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Bible Study Exodus

Exodus | Chapter 11

Things have come to a head, one more plague is to come and Pharaoh will release the Israelites completely. The goal has always been the complete freedom of God’s people (remember, God has promise to keep with these folks and the land of Canaan, which we were reminded of in chapters 3 & 6) and it was always going to be done through the humiliation of Pharaoh and all the so-called gods of Egypt. The power of Yahweh, the one true God, has been clearly demonstrated over and over again. Of course, we know that it was always going to end in 10 plagues, but neither Moses nor Pharaoh knew that. These have likely been occurring over a number of months with the Hail and Locust damage happening February/March based upon the state of the flax and barley at the time.

As part of the groundwork of this exodus action, the people will need some goods. Moses is to speak to the Israelites and have them request that their neighbors hand over some gold and silver jewelry. Again, knowing what is to come, we perhaps shudder at the thought of God providing all these jewels from the hands of the Egyptians as proof of the power of Yahweh when we know those same jewels will be used later to craft a golden idol to be treacherously worshiped in Yahweh’s place by the impatient Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai.

However, it’s also interesting to consider the reactions of the Egyptians in relation to the Pharaoh. They’ve kind of abandoned him. They seem to think highly of Moses (not only Pharaoh’s servants but also the Egyptian people) who are presumably handing over stuff to the Israelites because it’s clear that Yahweh has dominance in the area. Where the Pharaoh remains stubborn, I think we’re getting the impression that the plagues are having the appropriate effect on everyone else.

So Moses takes the final warning to Pharaoh, obviously unconcerned with the previous threat of his death if he were to enter the presence of Pharaoh again. The word is from the Lord so when it says, “About midnight I will go out in the midst of Egypt…”, we should read that as God personally involving Himself in this action. Yes, His hand has caused all the plagues so far, but the major impacts have been third party (hail, locusts, darkness, blood, frogs, etc.) This time, God is doing the work Himself. It’s happening at midnight as a grace, everyone who is going to die will likely die in their sleep. The great cry throughout the land will not be those who are dying, but those who are finding that they have died.

And it’s everyone, from the firstborn of Pharaoh to the slave girl, as well as the…cattle? Have we so quickly forgotten that us humans share a creation day with the animals and are functioning under the same directive to multiply? To include the cattle is to indicate a sense of complete domination and a demonstration of the cascading effects of the sins of Egypt and the power of God. And firstborn isn’t likely limited to sons, the word can be ambiguous, and chapter 12 describes there not being a house in Egypt that wasn’t impacted, so only girl households are apparently touched.

But for the people of Israel, there shall be no trouble, not even barked at by a dog (think of a dog as on the same level as a rat in that time, a dirty nuisance). How this will be true will be shown in the next chapter. The result of this will be the final humiliation of Pharaoh, the death of his son and all of those most loyal to him turning to Moses and begging for the Israelites to leave. Then Moses leaves in hot anger (presumably he was mad the whole time and probably tied to the death threat from earlier).

And yet Pharaoh will not listen. This final demonstration must be completed in service of God’s promises to His people and in service to the revelation of the truth to those who falsely worship the gods of Egypt.

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Bible Study Exodus

Exodus | Chapter 6

As chapter 6 starts, we find a Moses who seems a bit disoriented. He knew enough from what God has previously said that there would be reluctance on the part of Pharaoh to just let the people split (God gave him signs and wonders for a reason specifically to combat doubt). However, the impact this had on the Israelites and their subsequent rejection of Moses doesn’t appear to have been anticipated. This conflict between our expectations and God’s execution isn’t specific to their time. God’s timing only sometimes coincides with our expectations and his idea of the hardships we need to go through only sometimes coincides with our idea of how much we can take.

In response to Moses’ exasperation of God not delivering His people as expected, God largely ignores the protest and reminds him of what he said back in chapter 3, that it will take a mighty hand to change Pharaoh’s heart and that many wonders must be done in the land to get that to happen. We must not forget that this isn’t a battle between Moses and Pharaoh, or even Israel and Egypt, it’s between Yahweh and the so-called gods of Egypt.

