Fool Me Once...
Numbers 23: 13-26


Undaunted, Balak continues.  Look- I'll take you somewhere new where you can see the Israelites- and we'll try this thing again.  Remember... we're looking for a curse here.  Balak builds seven new altars and sacrifices a bull and a ram on each of them.

Balaam tells him, stay with your sacrifices while I go talk with God. God gives another message for Balak once again in poetic form.

Listen up Balak,
Zippor's kid.
God's not a man- He doesn't lie.
God's not human, He's not gonna change His mind.
It's not like He acts without thinking.
It's not like He promises and backs out.
God has commanded me to bless.
I can't change God's command.

Jacob is looking prosperous.
Things are rosy with Israel.
God's with them.
He's cheering them on.
He brought them out of Egypt
and they are as strong as oxen.
There's no witchcraft working against Jacob,
no evil spells haunting Israel.
People will look at Jacob
and at Israel and say- look what God has done!
These people are like lions,
they won't rest until they devour their prey
and drink the blood of their victims.

This was not the message Balak was looking for.  He says- look if you're not gonna curse them, at least don't bless them.

Balaam says, don't shoot the messenger.  I told you I have to do what God says.

OK, all sympathy for Balak is pretty much gone.  Wouldn't he have figured out the first time that this whole curse Israel thing isn't going to work?  Maybe he's just invested so much in this plan that there's no other option.  It's like the Cubs and Alfonso Soriano.

I think what's significant here is how loyal God is to His people.  They've whined, and He's punished.  They are unfaithful and ungrateful but still when another offer comes along, God says, these are my children, and I'm sticking with them.

A comforting idea to consider as God's children of this generation.

The Old Bait and Switch
Numbers 23: 1-12


So Balaam begins his work as Balak's lackey.  It seems the motivation here for Balak is to manipulate God and lure Him away from the Israelites.  Balam stands by his, "I can only tell you what God allows me to" spiel.

But Balaam has Balak help him build seven altars and on each altar they sacrifice both a bull and a ram.  Then Balaam exits to a high place to talk with God.  He tells God of the sacrifices and God tells him His message to deliver.

Balak is salivating- this is it- we've done it.  He's like Wile E Coyote thinking that the ACME company has finally come through.  He can almost taste the road runner... and then the boulder falls from the sky.

Balaam delivers the message (written in Numbers as poetry).  So- Balak the king brought me here- and said c'mon man- curse Jacob- denounce Israel- all the cool kids are doing it. 
But how can I possibly curse or denounce people that God hasn't?
I go to the hilltop and I can see them.
They keep themselves away from the other nations.
And you can't even count them.
You couldn't even count a fourth of them.
I hope my death will be righteous like their's will be.

Balak realizes he has been crossed.  What are you doing?  I said CURSE them, not bless them. 

Balaam says- dude, I told you- I'm only saying what God tells me to.

While elements of this story are amusing- the enemy of God who thinks he's clever gets double-crossed and Israel is blessed, there's also an element of false pretense.  Balaam has to know that things aren't going to work out the way that Balak intends, yet he lets him go through the motions of travel and altar building/sacrifice in vain.   Balaam was up front about his message though, if you bring me, I'll only speak God's words. Since Balak insisted, perhaps the fault lies there.  Carnivorous Vulgaris, indeed.

It is interesting that Balaam promises nothing other than to speak God's words and lets Balak hoist himself by his own petard.  Maybe that's the lesson here, to deal with those who are potential enemies with God's messages and let any damage that comes be self-inflicted.

Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Numbers 22: 21-41


This passage is an interesting mix of bizarre and enthralling.

So Balaam gets up in the morning and heads out with the Moabite officials as God has told him to do just verses ago, however- this makes God angry.  I'm not sure why.  Balaam's donkey possessing some extra sensory perception is able to see an angel wielding a sword in the path and diverts into a field.  Balaam isn't a fan of this route and struggles to get the donkey back on the road by beating him.  The ASPCA is not happy.

So a little further down the road this happens again.  Only this time, there was nowhere for the donkey to turn, so when he tried to turn he crushed Balaam's foot against a wall.  So Balaam beats the donkey again.

The angel appears a third time down the road a piece, and having no place to turn, the donkey just drops to the ground.  This gets Balaam a bit perturbed.  So he takes out his staff and beats the donkey a third time.

But this time, God opens the donkey's mouth and allows him to have a conversation with him.  Donkey (sounding nothing like Eddie Murphy) says, Why are you hitting me?  I'm a pretty decent donkey and all- there's no need continue to pummel me.

Balaam, not apparently phased by his animal's verbosity replies You made a fool out of me.  You're lucky I don't have my sword because if I did, I'd do more than beat you.

Which would have been a shame, because I'm thinking this donkey could make a bundle at carnivals and such.  I wonder how good a singer he was.

The donkey makes a strong argument.  On a roll and happy to not be Hee-Haw-ing he continues,   "Dude, I've been your donkey for a while.  Do I do this kind of thing ordinarily?"

Balaam pauses and says, "I don't suppose so."

At this point, God opens Balaam's eyes and he too sees the angel with his sword drawn and Balaam instantly loses all of his bravado.

The angel repeats the donkey's question- Why did you beat your donkey?  He saved your life.  I came to stop you from heading down this reckless path.  If he hadn't turned away I would have killed you- but I would have spared the donkey.

Balaam is beyond repentant.  I have sinned!  I didn't know you were there!  I'll go back if that's what you want.

But the angel says, "No, go with them, but speak only what I tell you" - which is what the plan was in the first place.  There's no word here about Balak's official's reaction to all of this scene.  Did Balaam just seem like an LSD addict?  Did they hear the donkey speak too?

When they get there, Balak comes to meet them, apparently a little annoyed.  Balaam, didn't I send an urgent message?  What's the delay?  Where have you been?  You do want this reward, right?

I'm here now, Balaam replies, but I'm not able to speak my mind.  Only what God tells me to say.

Balak makes some sacrifices and gives some of them to Balaam and the officials and then he takes him to where he can see the outskirts of the Israelite camp.

One thing that makes this story weird is not just that there's a talking donkey, but that no one seems at all phased by it.  An argument ensues between a donkey and a man.  The donkey makes more sense and the man doesn't seem to find the exchange odd.

Second, God sends an angel to stop someone from doing what He tells him to do.  And then tells him to do it after all.  The most sense I can make of this is that perhaps some chronology is off in Moses' storytelling.  Maybe Balaam leaves for the trip and this is the conversation alluded to verses earlier.  However, even in that reading some of the details don't make a whole lot of sense.

I also think that this story is foreshadowing Christ.  A wise creature in lowly form comes to stop wayward man from a path that leads to destruction.  In the process he is beaten, but without his connection to God, man would be killed.

And while the intention may not be a lesson about kindness to animals, there is clearly subtext about being overconfident in your own wisdom.  We can't make it alone.

That Ole' White Magic

Numbers 22: 1-20

Some interesting storytelling technique on Moses' part.  We leave the Israelite perspective and travel to Moab.  I'm not sure how Moses had access to the backstory here, but it opens the door for some questions that may be a little new to me.

So Balak is a little worried, having heard about all the carnage left in the wake of Israel- and at the size of the group out wandering and conquering.  In fact, his dread is even verbalized (in a quite odd way)- "“This horde is going to lick up everything around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Mmm, grass licking.

Doubting the Moabites ability to take them on directly, he calls for his favorite magician.  Penn and Teller weren't available, so he settled for Balaam.  Balak tells him (through the elders)- look- there's this mass of people coming from Egypt and they've settled in right next door.  They're too much for me to handle... unless you can do one of your infamous curse thingies.  I know that when you bless someone, they actually are blessed, and when you curse someone- they better look out, because bad stuff is coming.

It seems like Moses is setting up a variation on the let's see whose God is stronger theme.  My staff/snake will eat your staff/snake.  But Balaam takes the narrative in a different direction.  He says- give me the night- let me check with the LORD and see what He thinks about it. 

