Num 10:29 And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses’ father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. 30 And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. 31 And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. 32 And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee. 33 And they departed from the mount of the LORD three days’ journey: and the ark of the covenant of the LORD went before them in the three days’ journey, to search out a resting place for them. 34 And the cloud of the LORD was upon them by day, when they went out of the camp. 35 And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee. 36 And when it rested, he said, Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel. K so Moses runs up on Hobab = “cherished” who is the son of Raguel = “friend of God” who the bible dictionaries say is the same guy as Jethro = “his abundance” from Ex 3:1 so his wifes brother by the same father & possibly same mother who is cherished, Moses tells him that we are going to the place that God is going to give it to us come along & share in our good fortune - so seeing as how this line was first perhaps the main point of this section is that when God blesses you that one of the first things you should think of is how to pass the blessing along so someone else benefits from it as well - Verse 30 Hobab responds he doesnt want to go but backwards to what he is familiar with (Lk 17:32) So Moses gives him a reason why he would be handy to have along for the journey probably so that by giving him a sense of purpose would be incentive to stick around so Moses told him Dont leave I am asking nicely because you are an experienced camper you can give us advice about how to get along out here in the desert & give us important information about the terrain, weather, & native inhabitants & the bonus is whatever good thing that God does for us will also happen to you. - So my question is, was Moses seriously looking to rely on his brother & laws opinions or was he just saying that to make him feel as if he would be useful although Moses really had every intention of primarily listening to Gods instructions? Well we will just have to guess about that & also about Hobabs answer because that is all the information we have on the subject written & so it might be safe to assume that Hobab stayed with the people especially because Judg 4:11 brings up that his kids were still in the picture but there the passage gets Hobab confused with his father as it says Hobab was the father in law of Moses & the passage we just read says he was the son of Moses father in law - in any case because that is the only other reference of the name Hobab in the bible besides this one we would probably have to keep our eyes out for any other reference of him in all the context & also careful examination of the context of Judg 4 so see if he indeed stayed with the people or parted ways & crosses paths again later in Judg 4 because in that verse it says that they separated from the Kenites who were a tribe that God said He was giving their land to Abraham back in Gen 15:19 - so there is no telling if it is just as safe to assume that Hobab left the people to go dwell with the Kenites after this section. So in verse 33 whatever decision Hobab made about staying or leaving was complete & they were continuing on & we get a little perhaps ritual or chant of Moses for when it is time to go or stop as Moses would say when it was time to go Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee & when it was time to stop Moses would say Return, O LORD, unto the many thousands of Israel - So i guess one thought here is that God is going in front of us preparing the way; similar to how we are to go in front of Him and prepare the way for Him as well - Isa 40:3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. - So God is not only in the deal making business; but He is also in the partnership making business - as God wants to partner with us & go in front of us to prepare our way in the world while we go in front of Him & prepare His way into other peoples hearts. Wow my love & respect for Him somehow just got greater after learning that. Next time it will be chapter 11 & time to cue the dramatic music as God delivers a judgement of death by fire in verse 1.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 22:45:07 +0000
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