Category: Numbers

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Numbers | Chapter 19

Whereas chapter 18 focused on the priests and the Levites and their role in keeping the Tabernacle (YHWH’s place of residence among the people) from becoming unclean, there were still risks that came from the ordinary people. Specifically, this chapter focuses on how to restore cleanliness in the presence of death.

The book of Leviticus addressed options for dealing with uncleanliness. Minor cases required a washing and waiting a day. Major cases involved waiting seven days and then offering a sacrifice. In the presence of human death, which is a major case of uncleanliness, offering a sacrifice was often a cumbersome and expensive measure. Chapter 19 provided an alternative way to deal with human death that allows for proper cleansing while not adding to the burden that is likely already on the family when someone has died.

Before we talk about the details, we should call out up front that this process, not unlike some already detailed in the Pentateuch (first 5 books of the Old Testament) seems odd and a bit magicky. Just because we are wary of rituals (especially physical ones that represent spiritual postures) and of symbolic use of earthly items within those rituals, doesn’t mean that the people doing them believe that they are somehow dealing with magic cows and wizard’s water. These ceremonies are intended to take what is tangible and use it to reflect deep realities. We need to take these kinds of things in without judging them against our own comfort level on ceremonies and rituals.

YHWH tells Moses and Aaron to bring a red cow and hand it over to the priest, who is going to slaughter it outside the camp (which is a clue something unique is happening, sin offerings and other sacrifices generally happen at the altar within the tabernacle.) The blood of the cow gets sprinkled on the tent of meeting (tabernacle). This is a purification action, although not explicitly a sacrifice. More cleansing agents (hyssop, cedarwood, and scarlet yarn) get tossed into the fire along with the burning cow remnants.

Now, since we’re in the presence of a death of the cow, folks become unclean. The priest has to wash himself and his clothes and wait until the end of the evening before he’s clean again. The person who helped burn the cow must do the same thing. A person who is still clean gathers up the ashes of the cow and puts them in a clean place outside the camp. The dude who hauled the ashes out is now also unclean and must wash his clothes and wait out the evening.

What’s all of this for? The situation is reiterated in v.11. A person who touches a dead body is unclean 7 days. Instead of the sacrifice discussed earlier, YHWH will accept someone cleansing themselves with the water mixed with clean cow ash on the 3rd and 7th days. If they don’t do that, they remain unclean, and the impact of not being clean and defiles the tabernacle and could lead to immediate judgment upon them.

The cow ash water can be deployed in other situations as well. If someone dies in a tent, the tent is unclean as is any open container (vessels without lids on them). Also if someone touches a person either killed with a sword or who died naturally, or touches a grave or a human bone (the selection of what to include in these examples is interesting), they are unclean. Same procedure applies here, mix the ash with water, and spread it on the tent or the person on the 3rd and 7th days. At the end of the 7th day, everything is clean.

As noted earlier, a person who refuses to clean themselves runs the risk of immediate judgment. And whatever they touch also becomes unclean and shall remain that way until evening. Similarly, the person who helped sprinkle the water is also unclean and must wash his clothes and wait out the evening.

Broadly, this chapter tucks up a conversation on the nation’s mistakes related to trying to bring their uncleanliness into contact with YHWH’s holiness. Although this was already covered in Leviticus, the timely reminder was necessary given their recent attempts at rebellion. They have been reminded who is actually allowed in the presence of YHWH and His holy things (priests), who is responsible for guarding uncleanliness from physically coming into contact with those things at the tent of meeting (Levites) and how the average person can combat uncleanliness from the predicable circumstance of human death. YHWH’s holiness is nothing to mess around with and His people must be reminded of the privilege and the danger that comes with a holy God living within their presence.

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Numbers | Chapter 18

“Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of YHWH, shall die. Are we all to perish?” Chapter 17 ends with this question as the people take stock of their situation after a series of rebellions and tests of the unique role of the priesthood. They should neither grumble against those who YHWH has put into this role nor presume that they can elevate themselves into a similar stature through braggadocio or harassment of those currently called.

So the lament is relevant one, and ironically God’s answer is the very thing that the people have been quarreling about. How are the people to be protected in the holy presence of YHWH? The priests and Levites. The discussion in this chapter is mostly a repeat of instructions that God has already provided (the thing the people are crying out for is already in place). However, now that the Israelites are clearly recognizing the need for it, YHWH reminds Aaron (who He rarely addresses directly) and his sons of the protections that have been put into place for the people.

