v. 2 - 64 This detailed numbering was to establish one point - that God keeps his word. None of those who had rebelled at the tie of the first arrival at the land were still alive. It is interesting that Yahweh used the inclination of the people with respect to the Moabitish women to bring about His will. The differences in the two numberings in Numbers and the positions of the tribes around the Tabernacle:

You may remember from Num 1:46 that there were 603,550 Israelite soldiersaged 20 and above who came out of Egypt, plus the Levites.  In today's chapter there are 601,730 (Num 26:51) who are to cross the Jordan into the Promised Land. The two numbers are almost identical, when the females, the young and the old are taken into consideration.  The point is this:  God caused all of the generation who
came out of Egypt to die in the wilderness, apart from Caleb and Joshua. But for the people who were watching Israel, like Rahab (Josh 2:9-11) , nobody knew about all the deaths.  God punished Israel in private, so that His Name would not lose its power.

The second census, taken at the conclusion of the wilderness journey, revealed that there were less people twenty years or older compared to the first census.  

However, there would have been more had not twenty-four thousand died recently by execution or plague (Num 25:9).

Apart from Moses, Aaron, Eleazer, the Levites, Joshua and Caleb, the oldest person in the congregation would have been fifty-eight years old.
 
Asher's sons were mentioned, but why was Sarah, his daughter, the grand-daughter of Jacob, also mentioned? (vs.44-46 see Gen 46:17)

The most prominent daughter of Asher was probably the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38).

26:1      Remember that Aaron had died before this incident. We are on the border of the land.

V.12 It appears that the tribe of Simeon had been preeminet in the guilt of Baal-peor(Num 25:5), and had consequently been reduced in numbers, they now number some 37,100 less than were recorded in Num 1:23. We see here God's justice, as well as His truth and faithfulness, we see His sweeping justice that reduced the ranks of Simeon; we also see His truth and faithfulness in the extraordinary increase of other tribes (Manasseh, Asher, and Benjamin), so that the posterity of Israel continued a numerous people.

26:53-56   The division of the land is specified very clearly here. It is clear that the division was not according to personal, human, preference. It would have been easy for the larger tribes to stake a claim to the best land and then reason that their size indicated their choice was best. So whilst the amount of land was according to the number of men in each tribe the location was of God. It is all too easy to try to justify our own preferences without giving regard to the feelings and needs of others.

26:51 God had promised Abraham –Gen 15:5 - that his seed would multiply as the stars by the nation had shrunk, at least the number of males had shrunk. Thus we see a very clear indication that the promise to Abraham of a multitudinous seed was not to be fulfilled in the wilderness.

The slothful man re-occurs again in this chapter. How is it that Solomon knew so much about this character? How is it that he, the great and wise king over all Israel and the surrounding nations, knew so much about laziness and sloth?

I believe the answer is clear when we examine a few facts. This man had been born into a highly successful ruling family. Everything he could desire had been laid down at his feet from his birth. He was the beloved son of David, even more so than any of his brothers. This young man solomon had everything he wanted at his fingertips. For Solomon, the problem of descending into laziness and folly was a very real one indeed! He needn't lift a finger if he didn't want to! It seems that only the guidance and good influence of his mother stopped him from becoming a bad character like his brothers. Her character was obviously of the highest calibre, being the wife of a very faithful man (2Sam 11:11, 23:39), and the granddaughter of an extremely wise councilor (2Sam 16:23).

But in later life, Solomon was more on his own. His father and grandfather-in-law were dead. He had done everything he wanted to do, and there seemed to be nothing left! (Ecc 2:11-12). His own success would likely have driven him over the years to be more and more like that slothful man. How ironic that he should fall foul of the same affliction that his father had suffered that year when he couldn't find the energy to lead his kingdom into battle; and when late in the day he awoke and took a stroll on his rooftop, wiping the sleep from of his eyes, and spying the beautiful Bathsheba bathing below him?

Prov 18:1 says that after careful thought, a person separates himself from the rest of the noisy, busy world, then sets his heart to find wisdom.  The writer infers, that if one continually fills one’s heart with the noise and nonsense of this world, there is little hope of finding wisdom. The exhortation is therefore, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Psa 46:10.