Huh?  So the Moabite sorceror (Probably played by Alan Rickman or Samuel L. Jackson in the film version) who just screams "bad dude" is checking in with Jehovah for direction.  Does this mean that God was with non-Israelites back in the day as well?  Were there other Jehovah inspired parts to the big picture plan that never made it into our canon?  How did a Moabite magic man have a direct link to the creator and why did God allow Himself to be used for someone's hocus-pocus schtick? 

God tells him directly- You don't want to mess with Israel .  I've blessed them.

So Balaam returns to the Moabite elders and says- you may as well go home.  God tells me to not go with you.

The elders return saying that Balaam had turned them down.  Not one to be deterred, Balak ups the ante.  He sends more and more important officials to persuade him- saying- look Balaam, if this is about money... don't worry about it, we're gonna take care of you.  C'mon- you know you wanna curse these guys.  All the cool kids are doing it.

Balaam says, look- you could give me all the silver and gold in the world and it still wouldn't be a good idea for me to cross God.  But I tell you what, spend the night, I'll talk to him again and we'll see if He has more to His message.

So God responds, since they're here and so eager for you... go ahead and go.  But only do what I tell you to.

Intriguing.  God still seems to be working for His chosen people, but He seems to have other followers in other places who He uses to accomplish to His goals.  It's not totally out in left field to assume that He still does.

All That Jahaz

Numbers 21: 21-35

And the traveling continues.

Israel seeks permission from the Amorite king to pass through promising to keep on the King's Highway- staying out of vineyards and wells along the way.  King Sihon makes a bad decision and instead of allowing passage, decides to confront the Israelites.  So a battle ensues at Jahaz and the Israelites do well (having God on their side and all).  They overtook all the cities of the Amorites and moved themselves in, including Heshbon where Sihon lived.

Perhaps mockingly Moses quotes a poem recounting Sihon's previous victory in taking Hashbon for the Amorites from the king of Moab.  The poem describes the great victory and restoration of the city to come under Sihon.  But here, Israel is the new inhabitant.  The poem may even be included to stress that Israel didn't just conquer some psuedo-army.  This is a force mighty enough that their battles resulted in poetry.  This is an army of legendary status... and they fell when confronted by God's chosen.

Spies went out into Jazer and the Israelites overthrow there too, driving out the newly relocated Amorites likely still reeling from the loss and destruction recently handed to them. 

Not detered by the Israelite victory, King Og of Bashan marched out with his army to meet the Israelites as they appraoched his city.  God tells the Israelites to buck up- I'm going to deliver him and his land just like I did the Amorites.  So the Isralites enter into battle and it's not pretty.  The Israelites don't leave a single survivor and take the land.

It seems that this passage illustrates the beginning of God's promise coming true.  He's delivering on this whole land thing and God's people may be starting to see the fruits of the generations of wandering in uncertainty.

It's hard for me, though, to not consider the perspective of the slaughtered here.  This context is so foreign to where we are and how we live that it's perhaps impossible to understand the concept of slaughter in God's name.  Maybe these were bad people, but the reading here suggests that they were folks defending what was their's- and the Israelites don't just displace them- they follow them to their new home and drive them out of it, too. 

I like this story much more as a metaphor of God's promises than as a reality of pain, death, and woe.  But regardless, it can serve as a reminder of God following through on what He promises and the folly of getting in His way.

Well, Well, Well
Numbers 21:10-20


This passage might be interesting if you're a scholar of bible geography.  I am not.

Most of the section seems to deal with the route of the Israelites- they hit Oboth, Iye Abarim, the Zered Valley, and near the Arnon which is the border between Moab and the Amorites.  This mini travelogue ends with an odd reference to "The Book of the Wars of the LORD."  I have no idea what this book is- but I'm surprised there isn't a really bloody movie based on it.

Then they travel on to Beer where God gives them water- which seems like a practical joke.  And when they reached the city called Prime Rib, God gave them some baloney.

But does this reference mean they traveled all of this way without water?  It might make it easier to empathize with their complaining spirits if they're going days without something to drink- especially days spent on the road.  They may not have dared to complain with the snakes around- and their throats may have been too dry to whine too much.

They are so happy to get water they write a song about it- or at least sang one:
 Spring up, O well! 
  Sing about it,
 about the well that the princes dug,
   that the nobles of the people sank—    the nobles with scepters and staffs.

To my knowledge, this was only a local hit, not getting much airplay internationally.  It was slightly more successful than their anthem about animal sacrifice called "Talkin' Dead Ram Blues" off the album "Blood on the Altar".

The section ends with more travel information.  They made it to Mattanah, Nahaliel, Bamoth, and finally ended up in "the valley in  Moab where the top of  Pisgah overlooks the wasteland."

I hope this is setting up something big, it doesn't seem to have much meat on it's own.

Snakes Alive!
Numbers 21: 4-9


How quickly the tone changes.  Verses ago they vanquish the enemy with the Lord's help, here they're back to complaining.  The Israelites head toward the Red Sea in attempt to avoid Edom- which is interesting in itself.  We'll ask for help to demolish entire cities, but these Edomites are a little too much for us.

But they got impatient on the long path, perhaps a bit grumpy from the realization of their own cowardice, and start shouting out things like- Are we there yet?  Why did we leave Egypt?  Just to die in the wilderness?  Moab won't stop poking me! There's no bread or water!  Can we take a bathroom break?  This food is terrible!

God reaches His breaking point and does more than just pull the car over and take off His belt.  He sends venomous snakes among them resulting in many Israelite deaths.  It seems like most of them should be dead by now with all of this killing.

Not surprisingly, the Israelites change their tune.  Umm, Moses- we might have been a little hasty with that whole we love Egypt bit.  In fact, we've sinned.  Could you maybe do something about these snakes?  Put a good word in for us with that whole prayer thing?

So Moses prays, but instead of God removing the snakes, He tells Moses to make a snake and put it on a pole- and if you get bitten, look at the snake and you'll live.  So Moses makes a bronze snake that serves as healing for the poisoned travelers.

This is a weird story.  Why not just get rid of the snakes?  Or the Israelites?

Perhaps God wants to cut down on the whining.  Removing the snakes would allow them to quickly fall back into complain-mode but an occasional bite on the ankle and glance to the bronze reminder might just keep them in check.

And maybe our prayers work this way too.  We pray for deliverance- but God may not end our problems.  Instead, He may create a way for us to deal with them.  And when we look at the snake, or the cross, or whatever balm has come our way we find peace and hopefully remember who supplied it.

Totally Arad
Numbers 21: 1-3


Short section today that starts out a bit like Little Red Riding Hood.  The Israelites are skipping down the road to Atharim when the big bad wolfish king of Arad hears about it, attacks and captures some of them. So Israel makes a deal with God: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities” (like, totally).


So God does...and they do.  And they named the place "destruction."


This is a weird little story.  First, we're miles behind the whole turn the other cheek thing that will come into play much later. But it's troubling that not only do the Israelites think it's a great idea to annihilate these people, God's right on board with it, too.  The destruction is the bargaining chip.   If you release our people for us, we'll kill these people for you (at least that's how I'm reading it).  Why would this be appealing to God?  Maybe it's to teach neighboring communities that you don't mess with Israel, maybe it's to prove the devotion of His followers- but it seems like there could have been much less brutal problem solving method to the situation.


Second, The Israelites aren't just following orders- they come up with this master plan- and they sell it.  They are able to bargain with God.  Millions have tried since, with varied results- but here it's clear that God was willing to work out a deal with them.  I'm not sure what the implications are for us, I still think it's dangerous ground, or maybe less than smart.  God offers what we need by asking, I'm not sure pledging grand, hard to live up to gestures makes these requests any more likely to come true.  


