What is the meaning of Numbers 33:47? They set out “ ‘They set out…’ ” (Numbers 33:47) • Another move in a long series that Moses carefully records (Numbers 33:2). Each departure underscores God’s faithful, day-by-day guidance just as the cloud had done earlier (Numbers 9:17-18; Exodus 13:20-22). • The wording reminds us that obedience often begins with the simple act of getting up and moving when the Lord says, “Go” (Hebrews 11:8). • Every start was a step closer to the inheritance God had promised since Genesis 12:7. from Almon-diblathaim • This little-known Moabite locale (also noted in Numbers 33:46) lay on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. Its name may appear again in Jeremiah 48:22 when the prophet lists Moab’s doomed towns, hinting at Israel’s deep foothold in territory once considered hostile. • The mention proves the record’s precision: real people breaking camp at a real place on a real day (Numbers 33:3-4). Scripture does not offer myth but history we can trace. and camped • Israel’s journey always alternated between “set out” and “camped” (Exodus 40:36-38). Rest followed obedience, reminding the people that God’s leading includes both movement and pause (Psalm 23:2). • Every campsite gave families space to see the tabernacle in the center and recall the covenant (Numbers 2:1-2). Even in unfamiliar terrain, worship framed their life. in the mountains of Abarim • The Abarim range stretches along Moab’s border, forming a natural balcony over the Jordan valley. God had already told Moses, “Go up this mountain of the Abarim and see the land” (Numbers 27:12). • Camping here signaled the nearness of promise. Forty years earlier faith had faltered at Kadesh-barnea (Numbers 14:1-4); now the same nation stood poised to enter. Deuteronomy 32:49 echoes the moment: “Go up Mount Nebo, to Abarim… and view Canaan, which I am giving the Israelites.” facing Nebo • Nebo is both a peak and, later, a Levitical city (Deuteronomy 34:1; Joshua 13:15-16). From its summit Moses would glimpse “all the land” before his death (Deuteronomy 34:4-5). • For Israel, pitching tents opposite Nebo meant gazing daily at the high point where their leader would soon finish his race. It was a living reminder that God’s purposes outlive even great servants (Joshua 1:1-2). • The orientation “facing” or “toward” Nebo kept their eyes fixed on the goal much like believers today are urged to “fix our eyes on Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). summary Numbers 33:47 is more than a line on a travel log. It captures one obedient step after another: leaving Almon-diblathaim, resting at Abarim, and pitching tents in full view of Nebo—the threshold of the promised land and the stage for Moses’ farewell. The verse testifies to God’s meticulous guidance, the credibility of biblical history, and the certainty that every move, every pause, and every vista serves His unfolding plan to bring His people into His inheritance. |
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