18:8  The ‘talebearer’ is in reality a ‘whisperer’ – see margin. We should never listen to gossip. It damages fellowship and "separateth chief friends." - Prov 16:28

18:14 & similar verses talk about positive & negative outlooks affecting health & state of mind. It is interesting that current research is showing that different parts of the brain are responsible for positive & negative emotions, and that "spiritual" actvities such as meditation can increase the positive emotions & improve one's sense of wellbeing. Isn't it amazing that God has made us in such a way that if we spend more time meditating on His ways, and on His Word, and on the joy of our salvation, it affects us in a positive way!

18:6-7 The fool, whilst calling for judgment upon others in haste ends up having to ‘eat his words’. There is always value in giving a lot of thought before responding to a question about others. Today in society the trend is to give slick quick answers. We should take care with our mouths – the talebearer – next verse – does not receive any commendation from God.

18:2 The fool’ of this verse is the one who ‘separateth himself’ in the previous verse. The one who meddles without involvement acquires the status of being a ‘fool’.

18:18 We should be ever so careful in what we say about our fellows. We might never think of sticking a knife into their flesh but we are doing the equivalent of that if we gossip about them.

1 v. 1 In almost all of his letters Paul introduces himself as an 'apostle of Jesus Christ'. These are the only three epistles of Paul in which he does not introduce himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1Thessalonians 2Thessalonians Philemon The question of his apostleship was a major issue in the first century. The absence in Philippians might indicate his authority was not in question there. However with respect to Thessalonica it is a little puzzling as he warned them about letters which purported to come from him. Maybe, despite the warning, he knew that his authority was not in question. maybe the letters purporting to come from Paul were sent to Thessalonica as the writer of the fraudulent letters knew that that the Thessalonians would not question anything which came from Paul.

2 v.3 'strife and vain glory' highlights the major theme of the epistle to the Philippians. There was strife amongst some, at least of them. Look for references to unity throughout the whole of the letter to help you to appreciate the reason for the letter.

1:6-8 He feels strongly for them. So strongly, in fact, that he is concerned for their eternal well being. This raises the question as to whether we love our brethren and sisters to such an extent. Our fellowship with our brethren and sisters is more than mere friendship. Our love for them should be such that we pray for their spiritual health and their eternal wellbeing.

1:6 How often do we begin something never to finish it? Starting is easy. It is the continuing that is the hard part!

2:19 In saying that he 'trusted in the Lord' Paul is identifying himself with Hezekiah (2 Kings 18:5) - notice the other quotations of language from the time of Hezekiah.

1:27 The 'conversation' that  should be becoming of those in Christ is, in fact, the lifestyle of the believer. Not simply the things they say. Paul is setting the scene for things he is going to talk about later in the letter. There was a real problem of division in the ecclesia.

2:3  'strife and vainglory' contrasts powerfully with 2:77 'made himself of no reputation ...' If we could only develop the mind which does not see ourselves as important then all our inter personal problems would vanish.

1:20,21 Paul has been mulling over his life in Christ. He was prepared to die in the service of his Lord.  Death would bring him to Christ, but living would allow him to be of service to his brethren (1:23-24). He assured his brethren that he would continue to be with them (1:25).

1:23 Paul is not saying that at the point of death, he (his soul) would depart and be with Christ in heaven. He is saying that the next waking moment after death, he will be with Christ on earth to live forever (1Cor 15:52-54, 1Thess 4:16).  
 
2:6 Trinitarians use this verse to say that Christ and God are one.  They put their stock in the word form (Gr. morphe).  They claim that morphe means essential nature (Very God in their terminology).

Morphe is used only two other times in the scriptures: v.7 and Mark 16:12.

2:7 Christ took on the form of a servant.  As he was human he already had the essential nature of a servant (slave).

In Mark 16:12 Christ appeared to the two on the road to Emmaus in another (altered) form (so they could not recognize him, see Luke 24:13-16). If form means essential nature, then it cannot be altered.

