Month: April 2020

One of the things that the tassels from chapter 15 were supposed to remind the Israelite people of was, “…do all of my commandments and be holy to your God.” (Numbers 15:40). This holiness, coupled with the call for them to be a “…kingdom of priests, a holy nation” from the Exodus narrative, is the rub of the rebellion that takes place in chapter 16. There is no clue in the story as to when it took place, meaning it could have happened any time from when they got turned away from the promised land to when they were allowed back in.

We’re introduced to a few key leaders, Korah, Dathan, Abiram, and On. Korah is from the tribe of Levi, the rest of the fellas from the tribe of Reuben. They roust 250 other leaders to lodge a protest against Moses and Aaron that they have exalted themselves above everyone else. Basically, what makes those fellas so special when we have heard from YHWH that He is with the whole nation, an entire kingdom of priests? It’s a classic mistake, really. The God who said that the nation was a kingdom of priests is the same one who chose Moses to lead them out of Egypt and spent quite a bit of time being very specific about the priesthood and their role within the nation of Israel. Although they wouldn’t have said it this way at the time, Korah is cherry-picking Scripture and trying to assert the limited view as a means to control the reality of those around him. And, as it does, it will be disastrous for these men and their families.

Moses’ reaction to this accusation is strong. He recognizes what this is, a human play for position that uses YHWH as the means. A challenge is presented, one that basically suggests that the men should take upon themselves an action that only a designated priest should. They are to take censers and offer incense to YHWH and see how He reacts. This particular test would have likely struck Aaron heavy given that his sons died offering unauthorized incense to YHWH in Leviticus 10.

Moses rebuts Korah et al’s contention that he and Aaron have gone too far by turning the same accusation back against them. Specifically, he focuses on Korah, calling out that the Levites already have a privileged place in the people of God in the work that they do in the service to the Tabernacle. Moses makes it clear that Aaron is only being faithful to what God has called him to and that this rebellion is ultimately against YHWH and how He has chosen to do things.

Dathan and Abiram seem to have a different qualm with the Israelite leadership. Where Korah seems to want power for himself, these fellas are upset that they haven’t received all the goodies that were anticipated in the promised land and they blame Moses for it (this is a rehash of the same record the Israelites have been playing since they left Egypt). Again, this ignores reality, as they have casually forgotten that the reason they don’t have all of these things is their lack of trust in YHWH’s word. Further, they won’t even come up to where the dispute with Moses and Korah is happening, they’re good to sit it out in their tents. It’s possible that they were worried that Korah has overplayed his complaint and that their might be a dangerous recompense in that area. They are ultimately right, they just won’t avoid it by trying to hide in their tent. Moses tells YHWH to ignore any offering Dathan and Abiram make (which comes off a bit like Peter saying that prayers of men who are mistreating their wives will effectively not be heard by YHWH. There is a consequence to rebellion against people who God wants treated properly).

The thing goes down the next day. On one side, Aaron, legit priest of YHWH. On the other side, the four rebels and their 250 associates. They offer the incense and Korah, apparently anticipating victory (under what pretense I’m not sure), gathers the congregation around to ultimately rise against Aaron and Moses. The glory of the Lord appears to render the outcome and the news isn’t good for anyone.

YHWH notes the gathered people along with the group who offered the strange fire and instructs Moses and Aaron to separate themselves so all the people can be consumed (you know, judged and done away with). Moses and Aaron, as has been done in the past, humbly petition God to relent, asking that the sin of these rebel men not be cast upon the entire people. God does indeed relent, and provides instruction that everyone should separate themselves from those who are rebelling against God.

Moses follows through, instructing the congregation as YHWH has commanded. Prideful and foolish, Korah, Dathan and Abiram stand outside their tents in defiance, dragging their wives and children out there with him. This is devastatingly sad. Many a wife and child have been hurt by being caught up in the pride, ego, and idiocy of foolish men. Think about it, what is all this for? There is no honor here. There’s a dude making a play for power and two others who just want to whine about those who lead them while ignoring their own part in why things are the way they are. As we shall see, the sin of a man doesn’t just land back on him. It impacts his family and, ultimately, his community. Don’t ever be so blind or foolish to believe that whatever sin you think you’re getting away with is only impacting you. It’s not,

Moses addresses the congregation, describing that what happens next will be a demonstration as to who YHWH is with in this altercation. The stakes are the timing of the deaths of the rebellious men. If they die of natural causes, then God is not with Moses. However, if they die in a way that demonstrates a new way of dealing with their rebellion, where the ground opens up and they are swallowed into the place of the dead, then surely YHWH is with Moses and he is to be trusted in his leadership of the people.