God, please forgive my sins is much better than- God, if You forgive my sins I'll never do it again.... words I may not be able to live up to.  God certainly wants our commitment, but we don't need to haggle with Him for His blessings.

The End of an Aaron


Numbers 20: 22-29


So the group makes it to Mount Hor- and God has a less than happy announcement.  He tells Moses and Aaron  to have Aaron and his son Eleazor go up the mountain- this is the end of the line for Moses' brother. There's no indication that Aaron is sickly, or close to dying- he simply is not going to be allowed to enter the promised land because of that whole water striking incident.  Aaron's clothes are to be removed and put on his son.  This seems to be a passing-of-the-baton ceremony.  I think these ceremonies are more dignified when they don't require old men to take their clothes off.

This punishment is especially interesting because I'm not really sure what Aaron did.  All the action mentioned earlier in the chapter is Moses centered, but Aaron is punished- and punished before Moses.  Maybe this is because Moses is doing the telling.  Is he simply taking all of the blame as a "humble" narrator and we don't have a real sense of how Aaron was actually involved?

This must have been unsettling to Moses on two levels.  Not only is he about to lose his brother, but he has to guess that bad things are coming to him, too.  We're both to blame..he's about to die- now I just wait to find out my own fate.

Moses, his brother and nephew go up the mountain, but only Moses and Eleazar come down.  When the community hears of Aaron's death, they mourn for about a month.

This is a difficult passage to dig a moral out of.  Sin will get you in the end?  God doesn't forget?  Even God's leaders are prone to fall?  Not even Aaron can get to the promised land?

Maybe the bigger lesson is Jesus appreciation.  Without Him, we may find ourselves with the same fate as Aaron, dying on a mountain after struggling so long in the wilderness.

Authorized Personnel Only
Numbers 20: 14-21




So the Israelites reach the city of Kadesh which is occupied by the people of Edom.  This presents a dilemma- in order to progress, they have to cross land owned by other people.  So Moses sends a letter to the king, hoping, apparently to butter him up.

He writes the letter from Edom's "brother, Israel."  You remember us, king.  We're pals.

He then gives some exposition that we've heard before.  Our ancestors lived in Egypt, the people there weren't very good to us, but God heard us and sent an angel to lead us out.  Which brings us to you... see we've come to Kadesh and we know it's your land.  So... we're hoping you'd let us skedaddle on through.  We promise to keep out of fields and vineyards and we'll keep away from wells.  We aren't looking for any kind of handout, we just want a peaceful jaunt through the city.  We won't wander off the King's Highway until we pass through your territory.  Sincerely, Moe.

Edom's response was less kind.  Ummm... nope.  If you try, we'll march out with swords.  Lasting friendships will not be the result.

So the Israelites tried again.

Look, if our livestock drinks any water- we'll pay for it.  This could be great PR for you.  All we want is to march through on foot.  C'mon, be a pal.

But the response remained,  No means no!

So Edom came out with a large army and the Israelites turned away.

My initial reaction here (and perhaps the correct one) is that this is an Israelite mistake.  They didn't wait for God and tried to take manners into their own hands.  And when things got heated, they forgot the power of their God and backed down.  Oh ye of little faith.

And while this may play out in what comes later (I don't remember where this story leads), it may be that this is an opportunity for that rare sighting of Old Testament grace.  They could have marched through with trumpets blaring smiting Edomites all willy-nilly.  But instead, they attempted a peaceful approach.  This wasn't  the crusades, it was a way to reach out with the hopes of peace for all involved.  And when that wasn't accepted, a retreat to regroup and plan was the next step.

And maybe instead of "standing up for truth" with fire and brimstone on our lips and judgment on our hearts, tactful dialogue aimed at understanding, compromise, and enhanced relationships is a better goal for outreach.  All I am saying is give peace a chance.

Since these folks often have God's direct voice, it's easy to assume they always do.  Maybe God's silence left confusion as to the way to best approach the situation.  And this is Moses improvising.  At least, at this point, no one has died in the encounter.  I have a feeling God's people won't be denied forever.

Strike Two
Numbers 20:1-13


So the Israelites arrived at the Desert of Zin- a happening place, I'm sure- lots of hot spots.  For a month, they stayed at Kadesh, and during this time Miriam died and they buried her there.

As you might expect, a desert wasn't the most opportune place to access water for the community.  So the people started whining.  "Why didn't God strike us dead, too?  Couldn't we have just died where we were? If we were gonna die anyhow- at least we wouldn't have had to walk so far.  There's no grain or figs or grapes or pomegranates- oh and did we mention... NO WATER?"

So Moses and Aaron bowed down at the entrance to the tent of meeting.  God told Moses to take his staff, and he and Aaron together were to gather the assembly.  He was to speak to the rock "before their eyes" and water would pour out for both the community and their livestock,

Moses seems to be a little agitated by all of this. He took the staff and they brought the group together and he berates them a bit:  "Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?"  Then he struck the rock twice and water poured out.


This was perhaps a little more drama-filled of a scene than God wanted- and he chastised Moses about it.  God said, "Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”


So you have to feel for Moses here.  First off, he's recently lost his sister.  Second, he's had to listen to a lot of complaining- and although ultimately the complaining may have been geared toward God- some of it was likely about Moses.  As God's spokesman, it would be easy to take the complaints personally even if they weren't directly pointed at you.  And it's a pretty heavy punishment- not in comparison to those who were earlier struck dead, but still- all this wandering and you'll never get to the promised land.

I've always heard this story was about Moses striking the rock instead of speaking to it as God instructed, but I'm not so sure.  God tells Moses to take the staff.  If striking is a no-no, it seems like God is setting him up by putting the staff in his hand.  What is it for, then?  There's also precedence.  God has had him strike rocks for water before.  You probably remember our lively discussion four years ago found here: http://chiphall.blogspot.com/2007/06/moses-rocks-exodus-17-1-7-so-they-leave.html

So God tells him to take the staff and has previously instructed him to strike the rock.  It seems like God would point out..."but don't strike it like last time,"  if that was so important.  I think the key might instead be in what Moses says to the people (and more importantly what that statement says about how Moses views himself).  He asks them "must we bring you water out of that rock?" (italics mine).  God and I?

Maybe the point is that Moses isn't saying, "praise God from whom all blessings(and water) flow"- but instead "you're lucky you have the two of us, God and I, to take care of your problems."  Maybe the message from God is- hold on there, Moe- you aren't quite all that you think you are.

And maybe the lesson for us as we go about striving to do go works is to remember that the good we can do shouldn't elevate ourselves (even though in a very real sense we may be sacrificing, working, loving, devoting).  The focus should still be God.  Our gifts shouldn't feel like crumbs off of the king's table for the peons lucky enough to be nearby- but instead should be given through humility, through compassion, and for God's glory (even if His name is never mentioned).

I think it's important to note that even when Moses' attitude was lacking, the rock still poured water.  The people weren't penalized for Moses' disposition.  God still uses us even when we aren't on our "A" game.

The section ends pointing out that these waters were the waters of quarreling.  Moses points out that although the Israelites fought with God here- He was proven holy.  Even Moses couldn't prevent that from happening.

Splish Splash
Numbers 19


And so we return to the latest edition of things that make you unclean.  I think we've covered this before- but this passage deals with the consequences of touching a dead body (for the living person, the dead guy doesn't seem to mind much).

First off, it seems that just in case you might come into contact with a dead body (and who knows, there do seem to be quite a few of them around) you or someone in the community need(s) to take a red cow to Eleazar the priest.  Eleazar will watch as the cow is escorted outside of camp and slaughtered.  Eleazar will then get some blood on his finger and sprinkle it seven times toward the tent of meeting.  Then Eleazar is to stick around and witness the cow being torched: it's hide, flesh, blood, and intestines.  Then he's supposed to take some cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet wool and put them on the burning cow.  I have no idea why.

After the priest and the man doing the burning wash their clothes, they can come back into camp, but they are both still ceremonially unclean until evening.