Ultimately, the priests are responsible for making sure the sacrifices go as they are supposed to. In turn, it’s the Levites job to protect the priests as they are doing their work in the sanctuary. What kind of protection? Well, keeping people who don’t belong from entering is a good start. If the bold Korah, for example, had simply attempted to strut into the Tent of Meeting (holy place) instead of claiming his equivalence with Aaron with his salty mouth from afar, he would have died directly. And the Levites would have borne responsibility for not protecting the area like they were supposed to.

Back to the priests, they have the same responsibility but in relation to the inside of the tent and the altar. This includes what is sacrificed and who is doing it (certainly the judgment upon Aaron’s sons would jump to his mind here for offering unauthorized sacrifices). It is in this way that the people are protected from the judgment they just encountered with the plague and the swallowing up of folks from the ground. Verse 7 affirms this unique role and YHWH’s specific intention in it. The priesthood was a gift to the lineage of Aaron and anyone who tries to infringe upon God’s gift will be put to death.

As part of the reminder of that gift, YHWH reasserts what comes with it. Aaron and the priests are given everything that the people give to God. This includes the most holy things such as those that have been offered on the altar (grain, meat that isn’t consumed in the fire, etc.) These are for the priests and can be eaten in the holy place. In addition, the wave offering can be shared with the whole family (not just male lineage priests) as well as the first fruits of the land that people bring to God and the wine and the grain.

Then He talks about the “devoted” things. These essentially are the “first fruits” of the wombs, whether it be animal or human. For humans and unclean animals, they get the redemption price (money) instead of possession of the baby or animal. For clean animals, the first one is simply given to the priests. They are to burn the fat as an offering, sprinkle the blood on the altar, and then they can have the other meat for themselves. As whole, all that is given to God He gives that to the priests and their family as His provision for them. Unlike the rest of the descendants of Jacob (Israel), they don’t get land. However, to be the group who God says, “I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel” seems pretty sweet.

Now on to the Levites, YHWH has provided a means for them to be cared for as well. We knew back in Leviticus that there was a tithe happening in the land but not exactly what happened to it. Well, it goes to the Levites. And their responsibilities are reiterated. They are to keep folks of Israel away from Tent of Meeting lest their uncleanliness run smack dab into God’s holiness and lose the battle.

When it comes to the tithe, though, the Levites still have to tithe. So a tithe of the tithe is given and is counted the same as the grain or wine or bread or whatever else people are giving to YHWH. These best bits go to YHWH who then gives them to the priests. But the rest they get to keep in return for their service to the sanctuary. It’s dangerous work, not only defending the holiness of the place by keeping others out but being susceptible to defiling a holy thing yourself. And YHWH reminds them of this very danger at the end of the chapter.

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Numbers | Chapter 17

Chapter 17 contains the third round of YHWH’s validation of both the leadership of Moses and Aaron but also the need for an established priesthood. God established the role and responsibility of the priests for a specific purpose and those who have attempted to subvert that are intruding upon His specific intention and His choice for who is to serve in the role.

In the wake then of the swallowing up of Korah et al in response to their rebellion and the plague that fell upon the people after their subsequent grumbling, YHWH proposes another visual confirmation of His position on the matters at hand. Each tribe of Israel is to take a staff (cut branch from a tree) and write their father’s name on it (the father’s name likely being the name of son of Jacob that their tribe name came from, like Reuben, Dan, etc.) Except in the case of Levi, Aaron’s name is to be listed. The rods are supposed to be placed at the Tent of Meeting where God will make the rod of “…the man whom I choose” to sprout. Moses cajoles the people and they agree.

I do find it curious that they continue to submit to these kinds of tests. They have always been wrong, every single time, as recently as a few days before when the ground literally opened up and swallowed wrong people and Aaron had to haul tail through the camp to stave off a plague against others. And yet here we are.

As we would expect, the Aaron staff from the house of Levi has gone the whole nine yards, not only sprouting but going all the way to producing ripe almonds. Branches cut from trees may show signs of life for a short time afterwards, but they certainly don’t rebound, resurrect, and start kicking out nourishment. God’s involvement here is clear and robust. The arguments around His intention with Aaron and the priesthood should cease as only they have been given the ability to approach God.