It happens as Moses described, affirming YHWH’s support of both Moses and Aaron. Korah, Dathan and Abiram and their families are swallowed up by a chasm in the ground. The band of 250 dummies who offered the incense outside of their position are consumed by a fire sent by the Lord. There is an interesting outcome to this, as the censers the band had offered did become holy because they were offered to God. So YHWH instructs that Aaron’s son Eleazar collect the censers and hammer them out as a cover for the alter. This cover will serve as a reminder to the people (much like the tassels in the previous chapter). No one who is not a priest is to draw near to the Lord.

And…no one learns their lesson. The next day the congregation shows up (likely the Israelite leaders vs. everyone) and they grumble against Moses and accuse him of killing the people of the Lord. There is no limit, either then or now, of people proclaiming whatever they can about the evil of someone else in an effort to remove any sense of responsibility or guilt from themselves. The desire to avoid dealing with the full truth of our own sin is a very, very powerful thing. Again, the Lord shows up to mediate this problem. And again, He instructs Moses and Aaron to separate themselves from these people as they are about to be destroyed.

This time, the judgement is immediate. A plague begins to make its way through the people. Recognizing the judgment, Moses instructs Aaron to do what he was meant to do, to offer atonement for the people in their sin. Aaron does so, grabbing the censer and running in the middle of the people. And may v.48 be said of all Christians in their service to the world, “And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped”. What a beautiful picture. Where there is plague in the land that brings death, may it always the work of the Christian to run headlong, as fast as we can, into the midst of it and stand as a barrier between life and death and stop the plague with the Good News of Jesus that brings atonement, forgiveness, and reconciliation. That particular notion overstretches what is intended here in this text, but it is true nonetheless.

This action by Aaron, and its success (unlike the band of bros, Aaron is not consumed by fire for his incense offering) affirms who YHWH is behind. The cost of this episode was substantial. 15,000 Israelites died in their rebellion against YHWH and His chosen way of doing things. God was merciful, justice would have seen the entire rebellion be punished, but as He has many times before, YHWH relents and, in the presence of faithfulness, forgives.

Some see the transition from chapter 14 to 15 to be abrupt and misplaced. Chapter 14 ended with God’s command that those who went all in on not believing that YHWH would deliver them into the land He promised would wander the wilderness  they love so much until it was time for their kids to once again have a shot. In reaction, those same people decide to try and take the land under their own force and are soundly defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites and chased out complete. Chapter 15  starts with God’s pronouncement of additional (or perhaps, clarifying) law. Weird? Not really. The content of the laws are important.
 
Notice that YHWH directs Moses to tell the people of Israel, “When you come into the land…” You see, the presence of these laws is an affirmation that God has every intention of sticking with His people. Even when they are faithless and  rebellious, He is faithful, keeping the covenant that He made with them. Their last gasp of self-reliance was still not enough for God to turn His back on His intentions for His people. So, He provides them laws that not only confirm that His promise of their  return to this land is true, but these laws also provide some context to the situation that has just occurred (which will show up in the mournful outcome of the Sabbath-breaker at the end of the chapter).
 
The law describes in v.3-10 indicates that every time a sacrifice is made that has an animal with it (could be a burnt offering or peace offering, doesn’t matter), there should be included a hefty amount of flour (cereal), oil and wine.  Although the theological purpose is not mentioned, it’s possible we have an indication of a couple of things. For one, this ups the game from the travelling folk, who were only offering meat. When they were in the land YHWH provides, they would be capable  of offering the additional grain, oil and wine along with it, things likely not at their disposal when wandering the wilderness. The wine requirement is especially telling given the significant grape haul that was brought back from the initial scouting exercise.  These additional items not only represent a more holistic submission to YHWH for the offering (a more rounded representation of what the people are capable of offering), but also an increase into the variety of goods that were given to the priests, given that  many of the sacrifices were able to be consumed/used by the priest after being offered to YHWH.
 