Then somebody clean comes and gathers the ashes and takes them somewhere clean (ceremonially clean- not just tidy)in the camp to be stored until needed.  I get the impression that these are community ashes, not just a jar carefully labeled with your(or your cow's) name. The ash-gatherer also needs to wash his clothes and is unclean until evening.

These ashes are to be used for the water of cleansing- which is for purification for sins.  So, if you touch a corpse (as you may be wont to do) you purify yourself with this water on the third and seventh days following your contact; because what gets you cleaner than water mixed with cow ash?  This seems to be a sprinkling- for ceremony not literal cleaning.  People who aren't purified after shaking hands with a  corpse (or any other contact) are to be cut off from Israel- they remain unclean. They have defiled the sanctuary of the LORD.   Those getting purified are clean after seven days.

Then come all the scenarios for all you what-iffers out there.  If someone dies in a tent?  Everyone in the tent and anyone who enters is unclean- so are all open jars.

You are unclean if you...touch someone killed with a sword, touch someone who died of natural causes, touch a human bone, or touch a human grave.  In all of these cases, if you use the water you are only unclean for seven days.

Finally we find out how the process works- because we were all on the edge of our seats.  If you're unclean you put some of those ashes into a jar and pour some fresh water over them.  Then you find someone who is clean (but don't touch them or they will become unclean) and get them to dip some hyssop into the mixture and sprinkle everything that was involved with the dead body- the tent, furnishings, all the people who were there, and anyone who touched those things listed above. This is to happen on the third and seventh days.  On the seventh day he is to purify them.. I don't know what this would involve for the clean person except maybe just declaring them pure.  The unclean person is to bathe with water and wash his clothes on the seventh day.

The human sprinkler is to wash his own clothes- and anyone else who touches this water is also unclean until evening as is anything an unclean person touches and everyone who touches something an unclean person touched.

If you're in the vicinity, you're probably unclean.

I'm not sure I'm too enriched after reading this passage except for appreciating Jesus making all of this unnecessary.  And really appreciating my job- I wouldn't have enjoyed being the community ash-gatherer.

Meta-tithes
Numbers 18: 8-32


God seems to be emphasizing to Aaron that the Levites are getting a pretty good deal out of this servants of the temple thing.  First off, they get grain, sin, and guilt offerings.  The people bring them as a sacrifice to God - and God gives the most holy part of the sacrifice kept from the fire to Aaron's family.  These are to be treated as holy- and every male needs to eat from them.

Plus- they get wave offerings, and the best olive oil and new wine and grain brought as the first-fruits of the harvest.  Anyone who is ceremonially clean can dig in.  Plus- all firstborn from every womb belong to them- however they must redeem all human firstborn and unclean animals.  At a month of age they are to accept five shekels of silver for them.

But cows, sheep, and goats?  Splash that blood on the altar.  Burn the fat as an offering and enjoy the steak for yourself.   He refers to this as an "everlasting covenant of salt" which is a bit confusing to me- but regardless this seems to be intended as a long term arrangement.

However, this is it- they don't get another inheritance.  The Levites get all the tithes in exchange for all the work they will do- but THEY must do the work.  Israelites must no longer go near the tent of meeting or they will die.

Now the Levites are to take the tithes, and give Aaron ten percent of them.  They are to offer grain from the threshing floor or juice from the winepress.  It should be the best and holiest of what they were given.  By offering the best, they will be free to enjoy the rest of the blessing without defiling what was offered.

I think it's interesting that the people serving God weren't exempt from paying tribute to Him.  Although their payment came from other's work, God still expected sacrifice from them, too.  Maybe the lesson here is to remember that now matter how noble our work may be- no matter what level of service we label our work with, what we're given in exchange (no matter how large or small) still comes from God.  And us such, He expects us to sacrifice (whether financially and/or otherwise).

Family Responsibilities
Numbers 18: 1-7


Perhaps in an effort to make the point more clear, God speaks to Aaron instead of Moses and says- "Your family is responsible for any mishaps regarding the sanctuary- and you and your sons will bear the guilt for any transgression involving the priesthood.  Bring the Levites to help you  They are accountable to you- and can help with all the tent duties, but they've got to keep away from the furnishings of the sanctuary or the altar.  If they come near them, both they and you will die. They will help with all the tent work, but that's it- no one else can come near where you are."

"This set-up is to prevent another situation like we just had- I'm trying to spare the Israelites from My wrath.  I'm  giving you the Levites as a gift which I selected for you.  But remember, anything inside the curtain or near the altar is just for you and your sons.  This priesthood is a gift- anyone else who comes near is to be put to death."

So this massive responsibility is a gift?  Can I just get a gift card to Outback instead?  Would they have viewed this massive undertaking with the potential for death as a blessing?  Or would they too be longing for the slavery of Egypt?

What I find interesting here is the group punishment idea.  Both the lawbreakers and Aaron's family die if these commandments aren't  kept.  If it happens too often, wouldn't they run out of priests?

It seems like the shared responsibility would be an effective tool in keeping the law.  I think that people may be less likely to engage in individually risky behavior if they are reminded that this behavior will result in the death of innocent parties.

It seems like a similar mentality to what a kidnapper does to influence behavior- if you don't follow my rules, your loved ones will get it.  I'm not very comfortable with God being a kidnapper in this metaphor, but perhaps this if you won't do it for Me or yourself, at least do it for others mentality was just the next step in getting people to realize that sin has consequences beyond the sinner.

And in fact, perhaps it's simply a way for us to see that our sin does that too.  We aren't responsible for each other's sins- but if we are aware of the ripple effect- the pain my lies, my greed, my lust, my pride all cause other people, maybe I'll be more conscious of keeping those things in check.

Fat chance, but it's a lovely thought in theory.

Almond Joy
Numbers 17


So God tells Moses that He's going to put an end to all of these chest pumping, I'm God's vessel complexes the Israelites seem to be having.  He has Moses collect a staff from the leader of each tribe.  After the leader's name is written on each corresponding staff, they are placed in front of the ark of the covenant.  The man He chooses will have a staff that has sprouted.

So the next day when Moses goes to check on the staffs. Aaron's has not only sprouted, but has budded, blossomed, and produced almonds. Moses shows the staffs off and returns the  non-blossoming staffs but God tells him to return Aaron's where it had been near the ark.  This is to serve as a "sign to the rebellious."

He says it will "put an end to their grumbling against me, so that they will not die."

However, instead of bringing peace, it freaks the Israelites out.  We're doomed!  You can't go near the tabernacle and live!  Is this it for us?  Are we going to die?

I'm struck by how different God's mood is here, just one chapter later.  Earlier Moses pleads with God to spare the camp and in His wrath He sends the plague.  Here, without any recorded solicitation from Moses, God has a plan to spare them from future wrath.  He wants to stop their grumbling so they won't be the recipients of future wrath.

God wants us to be spared- God wants us to be at peace with Him- and while prayer is an amazing opportunity to bond with Him- He (at least here) is looking for ways to spare us future pain whether we're looking for those ways or not.

Second- what God intends as relief, the Israelites turn into stress.  This fig leaf from God- this clarity of His will- doesn't make things easier for them... instead they freak out.

Can we take things God intends as blessings and make them not only worthless, but thorns in our sides- opportunities that we resent, relationships that we take for granted, gifts that we squander and use in ways He never intended?  God may be giving us everything we need- but because of our lacking in wisdom we miss the big picture.

Instead of seeing His gift of peace, we assume we're going to die.

You Can Take it with You
Numbers 16


This chapter is a bizarre story that I don't remember.  So you have these three guys- Korah, a Levite, and Dathan and Abiram who are Reubenites.  They are a bit sick of Moses so they get 250 other guys, some of them community leaders to stand up against Moses and Aaron.  They said, "Who do you think you are?  God is with ALL of us, not just you.  Where do you get off being so 'holier than thou?'"