And so form must mean something else.  It means characteristics or demeanour.  The Lord had the (spiritual) characteristics of His Father and the demeanour of a servant. Besides, if 2:6 is read correctly, we see that Jesus did not desire equality with God: did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped (ESV).

1:12 The things that happened to Paul are described in Acts 16:12-33

2:7 In saying that Jesus ‘made himself …’ we learn a lesson. There is no virtue in taking the position of the servant if it is imposed upon us by others. Service to the Father is a conscious choice that has to be made in the same way that Jesus chose to be a servant.

We spend a lot of time whining & complaining about our lot in life. The difficult circumstances, and they may actually be difficult or perhaps not so difficult but become magnified in our minds, in which we find ourselves. Here Paul is telling us to see the good in whatever situation we find ourselves, and use it to witness for Christ, and to realise that even then God is working in us to bring us situations that could help us to grow & mature 2:13

1:1, 2:7 Paul is teaching us what Jesus tried to teach his disciples Matt 20:25-28, John 13:3-17 about the philosophy of those who were not believers of the true God, vs those were. The attitude is not one of being lord but of service. Even God himself serves us/gives us all things  Acts 17:25 because He loves us. So in becoming a servant, Jesus modeled himself on the attitude of his Father rather than on the attitude that flesh would naturally have, as exhibited first in Eden.

1:15 In talking about ‘some’ who preached of ‘envy’ Paul is introducing principles that the ecclesia would assent to so that later – Phil 4:2 – he would be able to focus on an actual problem having already obtained the agreement of the ecclesia to the correct principles.

1:5       The fellowship ‘from the first day’ doubtless reference to Lydia’s hospitality – Acts 16:15

1:5       The fellowship ‘from the first day’ doubtless reference to Lydia’s hospitality – Acts 16:15

1:2 Just a little point. In many of the letters Paul sends greetings from God and Jesus but never from the holy spirit. God and Jesus are Father and son – individuals with their own personality. The holy spirit is God’s power and has no personality. Those who would support the idea of the doctrine of the Trinity should ponder on this sort of introduction to the letters.

IF

The important word is "If". "If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion..." (Phil 2:1). This "if" statement is followed by "then", but before we consider the "then", we need to determine if we are part of the "if's." Do we have any encouragement from being united with Christ? Do we have any comfort from his love? Do we have fellowship with the Spirit? Or do we have any tenderness and compassion? The very fact that we are reading these words shows that we probably do fit in with one of these "if" catergories.

So now that we know that something here applies to us, we need to take special note of the instruction that follows. It is not an instruction given by just anyone. It was given by Paul, and inspired by God. We need to take note! He says, "Then make my joy complete by being likeminded, showing the same love, being one in spirit and in purpose." (Phil 2:2) This is a bit harder. If we fit into the people Paul is talking to, we need to make the effort - every effort - to be like minded with fellow believers. We need to find the things we have in common with each other and build on them, not focus on our differences.

We all love the Lord, so let's love him together in our many, varied and different ways. In doing so we make Paul's joy complete and at the same time we will bring joy to our God.

Phil 2:30 could be taken as a sarcastic comment: "someone else had to provide what you should have given me" but I don't think Paul meant it this way. The whole of the letter is possitive about the Philippians, especially see 4:1 "my joy and crown" and 4:14 "you shared in my distress". Maybe the answer is in 4:10 "your care for me has flourished again". They possibly hadn't realised that Paul was in regular need, not just in need of a one off gift. The lesson for us is that even though we might be good at providing for immediate cases of need, that provision sometimes has to be ongoing, or else another "giver" might end up being overburdened, as Epaphroditus was (2:25-30).

1:23 Whilst in Caesarea Paul had a dilemma because he had the offer of going to Jerusalem to answer the charges laid against him – Acts 25:9 – but the Jews had made the request that Paul be sent to Jerusalem so they could kill him – Acts 24:2-3. So Paul appealed to Caesar – Acts 25:11 knowing that if he had agreed to go to Jerusalem he would have been killed and all his problems would have been over. This is the dilemma he is speaking. Should he allow the Romans to send him to Jerusalem to ‘depart and be with Christ’ or appeal to Caesar and ‘abide in the flesh’