The evidence clear, the various chiefs take their unsprouted rods back home. That’s a pretty humbling scene, and it should be. Not because it makes them somehow “lesser than” Aaron or the priests, but as a sobering reminder that they have been part of shallowly elevating themselves to a role that only God can grant. YHWH asks that the Aaron staff be kept with the holy things and the ark as a sign for those who have been part of the rebellion. Unlike the tassels in chapter 15 which were public and designed to keep people from doing the wrong thing, this reminder was logged as evidence that God has clearly and boldly made His way known and that further grumblings on this item will be met with judgment. Put frankly, YHWH has had enough. Persistent, willful, intentionally blind resistance to God and His ways will result in God taking action. He will not be thwarted by arrogant pursuit of human power.

Interestingly, all the things that are kept in the ark of the covenant bore witness to Israel’s failures. In the ark was the manna (that they complained about), the 10 Words (which had been broken in reaction to their idolatry) and Aaron’s rod, which YHWH used as proof of them being on the wrong side of history with their rebellion. And yet, it is this ark that contains these items where blood is sprinkled and atonement made (Leviticus 16). YHWH walks into His forgiveness and rescue with eyes wide open.

If there’s perhaps a more day to day lesson to be had here, it is likely that we should not covet the will that God has for another man’s life but strive to be faithful in our own. The likely element of the desire for earthly authority aside, where God has blessed someone to serve in a specific way, in leadership or prominence or otherwise, we should pray for them and ask that God’s will is done through them. Jealousy is foolishness as it proposes that the good YHWH has prepared for us is not to our liking.

As one could only hope, the people approach Moses with clarity on how things are. “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. Everyone who comes near, who cones near to the tabernacle of YHWH shall die. Are we all to perish?” They are a dramatic bunch but at least where they have put their drama to use here it is actually pointing in the right direction.

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Numbers | Chapter 16

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.

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Numbers | Chapter 15

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.

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Numbers | Chapter 14

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. 

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Bible Study Numbers

Numbers | Chapter 13

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. 

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Bible Study Numbers

Numbers | Chapter 12

Chapter 12 presents an interesting accusation from an interesting set of people, all flowing out of what’s occurred in chapter 11. There, the people complained, then Moses complained because they were complaining. God solves this by providing His Spirit to 70 elders to that they could be capable of helping Moses watch over this group of complainers. Also, a small number of said complainers died after chasing after quail meat that they certainly should have recognized as something they should have left alone. The course of that journey took them from Kibroth-hattaavah (meaning “graves of craving”, a suitable way to remember the foolishness of these folks at this moment) further north to Hazeroth. 

At Hazeroth, Moses’ brother and sister speak against him. This poor guy is getting it from all sides. Not only is there a question of his general leadership (see complaining from chapter 11), but now that YHWH has provided His Spirit onto 70 elders, and in light of the fact that there is a High Priest in Israel (ahem, Aaron), there seems to be a contention that Moses just isn’t that special of a dude. But that isn’t how the accusation begins. As it often does, his adversaries, Miriam and Aaron, pick out a scandal. 

Moses has married a Cushite woman. The basis of the accusation they are making, or why they care about it, isn’t clear. For starters, Moses’ wife Zipporah was a Medianite. Now, there are places in Scripture that refer to Midian and Cush as if they are the same place (Habakkuk, for example). However, Cush also seems to be a distinct place that is anywhere from modern day Ethiopia into northern Saudi Arabia or Iraq. If the second is the case, it means that Moses married two ladies. So, the accusation could be that he has married someone of African descent, or that he has two wives, or any number of other things. There isn’t enough in the text to confirm what violation they seem to be pointing out. 

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter, it wasn’t the purpose anyway. Overall, the core of the matter was to make the case that Moses’ spiritual authority is not unique. God speaks to prophets, the Spirit is on the elders, and High Priest does the direct interaction in the Tent of Meeting. Basically, Moses’ isn’t that big of a deal. Note, certainly, that this is an entirely self-serving accusation intended to elevate both Aaron and Miriam’s sense of power and worth. Miriam is described in Exodus 15 as a prophetess and Aaron is the High Priest. There is always blindness in such an endeavor. God’s Kingdom identifies strength in service, humility, truth, and reliance on God. Anytime you attempt to demonstrate strength in a manner that differs from this, you’re going to look (and be) as silly as these two adults who are trying to make the most of the opportunity and kick their brother while he’s down. 