We should likely see the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart, when it occurs, as part of this same battle. The Pharaoh was considered a pure person, a manifestation of the gods themselves. For Yahweh to be able to do whatever he wanted with Pharaoh’s heart shows a domination over those gods already. This is temporary, not an indication of God’s permanent or eternal judgment upon the man himself, but a demonstration of God’s power to communicate a truth and make a point. This shouldn’t be a surprise, every time we pray for something we’re generally asking for God to suspend someone’s free will or a natural process and to intervene in a supernatural way. The broad question is, do we trust God to suspend free will in the appropriate times for the right reasons? Well, if we can’t trust God to be just, we can’t trust him with anything. So, generally I’d say that it must be able to be done in a just and fair way.

The promise remains the same. Who are they dealing with? Yahweh (the same Yahweh that makes promises of land to Abraham, et al). Further, He has heard their groaning, has been with them in it, and now the time has come for that His faithfulness in this promise will be demonstrated to not only the Israelites but to those who have oppressed them as well. Even more, there is a unique connection between Yahweh and these folks that no one else has. They will be liberated for a special relationship where He will be their God and they will be His people. When would this happen? v. 7 answers. They will know for certain the truth of this when they have been delivered out of Egypt.

Moses pulls all this together…and the Israelites don’t want to hear it. From their perspective, they got burned the last time they put their hope in this deliverance. No thanks, this brick load burden leaves us no time for these promises anymore. Interestingly, Pharaoh wanted to work them harder to keep them from following lies. It’s working, but instead they’re missing the truth. Pessimism will do that, especially pessimism that is comes from being let down when your expectations, unreasonable or otherwise, weren’t met. Just something to watch, boys.

Still, God’s faithfulness doesn’t wane even when folk be stubborn about it. So, he sends Moses to talk to Pharaoh anyway. Moses tries to bail again, this time claiming that disbelief that Pharaoh will listen when his own people will not (this seems reasonable) and further by claiming that he has “uncircumcised lips”, meaning that he isn’t ready, things aren’t in order on his end to go and convince Pharaoh of this thing. Granted, we get that Moses remains a little disoriented and disenfranchised by the relative lack of success so far. Yet, when God says it’s the thing then it’s the thing. So, He insists that Moses and Aaron are the right fellas to get this promise delivered.

Now we run into a genealogy out here in the middle of everywhere like a pair of undies on the lawn. You wonder why it’s there? Why is this happening and who thought it was a good idea? Well, if we look, it’s focused on tracing the connections between the lineage of the man Israel through to Aaron’s grandson Phinehas. Notice it’s a selective genealogy. We only get the first 3 sons of Israel, for example. When we hit Levi, we then start following him because it’s his line that produces Amram, the father of Aaron and Moses. The level of detail for those that follow that line also varies. This is not unusual, Biblical writers use genealogies for specific connections or to reinforce specific narratives and will skip generations or bail on tracing certain branches because it’s not important to the point of the story.

So why is this here? Multiple reasons. It provides an affirmation that these leaders, Moses and Aaron, are legit and their line can be traced back from Levi all the way through Phinehas (who is a priest during the time of the Judges). Their future priestly duties are understandable given that lineage. Also, that the Israelites aren’t ethnically pure as the genealogy points out connections to a Canaanite woman in v. 15. This isn’t a surprise, really, the group that leaves Egypt was likely a pretty mixed bag and probably includes Egyptians who wanted to leave with them. The initial recipients of these writings from Moses could see a bit of themselves in the genealogy. We also see quite a few ladies, highlighting the importance of proper marriages for priests, something that will show up later in the laws that God gives them.

The end of chapter 6 resumes where the lawn undies interrupted but makes reference that one of the points of the genealogy was to orient how readers/hearers of this story were to understand Moses and Aaron. Now we’re back to the question again of Moses’ ability to do this thing on God’s behalf. This leads to a chapter 7 where, as expected, God will largely again ignore this protest and affirm His commitment to what is to go down.

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Bible Study Exodus

Exodus | Chapter 3

Click on the link to view the image of the Sinai Peninsula. Notice the mountains in the middle of peninsula in the middle of the picture. Mount Sinai (and perhaps Mount Horeb) is located here.

Also shown is the northern portion of the Red Sea, as this satellite picture is taken looking from the Southeast. There are two “bunny ears” on this northern portion of the Red Sea that create the Sinai Peninsula. These two are the larger Gulf of Suez to the left (and you can barely see the Suez Canal which connects to the Mediterranean Sea at the very very top) and then the Gulf of Aqaba, the smaller “ear” to the right.