Moses is really hurt by this accusation and falls face down.  But it kind of seems that it's his pride that's really hurt (at least after my initial reading).  He tells them- "We'll see who God wants near him.  Tomorrow we'll have a community incense burning and we'll see who God picks.  We'll see who God thinks is holy."

He continues, "Levites, hasn't God done enough for you by separating you from the rest of Israel letting you be near Him to do His work?  Where do you get off griping at Aaron?  You're actually complaining against God, anyhow."

Moses then summoned Dathan and Abiram who responded, "No, we're not coming- you're not the boss of us.  Isn't it enough that you teased us with that whole milk and honey inheritance?  We're still waiting on this promise.  Are you hoping to treat us like slaves?"

Moses then made a little prayer against them.  Speaking to God, he says, "Don't accept their offering. I haven't accepted anything from them  not even a donkey-and I haven't wronged them either.

Then Moses sets them up, "Everyone take your censer and fill it with incense- and Aaron will join you."  When they were gathered, God warned Moses and Aaron, "You two step back, I'll wipe out the whole group at once."

But Moses and Aaron suddenly soften.  They fall down on their faces (a popular position this chapter) and cry "You who created everything- will you punish everyone for the sins of one man?"

God seems to reconsider and tells them to have the assembly move away from the other three.  So they do- saying- "Back away!  Don't even touch anything that belongs to them or you'll be swept away for their sins."  So the three instigators stand in front of their tents with their families and await their doom.

Moses can't resist a little speech.  He says "Here's the litmus- here's how you know that I speak for God.  If these three die a natural death, than I am not from God- but if the Lord creates this new thing... if He opens up the earth and swallows them up alive with all of their possessions (is he riffing here?) and they enter the realm of the dead still living (how will they verify that?) then you know that these three have been disrespectful to God."

Instantly, the ground opened and swallowed them up.  The three of them and their families and all of their possessions changed zip codes. Once swallowed, the earth closed back up over them.

Understandably, this freaked people out.  They assumed the earth was still hungry and that they would also taste pretty good.

Then God sent out fire and killed the 250 who had been offering incense.  God had Aaron's son Eliazor to get the censers out of the remains- they are still holy.  He's to spread the charred remains some distance away- but to hammer the censers into sheets to put over the altar.  They will be a sign.  This was to remind them that only Aaron's children could offer incense before God or they would receive a similar fate.

This whole scenario wasn't much of a morale boost.  They approached Moses and Aaron and accused them of killing the LORD's people.  God had had enough- so He told Moses to stand back- I'm going to take them all out.

Moses told Aaron to quickly get his censer and incense and burning coals and go make atonement.  He realized that a plague had started.  Aaron ran and made atonement but in the meantime 14,700 additional people died from the plague.  Once the plague stopped, Aaron came back to the entrance of the tent of meeting.

So what to make of this?

First off- I'm reminded that not too long ago, Moses referred to himself as the most humble man alive (or something similarly extraordinary).  For someone so humble, he seems to not be perceived by others that way.

Second, I think that some of the details help make sense out of the whole.  They aren't just saying- Moses, we're sick of your mouth- they're saying- we've been made promises- they haven't come true- we're through listening to you- we're calling our own shots now.   I think Moses is right, they are defying God, not just Moses.

While Moses does seem to set them up- they seem to be breaking one of God's laws by sitting around with the censers.  Moses isn't just challenging them to see who God picks.  He's saying God said only Aaron's family can offer sacrifice- God set us apart- see what happens if you defy God's law.

Finally, Moses seems to waver in his desire for justice and his desire for mercy.  And I think this principle rings true.  He prays for God to not take the sacrifice- but He's sorry when God's wrath is stirred up.  Vengeance doesn't seem so sweet in practice.  Grace and mercy are much easier to live with in the long term.  Easy to see here... sometimes hard to recognize in the heat of rage.

The Israelites Graduate
Numbers 15: 37-41


God tells Moses to attach a tassel with a blue cord on the corners of their garments.  This is to happen from generation to generation and is supposed to serve as a reminder to follow God's commands. God ends the command by reminding them that He has the authority to command it- He  is God who brought them out of Egypt.

I really like the idea of utilizing a physical reminder of who you are, or are trying to be- I've used one before- a special coin that was in my pocket.  In tough times just a hand in my pocket feeling the coin was a help to steer me straight. In my case, it was even more of a way to help me remember that I'm not who I was- that the past is behind- that this God I follow has forgiven me. But whether a coin in your pocket, a note on your bathroom mirror, a cross on your rear view mirror (unless you're too attached to the fuzzy dice), or a blue cord on a tassel, a visual reminder to stay true to God's commands and that He is in control  can certainly be a good thing.

Black Sabbath
Numbers 15: 32-36


So while the Israelites are in the wilderness, one of the party decides to that the Sabbath would be a good time to gather wood.  As this is clearly work- this was not acceptable behavior.  So, a community of narcs grabbed him and brought him to Moses and Aaron- (which is apparently not work?) and held him in custody to see what to do with him.

The verdict?  Death by stoning.  God says that the whole assembly must take him outside the camp and stone him to death.

This is quite troubling to me.  First, the punishment seems quite harsh.  Death for gathering wood on the Sabbath.    It seems as this is the ultimate sin that could have been committed- I guess they could have tortured his family, but there's not much beyond this they could do to him.

Our culture would think of Woody as industrious, a go-getter, a hard-worker.  God is clearly not rewarding that mindset here.  Is He trying to stress the need for reliance on Him?  No need to work that hard to provide for yourselves... I'm on it.

Is He stressing that His laws, all of them, are non-negotiable?  Is there grace in this story anywhere?

Second, this seems like a punishment for the community, too.  I don't want to be any part of a group stoning. I'm not interested in lining up for my throw at the blasphemous Sabbath worker.  Such an experience would be life-altering and scarring.  It certainly wouldn't be a morale builder.

And as someone who spends much of the year working hard on weekends, it worries me a bit that God's plan might be a little different.  However- the three months off help to balance that out.  Those can be my Sabbaths... right?  I don't think that as non-Jewish, post resurrection followers, God plans for us to be subject to Sabbath laws- but certainly there must be some principle of resting that He's set precedent for.

It's also hard to balance this with Jesus' statement (it won't come up in our discussion here for quite some time) about Sabbath being for man and not man for Sabbaths.

So what's the story here?  I don't really have an explanation- other than a comparative sigh of relief to not have been born Jewish in the time of Moses.  

Oops!

Numbers 15:22-30

God says that if the entire community accidentally sins and isn't aware of it- the whole community is to offer a bull, a goat, a grain offering and a drink offering. I'm reading this as one offering from the whole community not each person offering an individual one, but I could very well be wrong. I'm not sure what kind of sin would be a "community" sin. Oops, we built this idol by accident. At the same moment, we all accidentally lied. Seems like it would take a pretty odd occurrence.

If just one person sins unintentionally, he brings a year old female goat to be sacrificed, the priest makes atonement and the person is forgiven. This is for both the native and the foreigner.

But if someone sins out of defiance, God has been blasphemed- and there is no forgiveness. This person is to be cut off from his people. This seems odd to me. Wouldn't most sins fall into this category? I guess I don't ordinarily view mistakes as sin.

If I give the wrong answer, I haven't lied- but if i try to deceive I have. I guess there are instances when I do something and it results in sin I didn't intend- but I feel like most of the time when I do wrong, I know I'm doing it- I'm just acting out of my own selfish desires or ambitions. So under the old law- I'm forever lost with no hope... at least until Jesus comes.

Pulp Non-Fiction

Numbers 15: 1-21

While these 21 verses are pretty boring in isolation- I'm puzzled by them within their context (ok, they're still kinda boring, but bear with me). God has just clearly expressed his displeasure with the Israelites in chapter 14 and made it fairly clear that they wouldn't be entering the promised land. But here, just a few verses later he lays out laws for them to follow when they enter the promised land. Huh?