The amounts of grain, oil and wine were relative. The larger the animal, the more vittles should accompany it. And, it needs done every time, you can’t say, “I did the hin of oil last time, just brought the beef on this round”. You’re all  in, all the time. Also, everyone has the same requirement, whether you’re an Israelite or just a person living in the land as a non-Insraelite, all are the same before YHWH (v.15).
 
Next, there’s a law about bringing the first bread loaf to YHWH as an offering. Just as God is given the first fruits of other Israelite output (crops, kids, etc.), when they are settled in and baking loaves in this new land they need to  bring the first one by for God. Again, a nice boon for the priests here. This became a consistent tradition in Jewish culture that, when the second temple was destroyed in AD 70, Jewish ladies instead treated their own fireplace/hearth as a mini-alter, throwing  a handful of dough into the fire as a sacrifice before continuing on into their baking. Again, the theological significance isn’t specified, but it does extend the “first fruits” concept out of the field and directly into the home, permeating a reminder of  God’s goodness and the call of the Israelites to covenant faithfulness in all areas of their lives.
 
Given the number of commands that exist in this covenant, YHWH then makes provision for those sins that are committed unintentionally. All is not lost, but wherever they fall short, either as individuals or as a community, the sin must  be paid for (atonement). If it’s something the whole community is responsible for, they offer a bull (and all the extras just covered earlier in the chapter). If it’s a single person, then a year-old female goat is to be offered. Just like earlier, the stranger  and the Israelite are to be treated the same here, they are covered with the community and must offer individually for unintentional sin.
 
However, that’s for unintentional sins. What about when you just do what you want? You personally decide that you don’t care what YHWH wants at this particular moment and are just going to go about your own affairs? Well, there’s no atonement  for that. You’ve sinned with “a high hand”, with a clear intent to defy God,  and circumvent His covenant and the promises therein. You have “…despised the word of YHWH”. Thus, you shall be cut off from your people (death, it seems, at the Lord’s discretion).  That’s stiff. Why so harsh? Well, it’s certainly startling, but I’m not sure it’s particularly harsh. This represents a situation where God lives among them, is right there, and you brazenly spit in  his face and decide to do as you please and dare God to  do His worst. God’s holiness is a serious business. There is no atonement for that.
 
What follows is an example of such a case. A man is caught wandering, gathering sticks on the Sabbath, presumably to start a fire and cook. The people inquire of God what to do with him, and YHWH confirms he is to be put to death. We are  so far away from a proper understanding of Sabbath that perhaps we find ourselves aghast at these consequences. It was just a few sticks, yeah? The Sabbath was a sign of the covenant, one God gave to them as proof of His blessing and sharing of His rest. Literally  no one else is out there gathering sticks. And then there’s this guy, under the apparent assumption that the lack of YHWH personally delivering this message and warning him 6-7 times meant it wasn’t really wrong, coupled with his internal belief that “it’s  really not a big deal”, is out gathering on the day of rest. That’s us, man. This Sabbath thing seems like one of the optional commands to us. It’s weird, YHWH chose 10 things to highlight in the initial push, and remembering the covenant He made and honoring  that day as holy was one of them.  It’s a deal, fellas. And although no longer punishable by death, Jesus said Sabbath was made for man, which means it’s still as important as it was, we should just see it as an important GIFT.
 
Either way, our man is sentenced to death for intentionally and brazenly sinning against YHWH. The whole community had to take part (that’s heartbreaking, certainly his family and friends were there).
 
Ending the chapter, YHWH has Moses do some physical, tangible things to keep the commands of God front and center in their lives. They are supposed put tassels on the corners of their clothes, colored blue and on each corner. Whenever they  see it, it should remind them of their call to be faithful to the commands of God, “…to do them”. Calling it rightly, YHWH admonishes them to, “…not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. So you shall remember  and do all my commandments and be holy to your God.” Think setting up tangible reminders in your everyday life to keep you thinking about God and how you are to live is childish? Silly? YHWH sure doesn’t think it’s a bad idea. Grown, responsible men wear tassels,  or whatever it takes to keep your eyes where they should be and the leading of your heart in check.