Back in Genesis, after Sarah died, Abraham married Keturah, and they had several children, including Midian. Midian is the patriarch of the Midianites, who began dwelling on the coasts of the Gulf of Aqaba. So, the west side of Aqaba (Sinai) and the east side (Arabia) saw the Midians hanging out. So since Jethro is a Midianite, and a priest, perhaps it’s possible that he serves God, since his great—great-great-great-great-great-great grandparents were Abraham and Keturah. Dunno.

Now, we pick up chapter 3 with Moses and his new family. Jethro has entrusted Moses to watch his flock o’ sheep, and Moses and his flock meander to Mount Horeb (some say that this is Mount Sinai). Exodus calls this the mountain of God. Moses comes across the burning bush, which is described as the angel of God who has appeared as fire inside a bush. Growing up, I recall the burning bush, but never remembered the fire actually being the angel of God. So that’s new to me.

When Moses sees that the bush isn’t consumed, God calls out to him. Moses takes off his sandals as ordered, and God reveals himself as the God of the Patriarchs, whom we know all about from Genesis.

Overwhelmed, Moses hides his face. This comes at a time when God hasn’t spoken directly to anyone since Jacob, so it’s been a long time. I would hide my face too.

The Word of the Lord:
“7 The Lord said, “I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings.
8 So I have come down to deliver them from the power of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good and spacious land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.
9 Now, behold, the cry of the sons of Israel has come to Me; furthermore, I have seen the oppression with which the Egyptians are oppressing them.”

Having said that, God orders Moses to Egypt.
Moses: Who am I to do this task?
God: I’m with you. That’s all you need. Also, you’re going return to this mountain to worship Me.
Moses: Who do I say sent me?
God: I AM THAT I AM. I AM has sent you. Tell them that this is My Name…forever. They will listen.
Moses: (continues listening)
God: Say this: What we wish to do is go into the wild for three days, to worship our God. But I know that Pharaoh isn’t going to let you go, unless forced. So I’m going to force him using plagues and miracles. You’ll be leaving Egypt soon.”

In many ways, this is a straightforward chapter. It’s a pretty famous one too. The burning bush, mentions of the land flowing in milk and honey, and discussions of the name “I AM.”

I Am that I Am (Hebrew: Hayah) means “existed” in Hebrew; it’s usually translated in English Bibles as “I am” or “I will be” (or “I shall be”). It is literally translated as “I Am Who I Am.”

The ancient Hebrew of Exodus 3:14 lacks a future tense such as modern English has, yet a few translations render this name as “I Will Be What I Will Be,” given the context of Yahweh’s promising to be with his people through their future troubles.

This promise portends that God is going to be more active among the children of Israel. We have God specifically choosing Moses for an important task involving the liberation of the descendants of Abraham.

God declares his goodwill for these people also, a goodwill which exists because of Abraham.

God then tells Moses exactly how the children of Israel are going to be delivered from Pharaoh. He tells Moses that the time to fulfill promises has come. Moses is going to try to wriggle out of this a bit (he is human of course). However, God (of course) has an answer to his lame objections every time. You’ll see more wrigglings in coming chapters.

God also reveals himself to a Hebrew for the first time in over a century, and he does so in miraculous fashion. No one else sees this, however. Moses has no way to prove this to Jethro or his wife at this exact time. It speaks to the great faith of Moses that he’s going to leave his safe house in Midian, and head down to Egypt nonetheless, where’s probably wanted for murder.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uh7tgX_Uaqs

Important note for all of us. How many times does God tell us to do something, but we come up with our own lame excuses? Moses is going to go back to where he’ll likely be executed, but he goes with the protection of God, having seen a miracle that no one else has.

Finally, 20 years ago, the Prince of Egypt came out. I was always a big fan of the film. It wasn’t scripturally perfect by any means, but the story of the Exodus remains an epic one that God orchestrated. I always enjoyed the burning bush scene. Here’s that scene.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=poZr9HjMizQ&app=desktop

End of Chapter 3

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gulf_of_Suez_from_orbit_2007.JPG

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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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Bible Study Numbers

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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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.