Moses Could Have Used an Editor
Numbers 28:9-10


A short passage with more sacrificial decrees.  Every Sabbath, in addition to the burnt and drink offerings discussed last section, they are to offer two perfect lambs a year old.  It comes with an extra drink offering and a grain offering.

I wonder why Moses feels so compelled to chronicle all of the detail here.  We're nearing the end of Moses' life, so perhaps this was to serve as a reference book for them to insure they're getting the sacrifices right.  The sacrifices are likely continuing as the book is written, I assume.  So maybe it's just to keep them straight.

Or maybe Moses has a really sick sense of humor.  It could be like Andy Kaufman selling tickets for a stand-up performance and reading from The Great Gatsby for a couple of hours.  The joke is on them.

And maybe Moses is laughing now.  There's some schmuck in Tennessee pouring over all the boring detail in Numbers.  HAHAHA- I hope he keeps going.

...and I guess I will.

Mo Had a Little Lamb
Numbers 28: 1-8




God tells Moses to reinstate the food offerings.  Moses thinks it's a good literary choice to include all the detail of the offerings again here.  They are to present two pure year old lambs for sacrifice each day (surely this must mean the community as a whole and not each individual Israelite- or else there's a whole lotta killin' goin' on) one in the morning and one at twilight.  A drink offering of about a liter of fermented drink is to accompany each lamb.

That's it.  Not much to this section- except that as they enter the promised land, perhaps God is using this sacrifice as a way to create a little normalcy in their lives.  While they wouldn't have been at Sinai to witness or share in these sacrifices, perhaps the stories of them would remain in their families.  So maybe God is saying, Your parents didn't really get it, but I'm starting over with you- I'm asking the same things, I'm requiring the same obedience, the slate is clean and we'll try this again.  Please... learn from your parents.

Or maybe God really likes lamb chops.

Post Mo
Numbers 27:12-23


God tells Moses to head up the mountain so he can get a good view of the land he won't inherit.  After he sees it, God will gather him up.  God reminds him that he can't go in because he and Aaron didn't treat Him as holy back with that whole water from the rock thing.  At first glance this seems pretty harsh.  Here, smell this dessert that everyone but you will get to eat.  But this might be a way to show him what all the walking was for.  You aren't quite getting to the finish line- but without you, these people might not be here.  Look at the reward and picture them in it.

It's interesting too that his punishment is the afterlife.  Is going to "heaven" less of a reward than Canaan?  No, no mansion of gold for me, I'd prefer war with giants.  To be fair, as little as we understand about what is to come, these people likely knew even less. Perhaps this punishment was a reward in hindsight.

Moses, though, is concerned about the future of his people.  Look- without me they're going to be wandering aimlessly, falling into pits, losing their sandals, bumping into each other- they'll need a new shepherd.  God tells him to take Joshua, pus his hands on him before Eleazar and the whole community and give him some of his authority. Joshua is to stand before Eleazar who will give God's decisions using the Urim.  The people will move on his command.

OK- makes sense except for the whole Urim thing.  A quick google search indicates that the Urim (as opposed to the Thummim) was a special rock that indicated a yes/no response.  So, if after talking to God about an issue, one rock on the priest's breastplate lit up (like a lightbulb) it indicated God's response- like a divinely inspired magic 8 ball.

So Moses followed through and Joshua was commissioned.

Two things really strike me here.

First, even Moses didn't really get what happens after you die.  At least it sure seems that way.  And if Moses, the closest thing the Israelites have to Jesus- in fact a figure who in many ways foreshadows Jesus- didn't get it, we aren't likely going to figure it out either.  And so it becomes a lesson of trust.  Follow and trust.

Second, Moses worries about what he leaves behind.  It's great to be heaven-focused (yes, even essential) but it shouldn't make us less concerned about people who are still around.  Moses wanted to make sure that their well being was taken care of before he left for the real promised land.  And while Moses seems a bit full of himself (to me) at times- this is a great example of his selflessness.  

Susan B. Zelophehad
Numbers 27:1-11


So after entering the promised land, five sisters, the daughters of Zelophehad are none too pleased.  They came from the clan of Manasseh, but their father Zelophehad died in the wilderness.  So they came before Moses, Eleazar, the leaders and the whole assembly and said- look, daddy Zel had five daughters and no son.  He died in transit- he died for his sins, but it's not like he was one of the Kora followers who blatantly revolted against God.  Why should his name die out in the clan just because he didn't have any sons?  Here's a solution- give us what belonged to our family.

The council is shocked.  What, you mean women could actually own land?  But, how will you feed yourselves without men to help you?

OK, maybe they didn't go that far- but you have to be impressed with a story about women's rights in a book so often disturbingly misogynistic.

Moses takes the case before the Lord- and seems to not so much ask for counsel as to give it.  He says- these ladies are right.  You must give them their land and inheritance.

Must? This is much more than making God aware of the situation. It is clear to me that Moses' story is a foreshadowing of Jesus'.  He's not just a spokesperson, he's an advocate.  He's the defense attorney.  He's got their back very much like Christ's intercessions for us.

And God listens.  Tell them, He says, if a man dies with no sons, give the inheritance to his daughters.  If there are also no daughters, give it to his brothers.  If there are no brothers, go to the next closest relative.  Treat this like any other commandment- it has the force of law.


OK, so it's not exactly the ERA.  Women are still not getting the same perks as men here.  But at least for these five women (Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milkah and Tirzah) despite living in a patriarchal age they score a point for women.  


And what I take from this story is the importance of looking out for those whose voices are minimized- women, or minorities, or the poor, or the displaced, or prisoners, or the stranger, or the new guy, or immigrants, or homosexuals, or the inarticulate.  Whoever society thinks unworthy of power, (perhaps the thieves and prostitutes) are worthy of God's love and may only realize it when we treat them as equals.