He details what to include in grain offerings, burnt offerings, drink offerings, and food offerings. He specifies that this applies to both natives and foreigners, and that these offerings apply to food eaten in the new land. But if they can't enter... then who and what is this for? I've come up with three possible motivations but I'm not really happy with any of them.

First- has God changed His mind? He was angry- He vented to Moses- and now He's rethought the harshness of the punishment? Maybe He accepted that these imperfect humans that He's created will consistently let Him down and He'll help us along by cutting us some slack. He expressed His displeasure, but here's some grace to go with it.

I guess we'll see how this one plays out- somehow, I don't think they get to enter.

Second- is Moses going Tarantino on us and telling us the narrative out of chronological order? Did God go through this list before the doubt discharge- but once again for a reason we'll discover later on only getting around to telling us these laws here? Is Bruce Willis going to turn up in chapter 16 as a character who died back in Exodus? Once again, doubtful- but I guess we'll see. Zed's dead, baby.

Third, and this is where I'm leaning at the moment- are these laws told WAY in advance. So in 40 years when you(if you're a kid now) or your children finally get to enter the promised land- these are the laws to follow. You've got lots of time to learn them and to incorporate them into your oral traditions.

This still seems odd, but of the three it's the one that seems the most consistent. Perhaps God is not only stressing with generations to come what their relationship with Him will be like but stressing to the Israelite Idiots how much they've missed out on by doubting Him. Remember when we had this type of relationship? Now I'll have it with your children- and you can hear about how it's going to be.

Perhaps the key is what is lost when we don't trust.

Manipulative Moses
Numbers 14
Mob mentality ensues. The defeatist dialogue dampened the Israelite's spirits- and they are ready to call it a day. In fact, they begin to weep and trash Moses and Aaron. They ask, why did God bring us here if we're just going to be killed anyhow? Our wives and children will become plunder for the enemy. Let's just choose a new leader and head back to Egypt.

So in a short span of time- they have rejected the Promised Land, rejected Moses and Aaron, and rejected God. Not a good long term plan. I don't understand the desire to trek back to captivity- but I do understand the fear they must have felt. It seems silly to think that they would doubt God's care after seeing what He'd taken them through- but I can imagine words of such negativity from leaders would strike fear deeply- especially regarding issues like death of myself and the potential capture, abuse, torture and death of my loved ones.

Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb speak up. Don't be so rash- if God's happy, He'll give us this land. As they tore their clothes they spoke of the greatness of the land- and God's providence. Their plea was to not rebel against God- and to be confident- with God, they could totally devour the inhabitants of the land.

Their reaction was to consider stoning the four- but God stepped in and He was none too pleased. In disbelief , He asked Moses, "What do I have to do to get these people to trust Me? They doubt Me even after all the signs? I'm done! I'm sending a plague down and I'll build a nation through you- a better nation than they are."

But Moses disapproves. "If You do this, it'll get back to the Egyptians and it will look like You couldn't do what said You could. Everyone knows about Your relationship with these people. If You reject them now- it'll just seem like things got too hard for You so You just slaughtered them. Instead- just do what You promised- let the world see Your strength. Forgive these idiots- just like You've been forgiving them from the beginning."

God seems to calm down a little and says, " I have forgiven them- but listen up, there's no way that any of them that saw My signs and tested me ten times will see the promised land. The people who treated Me with contempt will never see it. But Caleb is another story- he follows Me completely. His people will get the land. Tomorrow you need to turn back and head toward the Red Sea. Because of the grumbling- none of you 20 years or older will enter the land- except Caleb and Joshua. They were worried about their children being taken hostage? These same children will be the ones to get the land- in 40 years after the rest have died. They'll shepherd one year for each of the 40 days of the land exploration. Those 20 or older will die in the wilderness."

Moses reports back and the spies who offered skepticism are struck dead. Only Joshua and Caleb survived. The people all mourned but apparently thought they could change God's mind. The next morning they said, "What were we thinking? We can take this land with God's help."

Moses said, " You dummies! Weren't you listening? This won't work! God is NOT with you! You will fail!" But they went on- without Moses- without the ark of the covenant- and they were beaten by their enemies all the way to Hormah.

I'm struck again by the emotional capacity we see in God's personality. We think of God's love and anger and forgiveness- but here we see some of that emotion in action. God is irate! He plans on wiping out His people. It doesn't seem at this point like He's following the script of some predetrmined plan- He's letting His emotions make decisions for Him. And Moses is able to convince Him to change His mind. He seems to use flattery- and then logic. He uses logic to make God change His mind. Is this odd to anyone else? Had God not considered this viewpoint already?

Granted, once again Moses is painting himself as the hero- but there's something to this, right? God's plan has been altered- and then he is calmed down based on His interaction with His creation.

And the people- they try to change God's mind too- but in a more stupid way. They just act assuming God will relent. They assume everything will be ok if they only act now the way God wanted them to before. The window had closed. And it may be that our impulsive action does the same thing. When we bull our way through despite God's will we may end up with similar fate- and perhaps wondering where God was throughout it all.

Perhaps the lesson to learn here is timeliness. God adapts His will depending on context and circumstance. I would have done this- but now since We find Ourselves here, this is where I want things to go. I'm not suggesting that God changes his expectations for us, but that perhaps what we are expected to do may change depending on where we find ourselves. Sometimes action may be necessary- strong action trusting God is with us. Sometimes it may be important to recognize that the window for action has passed- and to act strongly may only cause harm to myself and others- and when this happens I can wait, and pray, and look for the next opportunity.

Maybe the Wilderness isn't so Bad After All

Numbers 13: 26-33

So the leaders come back from scouting this land- the land they've been waiting for all this time and the people gather to hear the report. This must have been a meeting filled with amazing anticipation. Way back in Exodus they were promised this land flowing with milk and honey- and finally, here it is.

So they gather- and the news isn't what they hoped it would be. With Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly before them the leaders report... "well, yeah- there's the whole milk and honey bit-in fact here's some fruit so big we had to carry it in on poles- but the dudes that live there are crazy tough. I saw one of them get in a fight with a tree- and he won. The cities are huge- there are so many of them living there. And these guyss are huge- like Shaq huge- like Incredible Hulk huge- their kids were as big as that guy in The Green Mile.

They spelled out who the people were that lived there- some of whom are the very people God told them would inhabit the land He was going to lead them to back in Exodus. In the midst of the fear mongering, Caleb stands up, silences the crowd and does his best impersonation of Gene Hackman in Hoosiers. We got this- let's take what God has promised us.

But his enthusiasm is shot down by the other leaders. Are you serious? These people make John Wayne seem like Seth Rogan. We felt like grasshoppers among these people- and they looked at us like we were grasshoppers.

This must have been demoralizing. After walking for years, when it looked as if it was finally time to reap the benefits of all the labor- the carpet is pulled out from beneath their feet.

And while it's easy to wonder how this group so easily forgets the Red Sea rendezvous and doubts deliverance, it's easy for us to forget how we've been taken care of in the past and to stress about what is to come.

The Hills Have Spies
Numbers 13: 1-25

So God tells Moses to send out some leaders to scout out the land. So he does- and in this passage he lists each one by name and clan. While it doesn't make for interesting reading there are a couple of things about it that I do find interesting. Knowing what is to come in regards to these explorers, I wonder how Moses chose the order of listing them. Joshua and Caleb are tucked in the middle of the list- is Moses building suspense? Are they listed based on geography? Age of traveler? I'd like to think it's a literary device- although much of Moses' writing style works agaisnt that theory.

