lordship over them; and their great men exercise authority over them; 43 but it is not thus among you; but whosoever would be great among you, shall be your minister; 44 and whosoever would be first of you shall be bondman of all. 45 For also the Son of man did not come to be ministered to, but to minister, and give his life a ransom for many.
46 And they come to Jericho, and as he was going out from Jericho, and his disciples and a large crowd, the son of Timaeus, Bartimaeus, the blind [man], sat by the wayside begging. 47 And having heard that it was Jesus the Nazaraean, he began to cry out and to say, O Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me. 48 And many rebuked him, that he might be silent; but he cried so much the more, Son of David, have mercy on me. 49 And Jesus, standing still, desired him to be called. And they call the blind [man], saying to him, Be of good courage, rise up, he calls thee. 50 And, throwing away his garment, he started up and came to Jesus. 51 And Jesus answering says to him, What wilt thou that I shall do to thee? And the blind [man] said to him, Rabboni, that I may see. 52 And Jesus said to him, Go, thy faith has healed thee. And he saw immediately, and followed him in the way.
(Read Mark 10:32-45)
Christ's going on with his undertaking for the salvation of mankind, was, is, and will be, the wonder of all his disciples. Worldly honour is a glittering thing, with which the eyes of Christ's own disciples have many times been dazzled. Our care must be, that we may have wisdom and grace to know how to suffer with him; and we may trust him to provide what the degrees of our glory shall be. Christ shows them that dominion was generally abused in the world. If Jesus would gratify all our desires, it would soon appear that we desire fame or authority, and are unwilling to taste of his cup, or to have his baptism; and should often be ruined by having our prayers answered. But he loves us, and will only give his people what is good for them.
(Read Mark 10:46-52)
Bartimeus had heard of Jesus and his miracles, and learning that he was passing by, hoped to recover his eyesight. In coming to Christ for help and healing, we should look to him as the promised Messiah. The gracious calls Christ gives us to come to him, encourage our hope, that if we come to him we shall have what we come for. Those who would come to Jesus, must cast away the garment of their own sufficiency, must free themselves from every weight, and the sin that, like long garments, most easily besets them, Hebrews 12:1. He begged that his eyes might be opened. It is very desirable to be able to earn our bread; and where God has given men limbs and senses, it is a shame, by foolishness and slothfulness, to make themselves, in effect, blind and lame. His eyes were opened. Thy faith has made thee whole: faith in Christ as the Son of David, and in his pity and power; not thy repeated words, but thy faith; Christ setting thy faith to work. Let sinners be exhorted to imitate blind Bartimeus. Where the gospel is preached, or the written words of truth circulated, Jesus is passing by, and this is the opportunity. It is not enough to come to Christ for spiritual healing, but, when we are healed, we must continue to follow him; that we may honour him, and receive instruction from him. Those who have spiritual eyesight, see that beauty in Christ which will draw them to run after him.