The Lord wants to speak about this accusation that’s been made so he brings Moses and his siblings to the Tent of Meeting. YHWH singles out Aaron and Miriam and makes clear that there are some distinctions to be made here (which he makes in the form of a poem, 11 lines long). For one, God speaks to His prophets but He does so through dreams, visions and signs. But not with Moses, who is faithfully watching over all of God’s estate (His people, primarily). Moses gets to speak with God “mouth to mouth”, or in conversation and not in riddles. And although Moses was only able to see God’s “back” in Exodus 33, he was still able to take in some semblance of a physical presence (whereas everyone else gets the cloud/fire combo). So, obviously, Moses remains a unique individual with a unique role in Israel. 

So now YHWH asks Miriam and Aaron why they felt they could accuse Moses in this way without fear? What made them think that they had the right or the perspective to make accusations like this against someone who God has obviously chosen to do this work and has consistently dealt with in a very tangible and personal way? Their sense of self-elevation was entirely misguided and their attempt to degrade a man who is trying to faithfully follow God’s direction is a direct affront to YHWH Himself. We’re told that God is angry with them and leaves their presence. 

Upon the cloud leaving, it’s discovered that Miriam has some skin issues (leprous isn’t quite the right thought as we think of modern day leprosy or Hansen’s disease). In either case, this is obviously a result of this most recent set of behavior. Why wasn’t Aaron diseased? For starters, Miriam appears to be the instigator here. Notice that her name is listed first in the opening verse (I know you don’t write with that clear of intention but the Biblical writers certainly did). Also, the “speak against” wording is expressed using verbs that are feminine and singular, meaning it’s associated with a lady and doesn’t seem to include both Miriam and Aaron. Also, it’s possible that cursing Aaron would have put the camp in a real pickle given that it would make their High Priest unclean and thus unable to execute the commands of the office. 

Aaron immediately asks Moses to try and allay punishment by confessing their foolishness and the clear sin they have committed.  This is a strong reaction, especially coming from the High Priest (although certainly appropriate). Moses, good ol’ Moses, immediately appeals to the Lord, who immediately heals her. Notice, this is something Moses can do that Aaron can’t and/or doesn’t. Moses’ standing as a unique intercessor for the people (a shadow of Jesus to be sure) remains. However, Miriam is still unclean for having had this leprous disease so has to go through the normal procedures of staying outside the camp and having the priests check her condition after a week. 

Miriam appears to be still highly thought of as everyone waits for the 7 days to be up before moving on. This also implies that YHWH waits this 7 days as well given that their moving is contingent upon the cloud kicking off the movement. After Miriam is cleared and brought back into the camp they continue travelling north to the wilderness of Paran, drawing nearer enough to the land they have been promised to send folks out to get a gander and see if it is all that YHWH has promised. 

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Bible Study Numbers

Numbers | Chapter 11

If the first 10 chapters were a fair indication, we’d expect smooth sailing for the Israelites as they head out from their 1 year squat at Mt. Sinai while God was teaching them what it looks like to live in right relationship with Him and  each other and how to fulfill their responsibility of being the folks who introduce the rest of the world to the true God. But to only use the first chapters of Numbers as that indicator would be short-sighted at best. If we think back to the last time YHWH  lead His people on a journey, it should bring us back to the journey that took them to Mt. Sinai to begin with, the deliverance from Egypt. Were they grateful? No. Obedient? No. Did the physical presence of YHWH among them keep them from chasing other gods  and other pleasures? That’s a golden-calf revelry type of a “no”.  God’s response was to give them a glimpse of the consequences they deserve, and then offer them mercy and guidance (laws) on how to live in such a way that they will be forever recipients of  His favor and blessing.

Get ready for round two.

As they leave Mt. Sinai, immediately they begin to complain about “their misfortunes”. This complaint is very shallow and short-sighted, and also very, very human. If you don’t see yourself in this behavior at all, then it’s a sure proof  that it’s true in your life. We often view the quality of our lives or situations in a relative fashion. Maybe your neighbor has a nice car that doesn’t have the muffler tied up with electrical wire and you feel like you deserve better. Or your spouse isn’t  as adventurous or your kids not as well behaved or your boss not as laid back (or generous) as whatever someone else has. So you pine for something better, you complain of your misfortunes. And often, you look very, very silly. Silly to the dude who can’t  afford a car at all, silly to the guy married to a woman who hates his guts, silly to the couple who desperately wants children, and silly to folks who can’t work at all who really want to. And silly, of course, because you spent no time focusing on the good  things you have and no time putting the behavior of others and your monetary situation into the context of how you yourself have behaved. (Is it possible that your wife isn’t adventurous because she doesn’t trust you? Or that your kids are reflecting your  behavior back at you? Or that you wasted your money on PBR and hashbrowns otherwise you could have put a legit U bolt on your muffler?)