The fear-mongering of chapter 13 has worked and the rabble is sufficiently roused. The people weep and wail and grumble against Moses and Aaron (a familiar tactic from not only this journey but also the journey from Egypt to Mt. Sinai). Keeping consistent with the form of their greatest hits (grumblings) from those episodes, they ask why YHWH would bring them this far to die in the wilderness by the sword of their enemies. Why would He do such a thing to their wives and children? Isn’t it better that we go back to Egypt? Now, obviously the answer is that YHWH wouldn’t do that so they should proceed and trust His promises in the matter. But, of course, that isn’t what they do. They conclude that they should choose a new leader (take that, Moses!) and head on back to Egypt under their own volition. 

Moses and Aaron recognize a straight-up rebellion when they see it and fall on their faces. The two spies who tried to calm the situation down, Joshua and Caleb, tear their clothes (a strong lament). This is a good reminder for wise men recognize trouble and weep for it. Perhaps we run the risk of being too passive at the evil and rebellion we see in our midst (and even in our own lives).  Caleb and Joshua try re-engage the people, begging them not do this thing and to trust in God’s word and provision. In reaction to this faithful and reasonable plea, the people decided it would be best to kill them with stones. YHWH will stand for this no more and His glory (presence) appears at the tent of meeting. Kind of the ultimate, “Just wait ’til your Father gets here” kind of moment.

God asks Moses a few rhetorical questions that make it clear that He’s had enough of their rebellion. “How long will this people despise me? How long will they not believe in me in spirte of all the signs that I have done among them?” Moses, wisely, does not interject at this point. YHWH’s conclusion is that He wants to start over, that these people will be struck with a plague, disinherited of all His promises, and that He will start over with a new nation from Moses’ line. This isn’t the first time that God has determined that His purposes shan’t be thwarted by a rebellious group and that it was better to start over with the line of a faithful fella. There are obvious flood story overtones here. 

Moses, as he has done multiple times now, intercedes for the people. In fact, this is pretty much the same conversation he and YHWH had after the golden calf episode in Exodus 32. Moses makes the case that this people is supposed to be an example to the nations, and by wiping them out that foreign peoples may believe that God wasn’t capable of delivering His people. Further, Moses reminds YHWH of His description of His own character, that He is “…slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love…”, which was also an outcome of that same calf situation (Exodus 34). Moses’ plea for the people works, Like in Exodus, it’s probably not right to see this as God being “talked out of” what He intended to do. It’s basically the means for which God points out what the just consequences are so that the extent of His mercy can be rightly understood. 

Still, there will be consequences. When it says, “…visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and fourth generation”, it’s kind of an idiom that means that God will not allow iniquity to go unpunished. It doesn’t mean that the punishment of the first generation will get extended beyond that generation as a curse or something, it just means that God will continue to follow through with the punishment for as many generations as are guilty of it. I know it reads oddly to us, we want to hold it to a literal count, but that’s not the intent. 

So YHWH tells Moses the consequences. Ultimately, He’s not going to wipe them out. However, they didn’t want to go into the land, so they won’t be allowed to. They wanted to head back to Egypt, and He’s going to grant that, too. They wanted to go back to the wilderness? Done. And they will die there, a whole generation of them. The same set of fellas that were counted as the “army” at the start of the book (age 20 and up) will be turned away from this promised land and wander 40 years (a year for each day they were spies in the land). Of the spies themselves, only Joshua and Caleb will survive and get to enter the land. The rest of the spies who riled up the people with their false report from the land,  will die immediately via plague. The only thing YHWH doesn’t grant them is their complaint that He has brought their children into risk. Instead, the opposite occurs, their kids will be allowed to enter the land YWHH promised once the whole nation has done enough wandering to outlast the most hearty of the rebellious adults. 