Second, while this might at first appear as a list of honor...these men were so well thought of that they are forever immortalized in sacred text... perhaps the opposite is true. Since the expedition (as we'll find out soon) doesn't go so well, perhaps this is a list of shame. Maybe it's a constant reminder that our leaders can let us down, can make mistakes, are far from perfect- and can't be the litmus of our own faith. If my spiritual stability is dependent upon church leaders, then I'm in trouble- because when they mess up (as they will- as I do...) my faith is damaged. I have to recognize the fallibility of us all and trust in God's grace- not in the models of leaders.

So Moses instructs them to go up through the Negev into the Hill country. He wants them to find out some particulars of the area- things like what the land is like- demographic information- how tough are these guys? What are the towns like? Good restaurants? How's the night life? Do they have trees? He instructs them to bring back some fruit. It happened to be grape season during the expedition. You know what that means... lots of grape juice.

So they came to a valley where they cut off a cluster of grapes to carry back on a pole- along with some pomegranates and figs. This was such an important moment that the valley was named the valley of cluster (Eshkol). Must have been a slow news day.

After forty days they returned home. Hope the grapes were still fresh.

Moe's Foes

Numbers 12

In this edition of Life in the Wilderness, sibling rivalry rears its ugly head. Aaron and Miriam start to talk smack about Moses- "God speaks through us, too," they proclaim. They seem to be none too happy being the supporting players anymore. Seems like Paul's tempted to break up the Beatles. Or more like Ringo is.

What strikes me most interesting about all the detail here is perspective. We're told the cause of this skirmish is that Moses has taken a Cushite wife. I'm not aware of any regulation against the marrying of foreign born partners, but it seems Moses' clan was none too keen on for'ners. And this skirmish has nothing to do with Moses, after all- as verse three tells us, Moses was "more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."

It seems like the fight is very one sided, jealous siblings hungry for power- and maybe I've been reading too much into Moses' character in previous readings. While he seems to be getting too big for his caftan, the scripture here is clear- Moses is humble... until you consider that the scripture is written by Moses. So, Moses is the self-proclaimed most humble man on earth. I doubt the Book of Miriam would have chronicled the interaction quite this way.

This is interesting to me and raises a question that might be fundamental to understanding all scripture. Does inspiration remove the biases of the chronicler or is Moses really humble and it would have wounded his pride to have to write about it if he had any pride in the first place. I tend to think that there's lots of Moses in the telling of these stories- I don't think he fell into a trance and woke up to find scrolls scribbled that he had no memory of.

Regardless, God comes down and calls the three of them out and sets them straight. First He lets them know that things are a little different between He and Moses. He implies that Aaron and Miriam may be prophets- and He speaks to prophets in dreams and visions- but there's no mystery when He talks to Moses. With Moses it's face to face, with no riddles- so, He asks, why didn't it scare you to trash him to the camp?

Once again, this might be Moses talking again. Don't you see how tight I am with God? Nothing like what the two of them have relationally. But it certainly creates some questions. Does God talk to some of us more directly than others? Do you get a direct voice, and I get a weird dream, but someone else gets nothing? Why does God send puzzling messages to prophets? Why not make His will plain? And does He keep talking to us until we get the message- or if we don't solve the riddle, does He move on to the next contestant?

So God gets angry and Miriam (notice not Aaron) is struck with leprosy- or at least some disease that turned her skin white. Maybe Miriam was pretty and Aaron wasn't so a skin disease would have meant more to her, but more likely this is just some old testament time misogyny. Aaron sees the disease, and perhaps feeling a bit guilty, begs through Moses to not hold their sin against them. He asks to not let her be like a "stillborn infant coming from its mother's womb with its flesh half eaten away." This is a difficult image to picture- but apparently Miriam didn't make People's most beautiful list this year.

Moses cries out to God to heal her and God does, but not immediately. He tells Moses, "“If her father had spit in her face, would she not have been in disgrace for seven days?"

So she is put out of the camp for a week while she healed and everyone stayed put (which would have made the issue public, I would think). After this they moved on to the desert of Paran.

God's justice here is a little troubling. Is He slow to forgive us too? Or did He forgive instantly but continue to teach Miriam (and Aaron indirectly) by this disease? And how does that translate into our forgiving each other?

In the meantime, how would you like to be this Cushite wife- already an outsider- talked about by family and now perhaps feeling guilty for the fate of her sister-in-law. Would this have made the relationship worse? Awkward Thanksgiving dinner? And in contrast how much pain would have been spared by open and accepting spirits?

Bread and Whine

Numbers 11: 4-35

So the Israelites have been feasting on manna for some time now. God blessed them with this coriander seed-like substance in abundance that they would cook in a pot or make into loaves. It had a taste of olive oil to it. I'm picturing bread from Romano's Macaroni Grill- although I'm sure that's a faulty analogy. Plus unlike at Romano's, instead of coloring on tablecloths while the bread is brought to you, they have to gather and create this food.

Instead of being grateful for the bread, a faction of Israelites Moses refers to as the "rabble" start to squawk. Give me some meat! I could go for for a big ol'e steak burrito! Anybody else wish we had watermelon? I'd even take a salad over this endless supply of bread! They complained of missing meat, and cucumbers, and melons, and leeks, and onions, and garlic.

This sounds like when I'm dieting and being a little pouty about it and start to talk about all the food I wish I was having. Oh- I could go for some Moose Tracks ice cream about now. I saw an ad for all you can eat wings...too bad I'm on a stupid diet. Instead of realizing that they have all that they need- and their needs are being met with a high-quality food, grumbling becomes a coping mechanism.

So- the source of the gift, God, is none too pleased with the reception of his bread. It's like I went home to dinner at my parent's house. Mom's cooked up something special for me and after it's put before me, I ask for something else. They don't just complain about the manna- they reminisce about the free fish they had back when they were slaves. They don't just not want mom's spaghetti, they want to eat someone else food as a slave. If your children tell you that being a slave is a better option than eating dinner at your house, you probably shouldn't be waiting by your mailbox for a mother's day card.

God gets angry- and Moses gets worried. In fact Moses reverts into martyr mode. God, why are You doing this to me? What have I done to deserve this? Why have you put this burden on me? They aren't my kids- why am I forced into being their nursemaids? Why do I have to baby them all the way to the land You said You'd give their ancestors? How am I supposed to get meat for all of these people? This is too much! If you love me, and this is how You're going to treat me- why don't You just go ahead and kill me?

Seems like Moses has already started down the path toward the infamous striking rock chapter of his life. He seems to view himself as the center of suffering- instead of as a servant to help alleviate it. I also sense a lot of "playing God" subtext in his diatribe. Where am I going to get meat? Moses... the same place you get the manna perhaps? Why do I have to get them to the land that You promised them? It seems like he's saying, "God, you created this mess with Your long overdue promise- why do I have to bail You out? (ital mine)

What Moses is doing here strikes me as being pretty similar to what these meat-starved bread eaters are engaged in; parading in self-pity.

It's easy to be hard on them- ingrates... you've been rescued, God is providing- stop your whining, but I think I would react similarly (though perhaps a bit more passive-aggressively). I love bread... but if that's all I had to eat, I would probably start to grumble. Bread is great, especially covering a cheeseburger, or sopping up gravy, or as a pastry after eating some ribs. I get their complaining. Don't misunderstand- they're still ungrateful, spoiled brats. I'm just saying that I'm one too.

And Moses- he's turned his life upside down to follow this path that God has directed him toward. He could be rich and living luxuriously. Instead he's leading a bunch of less than pleasant people through a desert. With all that walking I'm sure he has ample time to contemplate vocational decisions. Of course he's playing a martyr. His life has become cleaning up these people's messes. He's in charge of God's people. Once again- this isn't admirable... but I'd be throwing a pity party too- and you'd all be invited.

But God responds to both whines. First He tells Moses to gather together 70 elders he knows as leaders and officials and He'll divert some of the spirit from Moses' shoulders and make the burden a bit lighter.