When God hears that His people are complaining, whom He personally delivered from slavery and personally provided water to and personally provided food to and personally provided a clear code of living that assures them blessing…He gets  a little miffed and consumes some outer parts of the camp. In the Bible, fire almost always means the presence of God (burning bush talking to Moses, fire coming down to consume the sacrifice in the bull bbq at Mr. Carmel, the Holy Spirit coming as fire, etc.).  Here, God makes His presence known to the people that there are consequences to them acting so foolishly, doubting His provision and intention for good for them. When they re-orient and ask Moses to pray on it, their focus is back where it belongs and the  fire dies down. This is not the first time Moses has interceded on behalf of the people. To remind them of what has occurred, the location is renamed Taberah, meaning “burning”.

Still, self-centered, entitled behavior rarely dies peacefully or quickly, so the complaints rise again. The rabble (crowds, could be trying to indicate non-Jewish opportunists who left Egypt with the Israelite crowd) persisted, claiming  they had all kinds of sweet fruits and vegetables and meats when they were back in Egypt. The lavishness of this claim is most certainly not true, and it also disregards the fact that they were slaves in Egypt. They were under forced labor and bondage. I’ve  never heard of someone speak so highly about their prison food. They crave variety and are not at all satisfied with the honey-waferish manna that YHWH Himself is providing them daily…in the middle of the dessert. Again, very human behavior. We glorify past  situations amidst struggles in current ones. It’s how people end up getting out of relationships that could be fixed to go back to relationships that were severed for a reason. Absence makes the heart grow fonder and the memory blurry, both of which are not  indications of reality. This is a treacherous line of thought and Moses knows it.

So Moses hears all of these folks complaining, each at the door of his tent (must have been a pleasant camp to be in) and we’re told that YHWH’s anger blazed hotly. Moses lays up what is, for the most part, every pastor’s lament: “Why have  you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight that you lay the burden of all this people on me?”  l laughed out loud at this. Moses’ basic complaint is, why do you so hate me that you would put me in charge of leading and wrangling  these ungrateful, complaining brutes?  Further, he protests that he didn’t give birth to these folks so why should he have to take care of them on the way to the promised land? I sympathize with Moses, here, it’s a tall order. And, as we’ll get a hint on later  in the chapter, it’s too much for Moses to bear and YHWH has a better way.  Moses finishes by declaring that there is no way to provide meat to everyone and that it would be better for God to just kill him rather set him up for such failure in trying to lead  these people.

YHWH responds. (Timely reminder, every time you see the phrase “the LORD” in your Bible it’s translating the Hebrew word for God’s personal name, which is pronounced “Yah-Way”. In Hebrew it’s written in four consonants, YHWH). First He’s  going to deal with this leadership issue by directing Moses to gather 70 of the elders of Israel (folks who the people respect) and bring them to the Tent of Meeting (where God’s presence is). When they get there, God will put some of his Spirit (Hebrew “ruakh”,  pronounced like “roo-ahch”) that was on Moses and put it on them as well. This is a very, very huge deal. God’s “ruakh” is His breath, it’s what He uses to bring humans to life in Genesis 2. There is great power in God’s ruakh. For a more detailed discussion  on this, check this out: http://bit.ly/ruakh. So then, this unique provision of His spirit will extend beyond Moses to 70 others in the camp who will now have the ability and responsibility to lead others.

Now YHWH will deal with the request for provision of meat. He has them tell the people that He has heard their cries for meat and that things were better in Egypt (God hasn’t missed the context of their complaints, remember this distinction,  it should have keyed them in that this wasn’t going to go well for them). So God makes a promise that He will give them meat, but not just for one day or even 20 days but a whole month’s worth of meat. He says, “You shall not eat just one day, or two days,  or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month…”, this is the part they should have paid more attention to, “…until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you rejected the LORD who is among you and have wept before  him, saying ‘Why did we come out of Egypt?’”.  Does that sound like a gift to you? To accept the meat is to affirm the behavior that drove it. It’s like a parent saying to a child, “You are getting this lollipop because you manipulated me and lied about your  situation to try and force my hand” and the kid going, “Yep, that’s how it went down, hand over that lollipop”. Everyone knows that’s a setup, you’re not supposed to take the lollipop. But not these boys, they’re in, they say bring on the quail.