So YHWH tells them to head out the next day for the wilderness by way of the Red Sea. In a remarkable turn of extended foolishness, they refuse this instruction and instead head up to the heights of the hill country (basically into the promised land). They’ve decided that they will demonstrate their repentance by disobeying YHWH’s command to go to the wilderness and instead follow through with trying to conquer Canaan. This is a classic move, well known to every pre-teen who, upon being grounded for not picking up their room, contends that all is well and should be forgiven now that they are cleaning their room. But obviously their heart is still not reacting in faithfulness to God, it’s an attempt to re-secure the earthly blessing they so foolishly rejected the day before. Moses attempts to convince them that this isn’t going to work and they are going to eat their hats at the hands of the land’s inhabitants if they go in there without God. “Do not go up, for YHWH is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies.” 

They ignored Moses and went into the land without the cloud (presence of YHWH) leading them there. As a result, they were defeated and chased out of the land by the Canaanites and the Amalekites. 

Chapter 13 begins with YHWH instructing Moses to send out one person from each tribe of Israel to go scope out the land. We are told in v. 17 that they are to validate whether there are folks in the land, whether the are strong or weak, whether the land is good or bad, whether the folks live in cities or camps, and the state of the forests. We get more detail in Deuteronomy chapter 1, where it seems as though the people had asked Moses to send some fellas to spy out the place to confirm the right tactical way to make their way into the land. The LORD is gracious here, He agrees and tells Moses to let it happen. They will see with their own eyes what YHWH has been telling them of this land of milk and honey. 

So, fellas from each tribe are selected. They are not the same as the heads of the tribes ,which probably makes sense as this is work for younger legs and stronger lungs, this spying about. Also, it’s a decent trek, 250 miles south to north, plus the weight of the evidence of the fruits of the land that they are supposed to bring back. It’s the first grape harvest so we’re looking at the end of July, two months after they left Mt. Sinai. From Sinai to Paran was an 11 day journey normally, Apparently hauling a massive group of Israelites in that span, plus stopping to tussle with the Lord over quail, must have delayed them. 

It’d be wise to dig on a map to understand the nature of the route but, in general, the spies do what Moses told them to. The go from the Negeb (dry, desert like place) up into the hill country, of which the largest town is Hebron. Hebron is significant in the life Abraham as it is near there that God first tells him that he will inherit the land. It’s also where he buys the land to bury his wife, and subsequently, it’s where he and Isaac and Jacob are buried. We’re also told that the descendants of Anak are there (of which no additional detail is given. However, the word translates as “giant”, “neck” or “necklace” which at least gives the connotation that these are substantial fellas). In the Valley of Eschol, north of Hebron, they find some grapes and abscond with them. They also grab pomegranates and figs to take back to the group. 

They make it 40 days, all the way up and back, and arrive back to provide the report. This is where things go awry. First, they confirm that it is indeed flowing with milk and honey. This is as we expect it to be as it is what God had described. But then the report of the rest of the land is one that lacks the persistence of God’s promises to this people. They report that the cities are strong, well-fortified, and that there are tons of people (likely in the context of there being a lot of people to defend the land). Plus, they saw the descendents of Anak (the big neck folks), as well as the Amalekites in the Negeb, the Jebusites in the Jerusalem area, the Hittites in Hebron, and the Amorites also in the hill country. And that doesn’t include the Canaanites, who lived mostly on the coast and in the valleys. Basically, this land is chock full of folks. They seem to have expected to investigate and find an open land where they could just plop their camp down. This seems foolish, given that the original promise to Abraham was obviously made during a time when these lands were already well populated. 

Caleb, one of the spies, tries to calm everyone down and insists that these realities can be overcome. Certainly, we should see this as testament to Caleb believing that YHWH was faithful and able to assure a victorious outcome, not a boast in their own particular ability. In fact, when YHWH talks about milk and honey, he often includes the notion of Him delivering the land over to them: 

Exodus 3:8 So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites.

Leviticus 20:24 – 24 But I said to you, “You will possess their land; I will give it to you as an inheritance, a land flowing with milk and honey.” I am the Lord your God, who has set you apart from the nations.

In fact, in Exodus 33 YHWH says this, “3 Go up to the land flowing with milk and honey. But I will not go with you, because you are a stiff-necked people and I might destroy you on the way.” And Moses refuses to go forward with the presence of God, basically saying that if YHWH doesn’t go, they will not make it. 