He's a little less gentle with the Israelites. You want meat? I've heard you whining- and I'm going to give you meat. Oh, we miss Egypt- we want meat. Alright you ungrateful babies- I'm going to give you so much meat it will be coming out of your noses. You'll get meat for a month and you will be so sick of it- you'll run to the nearest city and join their chapter of PETA. You'll hate meat. This is all because you rejected Me.

Moses is skeptical. Um God? Maybe you haven't noticed but there are quite a few people here... like 600,000. Where are you going to find a month's worth of meat? Even if you gave them all the fish in the sea would that even be enough?

Umm Moe, did you miss the whole parting of the Red Sea thing? Maybe you didn't realize that I supply the manna already? Did you happen to catch that plague thing back in Egypt? If not, they replay it from time to time on the History Channel. God asks "Is my arm too short?" Moses, what have I yet failed to do?

So Moses gathered the 70 together and the spirit was shared and these 70 prophesied... but only once. So this solution to help ease Moses' burden was only a short term solution. Is this because the 70 didn't want to step on Moses' toes? Was God making a point about His will being questioned? Is God subtly telling Moses to stop being a baby? Did God view this one night off as enough of a break? It seems odd that such elaborate measures were taken for such a small solution. Moses seems happy to get what he could.

Two other elders were nearby, outside the tent where the big event was happening and the spirit rested on them as well. So- even though they weren't of the 70, they started prophesying too. Joshua sees it and runs to report it to Moses, asking him to stop them. And Moses disagrees with the plan of action. He asks Joshua- are you feeling jealous because you think that I'll be jealous. Are you kidding? I wish the whole camp had gotten the spirit and started prophesying.

Maybe he's wishing the joy of spiritual gifts on them all- but it reads to me like Moses is saying- if they could all prophesy, I could wash my hands of it. The more who jump in, the less I need to do. And while I think there is something admirable about wanting everyone to be involved in God's work- this seems to be foreshadowing Moses' meltdown.

Finally, the quail came. God sent a wind that brought the quail from the sea. There were so many that when the people went looking for it- no one found less than 1 3/4 tons of quail. I'm not sure how they would have carried this quail back to the camp- but regardless, they had plenty of bird. They sat around eating quail- but God seeing it all had His anger restirred and before they even finished chewing- He sent a plague down on them.

They named the place "Grave of Craving" (very bad for local real estate agents) because they ended up burying people who had craved other foods.

This blunt reaction from God is frightening and puzzling to me. I'm not sure what they did here that God didn't expect. He gave them the quail- He knew that they had been grumbling. Is it because they enjoyed it too much? Did they brag about convincing God? Were they just being gluttonous?

The bottom line is that God expects gratitude for what He's given. I think the key here may be attitude. Maybe when we grumble- we should be careful if we get what we ask for.

That Burns Me Up

Numbers 11:1-3

So the Israelites start whining (as Israelites tended to do) and it got back to God and He was none too pleased. In fact, He was riled up enough that fire "burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp." But apparently they had a change of heart when they felt their nose hair singeing and ran to Moses (as Israelites tended to do). Moses prayed, the fire died down and they named the place "Burning".

It's easy for me to identify with God on this one- it's hard to handle ingratitude. When you've given and given and it doesn't seem to be thought of as enough you can feel the fire build up inside. You start to wonder why you've even bothered and you might start letting the verbal molten lava flow (as actually burning things might seem a bit extreme or get you into legal trouble).

But while it's easy to think I'm lining up with God here, it's more likely that I'm the whiny Israelite wanting better perks, more money, more time for myself, less stress, and fewer demands. Instead of being grateful for what I've been given, I too often look at what I lack (even though that list is quite short when compared to most of the world). And it might be that Moses here is hinting at what Jesus is doing for me all these years later.

Father, I know he's acting like a spoiled brat...but don't get angry. Remember Your love for him, your promises. Be patient.

And while the thought of God being angry enough to spew actual fire is pretty unnerving- the idea of his calming down because of (presumably) a prayer from Moses is comforting. And even more comforting still knowing that Jesus is right there on our behalf.

Just Deserts

Numbers 10:11-36

On February 20th of year two the cloud rose and the caravan began. The Israelites said goodbye to the beautiful and luxurious Desert of Sinai and traveled to the surely equally scenic Desert of Paran. The Lord commanded them to leave through Moses.

The next fifteen verses or so detail the order in which they traveled and named the leader of each camp or unit. It's hard to see what use this detail is for us- but maybe closer to the writing of this description people would have taken pride in seeing their family names in the list. You know son, that Shelumiel was your great uncle's great, great father-in-law. ...And that, my boy, is why Zuar is still a family name.

Toward the end of the chapter, Moses has an interesting exchange with his brother-in-law, Hobab. Hobab was a Midianite and when Moses explained they were setting out for the promised land, and that if he tagged along he would be treated well, Hobab wasn't too keen on the idea.

Nope, he said, thanks anyhow Moe, I'm headed back to my own people who don't follow clouds and blow silver trumpets every few days.

Moses knew what Hobab could add to the expedition and begged him to stay. You know all the cool places to camp. Stay and you can be our eyes and we'll share whatever good things God gives us. We'll even call you Good-Eye Hobab.

So apparently he stayed and after three days of following the ark, they settled in.

When the ark set out, Moses would say,

“Rise up, LORD!

May your enemies be scattered;
may your foes flee before you.”

And whenever they rested it he would reply,

“Return, LORD,
to the countless thousands of Israel.”

It's interesting to me to consider the apparent responsibility Moses seems to feel for his traveling companions. He appeals to God on behalf of them all and seems to be reverent and concerned. We're a long way from the staff, rock, and water at this point.

Heavy Trumpetting
Numbers 10: 1-10
So Moses is told to create two trumpets out of hammered silver and that these trumpets would replace the Israelite batsign, or ambulance siren, or whatever notification system they happened to have in place at the time. God sets out a code for the Israelites for their Gillespie-ian mode of communication.

Both horns being blown indicates a meeting of the whole community at, approopriately enough, the Tent of Meeting. If only one horn is blown, the community leaders will come to where the people are for said meeting.

Now if the horns are blown with a certain signal, they indicate the need to set out from home. One blast means people in the east are to head out- the second blast means that the southern folks do the same. I'm guessing the trumpet blasts would usually be disruptive to the routine of the Israelite life. You've worked a long day and you're looking forward to a bowl of cheetos and an hour of The Is-real World and suddenly a change of plans, pack up the tent and head out. But maybe this is part of the point- a reminder that your days are not your own. You're not calling the shots- and your role is to be at the ready.

Then comes the part I think is the coolest. Aaron's sons are to be the trumpeters- and this ordinance is to be handed down. Now, when the Israelites are in battle and things aren't going so well- a blow from the trumpet indicates that you need a little help in the whole smiting department... God will remember you and rescue you- whether any smiting happens is unclear- but the trumpet blast brings relief.

I think it's pretty cool to think about Louis Armstrong (or just music in general) being a conduit to get help from God- but even more significantly, it's very interesting to think about this "magic horn" that will alert God to trouble and bring on His salvation. It does lead to some questions though. Would this be an easy thing to abuse? If you don't leave us alone, I'll blow this trumpet and then you'll be sorry. I guess limiting who can blow the horn would help with that issue.

Would it be easy to shift faith in God to faith in the trumpet? As long as we have the horn and breath to blow it, we'll be ok is a very different sentiment than as long as we have God we can overcome anything.

Why does God need a trumpet blast to remember me? Isn't He looking down already? Doesn't He know my needs before I ask them? Is the trumpet then just a symbol to remind them that God is there ready to help? It's a musical placebo. The only value there is that it gives the warriors confidence reminding them that God remembers them.

Finally, the trumpets serve as celebratory tools. they are to be used for rejoicing and festivals and feasts. They are to be sounded over burnt offerings and fellowship offerings and memorials. Aah, the power of music (even two trumpets) to raise spirits, create mood, bring people together, and invoke response from God.

Anyone for some Miles Davis?