Unfortunately, the once sympathetic Moses comes off as a fool here. As YHWH is pronouncing all of this, Moses makes the case to the Lord that it’s not possible to come up with enough meat for 600,000 folk. Again, Moses is addressing the  God who leads them by a cloud and provides food that magically forms on the ground for them every morning. Moses has seen God part the Red Sea, rain frogs, and turn out the sun. And yet, here he is, protesting that this meat business can’t be solved. I lament,  here, for how very frequently I do the same thing. My current life circumstances and perceived burdens cause me to forget all that God has done and is capable of. May it cease to be, fellas. Write things down, tell the stories, pick up rocks, build the altars,  whatever it takes to not forget that God is good, and He works for good in our lives and that our fickle minds are prone to forget it. Either way, God’s reaction here also made me laugh out loud. He talks about himself in the 3rd person and asks,  “Is YHWH’s hand shortened?”. Well, I thought it was funny anyway. Basically, God is asking, “Do you not know me? Has my power diminished?” Scripture often refers to God’s “mighty arm”, generally His power and ability to protect or conquer. Is it now somehow  shortened and no longer mighty, no longer capable? Of course not.

The story shifts back to the elders, God’s presence shows up and His Spirit is given to the 70 elders who immediately begin prophesying. As in the rest of Scripture, when you see the word “prophesy”, think “message from God”. This message  from God could be insight into current situations (which it is most of the time) or predictions of the future (far less), but resist the urge to see these fellas as kind of dancing around and talking about the future. That’s not the vibe. With God’s Spirit,  they immediately start speaking God’s messages. It seems, though, that two of the 70 fellas. Eldad and Medad, didn’t get the message on the tent meeting and remained in the camp. Still, the Spirit came upon them too and they also started prophesying. Joshua,  son of Nun (yes, that Joshua), runs to find Moses and tell him of this going on and get him to make it stop. Moses responds brilliantly, “Are you jealous for my sake? Would that all of the Lord’s people were prophets, that the Lord would put his Spirit on  them!” This is so important. It points to the fact that the perfect state of God’s involvement in humanity isn’t the laws, even as they are true and good. The perfect state is that the very breath of God, His spirit, is with them and upon them. We see this  expressed in future prophets like Jeremiah who has YHWH saying, “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people.” And ultimately, we see this come to fruition through God’s Spirt (Holy Spirit)  who is provided to His people after the ascension of Jesus.

The chapter ends with a resolution to this meat problem. There’s an intentional word play here that isn’t clear in English. There is a great wind that springs up and brings quail from the sea so that they would fall outside the camp. That  word “wind” is the same word for breath, “ruakh”. It’s not that you can always see them as equivalent, sometimes a wind is just a wind. However, here it seems clear that we see God’s Spirit involved in expanding the leadership and also God’s Spirit involved  in bringing judgment. The amount of quail is ridiculous, stacked 2 cubits high (around 3 feet). And a bunch of folks went out to collect it and the least productive person got 10 homers, or 500 gallons of quail. Holy cats, that’s a lot of quail.

Now listen, there were some things that gave this away as not being something these folks should have done. One, when God described it He said that he would provide the quail “…because you have rejected the LORD…” and so on. Warning sign  number 1. Secondly, God said that it would come out of their nostrils and would be loathsome to them. When God tells you something will be loathsome, you stay away from it. Warning #2. Also, did you notice where the quail was put? Outside the camp. If you’ve  spent any time in Leviticus, you know that outside the camp isn’t good. Unclean things are out there, other spirits are out there, and the presence of God’s particular focus doesn’t extend out there. Does it seem like a good idea, especially after the first  two warnings, to go indulge yourself in bucketloads of quail that are a day’s journey outside of the camp? No, absolutely not. Do they do it? Of course some of them do. And it goes poorly. As soon as they started to eat it, YHWH brings justice upon them and  they are killed by a plague. Too harsh? It’s the Garden of Eden all over again. They had a choice to trust God’s wisdom and provision or own it for themselves. They ignored every mercy He provided them, every protection he bestowed, every grace He extended  them, and the very clear warnings that proceeded it. And yet their god was their bellies, and they did as they pleased. And, with the same consequence as came from the Garden, it cost them greatly and brought death.

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Bible Study Numbers

Numbers | Chapter 10

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.