So broadly, God said the land was good and that was confirmed. They saw a bunch of folks occupying the land, which wasn’t a surprise at all. But now, after all they have seen, they doubt the goodness and faithfulness of God to keep His promises. Caleb’s attempt to reorient them fails miserably as the rest of the spies protest that they are absolutely not able to overpower the inhabitants of the land. Then we are told that the dissenting spies bring a “bad report” about the land, which we most likely should read as a way of saying they are lying about the land to prove their case. 

These spies say that the land devours it’s inhabitants (meaning they die because of the hostile environment). We know this isn’t true, they brought back bunches of grapes and figs and such. The Negeb is a rough spot, but everywhere else seems to be fine. They already said it was flowing with milk and honey! Further, the claim that there are giants in the land, those who are so big that the spies were like grasshoppers to them. They go as far as to say that they were the Nephilim (Genesis 6, mighty men of valor, certainly very large if nothing else). This is certainly hyperbole, but that’s kind of the point. They were trying dissuade the people from going into the land so they are reaching for these fantastic images to scare them. 

Here’s what we’re faced with. The land was good as God said it would be. The land was occupied, as God knew it was. t’s true that the Israelites were outnumbered and it was a big area with multiple clans of folk in different geographical areas they would have to get through. Yes, certainly. And from a human level, their hesitation is understandable and the caution reasonable. However, they knew, they freakin’ knew already that God was more than capable of delivering this land that He promised. They’d seen it time and time and time and time again. With their own eyes, tasted with their own mouths, felt the leading hand of the pillar of fire on their own skin. They know that YHWH is faithful and good and mighty. And all it takes is a few wild-eyed humans, faithless and fearful, to turn the world upside down, to causes us to doubt the veracity of God’s character. That is exactly what will happen to the Israelites. 

Finally, the Israelites are ready to head out, leaving Sinai with the presence of YHWH Himself leading the way. First, a matter of organization. This is a large camp, remember, so the odds of being able to direct folks easily by just shouting about the place seem pretty low. So, a couple of trumpets are commissioned. 

There are a number of different reasons the trumpets will be used. When all people are to gather at the Tent of Meeting, the two trumpets are blown together using a long blast. When just the leaders of the camp are needed for the gathering, only one trumpet is used. They are also used when it’s time to head out following the cloud. When an “alarm” is blown (likely a short blast), the camps on the east side know it’s time to head out. When another alarm follows, the south side heads out (and so on, in the order dictated in chapter 2). In this very regimented and orderly evacuation of Sinai, we are perhaps reminded of the disorderly and outright disobedient conduct that occurred when they first arrived here and Moses tarried on the mountain while meeting with YHWH. God’s laws, calls to holiness, and blessing are sandwiched in between scenes of idol-making calf worship and a regimented, obedient army. 

Speaking of which, they are also to blast the trumpets when they head into battle once they received the promised land “…so that you may be remembered by YHWH your God, and you shall be saved from your enemies.” Trumpets are associated with not only calls to worship but to pronouncements of battle. In that light, we shouldn’t take this instruction to mean that YHWH will not literally remember His people if they don’t blast a trumpet, but instead that this blowing of this trumpet is a declaration of asking for God to be with them as they battle, an invitation for Him to respond. And the promise is that He will. Finally, at the feasts, the parties, the gatherings, the peace and sacrifice offerings and any other times of gladness, it’s good to go ahead and fire up the trumpets. The reasons aren’t really different here than the aspects of calls to gather and calls to battle. Ultimately they remind God’s people of His presence and the need for his being active and among them in that moment. And God agrees that it will do that very thing as He affirms that He is indeed their God. 

Then it begins. It’s the 20th day of the second month of the second year (I assume so everyone who missed the Passover had time to make it up given the provisions of the previous chapter). The cloud moves, and the people head out. Again, the order is predetermined and they follow it. This section lacks some clarity on where the Kohathites travel as they are expected to go after the second group of tribes but we are also told the Ark of the Covenant travels ahead of the camp. The most reasonable resolution is that some of the Kohathites take the Ark ahead of everyone and the rest of them travel where they are expected to. 

Moses asks Hobab, (who may be his brother in law but may also be a name for Jethro, his father in law), to go with them on this journey to help them find good places to camp. This is confusing. Isn’t YHWH leading this operation? Why would you ask your brother in law to find good places to stop when you’re supposed to be following the cloud and fire until it stops moving? Moses’ underlying motivation is unclear and the reaction of Hobab is also unclear. His response is first to say that he intends to go home and then Moses makes sure that he is aware that he will receive the same blessings as Israel receives if he comes along. Ambiguously, Hobab’s response is not recorded here. Judges 1 says that some descendants of Hobab help the tribe of Judah in the conquest of some of the land, but that’s another 40+ years out from this event so it’s not clear that their presence in that story is to be read as Hobab actually staying here (and to the extent that the text doesn’t make it clear I’m not sure it particularly matters). 

Digression over, we’re back to leaving. The cloud goes, but it says that the ark goes in front of the people by 3 days but that the people follow the cloud. It’s not quite clear what is happening here. The best option seems to be the cloud moves, the Kohathites with the ark follow, they are ahead by 3 days and the people follow (of which it is unclear whether the cloud is also with the people or just with the ark, or both). Moses ends the chapter with a prayer, a call to YHWH to scatter their enemies that are in front of them and to return His presence among them when they stop. Sometimes we feel weird praying things like this, as if we’re bossing God around. Moses doesn’t seem to have an issue with it and we shouldn’t either. It’s good for us to pray that God keep His promises, it is an affirmation of faith in His character and request that we might see His hand as He does them. 

Chapter 8 continues picking up on some of the activities that occurred once the tabernacle was completed. We pick up this part of the conversation with the setting up of the lamps on the fancy lampstand (menorah) that was instructed to made out of hammered gold in Exodus 25. We’ve seen the instructions, we’ve seen them built, but up to this point we didn’t get to see them fired up, so it happens now. It was the high priest’s job to keep the wick trimmed and the olive oil in the lamps full so that the light would be continually shining. The direction is is explicit, it shines to the front, which would be where the 12 loaves of show bread are, one for each tribe, a reminder of YHWH’s continual blessing and provision to His people. 

Next, the cleansing of the Levites. Now, I know in Numbers so far we’ve seen them counted, given the tasks of hauling the tabernacle around, and been the recipients of some of the worship offerings brought at the consecration of the tabernacle. But you didn’t really think that YHWH was going to have them come in and do this work, as well as stand in for the first born of all Israel, without going through any kind of cleansing, did you? Of course not, the Levites individually certainly didn’t want to take the risk of being the reason that there was an inadvertent mix of something/someone unclean with the holy things of YHWH. 

So, the process begins. First, they get sprinkled with water (not magic water, just water) along with a full body razor treatment and clean clothes. Then they snag a couple of bulls and they are brought in front of the tent of meeting. The whole congregation joins them and lays hands on the Levites. What’s going on here? The Levites are themselves an offering and there a few different concepts likely in play. For one, remember the Levites are the substitute, they are being set aside for dedication to YHWH instead of the first born of Israel. The laying of hands is kind of a transfer of interest, from all of Israel to these Levites specifically (this is the same action we see when sacrifices are made, the guilty laying hands on the beast who will die in its place). To that end, after the congregation lays their hands on the Levites, the Levites then lay their hands on the sacrifices, which serve as they always do ,to “cover” or atone for the uncleanliness, or the the falling short, of the people. 

The description of the Levites as a wave offering is interesting in that the wave offering is the one where, once it’s waved towards YHWH, the priests get to keep it. That kind of makes sense here, given that it is the Levites who are, although dedicated to the service of the Lord, under the everyday direction of the priests themselves. The run of obedience at the start of Number continues as Moses, Aaron and the Israelites follow the instructions they’ve been given here deal with the Levites as YHWH has requested. 

The chapter ends with instructions around the retirement of the Levites from service. The primary work they are assigned is difficult, physical labor along with the protection of the tabernacle and its goods. YHWH expects faithful service for this work between the age of 25 and 50. Once they hit 50, they retire from the physical labor, although they’re still allowed to hang around the tabernacle and be of service there (likely instructing those who are new to the gig and overall making sure things run smoothly). 

And with that, all the administrations of the tabernacle are complete. They know what goes in it, how to move it, how to set it up, how to run it once its set up, and have all the people they need to make it all happen. They are a people who have been prepared to live among and travel with the very presence of the Lord their God.