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?

Seeing Red
Numbers 9:15-23

So- when the tabernacle was set up, it was covered by a cloud- a cloud that from evening to morning looked like fire. The Israelites were instructed to follow the fiery cloud. When it moved, they picked up camp and followed. When it stayed put, so did they. It might be just overnight- or it could stay in one place for a year- whatever the length of time, the cloud indicated when to pack up and leave.

So, would this blatant indicator of God's will make things easier or harder? There's little room for misunderstanding- we go where the cloud is. I don't have to figure out what's meant by language choices or decipher the context... I simply follow the big red cloud. But even then, could there have been debate about what the cloud meant. Hmm- it looks like it's moving more east than southeast to me. No... we need to move another 500 feet before camping. Are you sure this is the right cloud?

Clear direction often removes ambiguity but it also creates greater expectation. We may still follow the "red cloud" where It leads- but sometimes it's hard to know where it's going.

*

Numbers 9: 1-14

So God tells Moses to enforce the observance of the Passover celebration. It's to happen on January 14th (or their equivalent- month one, day fourteen). So Moses passes the word along and they worship as commanded.

However there were some who were excluded from the celebration because they were unclean because of contact with a dead body. So they approached Moses and said- "Hey, why should we miss out on this party just because we're unclean?"

Moses says. "Hmmm, let me check on that for you- I'll see what God says."

God agrees with the unclean man- He says "people shouldn't be excluded from the celebration. If an Israelite is unclean on the big day or on a journey, he should celebrate on February 14th at twilight." He is to eat lamb, unleavened bread and bitter herbs. He's not to leave any of it until morning or break it's bones.

However, if you're not unclean or on a journey, you must celebrate on the first day (God's offering is due). This isn't a pick your more convenient feast day kind of deal. If you don't celebrate the first day and you don't fit this exemption, you are to be cut off from your people. It seems that your sins will not be forgiven.

If an alien (person from another country, not outer space) decides to celebrate- they can, but they must follow all the same rules.

This passage intrigues me. There seems to be some pretty deep revelation here.

First off, the idea of forced celebration is odd. It seems like a mandatory party wouldn't always be that much fun. But I think the idea is more that sacrifice is due- and perhaps "observe" is a better word than "celebrate" for what actually is happening.

But a bigger deal is the exception made. God makes a law- and someone says, yeah, but what if...?

And God rethinks it and makes exceptions. Beyond what was even asked.

So why hadn't God already realized the conflicting rules?

And what does this mean for God's laws now? Are there times when what He's asked is impossible to fulfill? When telling the truth would hurt an innocent party? When two rules have to be considered and one chosen?

I don't think we should enter deliberation assuming that we're the exception. I think it's easy to find reasons to not do what God wants, but we may end up finding ourselves there. And when we do- like Moses, we talk to God about it- and proceed the best way that we can.

And maybe it's partly because of this issue that Jesus later boils it all down to "love God and love your neighbor." These take precedent over them all.

Israeli Mosh Pits

Numbers 8: 5-26

Moses received the task of making the Levites ceremonially clean. To make this happen, he was to sprinkle the "water of cleansing" on them (which kind of sounds like what I might just call "water"). Then they were to shave their bodies and wash their clothes.

Then come the offerings- a young bull with its grain offering, and another bull for a sin offering. After that the Levites are brought to to the community where the Israelites lay hands on them. Is this the Holy Land version of a rock star sighting? Bono comes out and slaps some hands before heading back to isolation and getting to work?

Aaron then presents them as a wave offering. Before this happens, the Levites lay their hands on some animals that are then used as sacrifices (sin and burnt). They facilitate sacrifice and then become a sacrifice- not in a burned at the stake, ritualistic, creepy, drink the kool-aid cult kind of way- but in a giving up a life spent with the other Isralites and devoting yourself to the work of God kind of way.

God says that receiving them as a sacrifice replaces the need for the Israelites to give their firstborn to God. When He struck down the firstborn in Egypt, He had them in mind for the Isrealite part of it all. He takes ownership of all firstborn, whether man or animal.

Levite men are to be devoted to the work of God from age 25-50. After that, they can assist their brothers in the work, but they can't do it themselves.

I wonder if when every crop of Levites were cleansed- when the Israelites were laying their hands on them, they consciously thought- if it weren't for these guys, my son would be dead. If these Levites didn't sacrifice- I would lose so much.

And I think of my need to ponder the same thought more often. Without the sacrifice of another infamous firstborn, I would lose so much more.

Don't Even Consider That Whole Under the Bushel Thing

Numbers 8: 1-4

God tells Moses to tell Aaron that the lamps are supposed to illuminate the area in front of the lampstands. Aaron makes it happen. The lampstands are made the way God commanded.

That's it.

It seems fairly intuitive. Were they much into back lighting in this era? Maybe it wouldn't have been obvious to light the area in front of the lights, but if not any doubt is removed.

Maybe the key here is to establish a pattern of communication. God speaks to Aaron through Moses- even for things like where to point the light.

And a Partridge in a Pear Tree

Numbers 7

It is evident to me that Moses never took a creative writing course.

This chapter repeats ad nauseum the offerings of the different families at the tabernacle. This wouldn't be so bad (well, maybe it would) if the offerings weren't all identical. Still, though, Moses finds it necessary to spell it all out.

After he sets up the tabernacle, anoints it and consecrates its furnishings, the heads of the families got together (an obvious influence on the Godfather films)- each family brought an ox- and every two families offered a cart- this went to the Levites.

They split the oxen and carts up as needed- Kohathites got none, because they were supposed to carry things on their shoulders. To dedicate the altar, each day one family leader would come with their offerings. Moses tells us whose day it is and then says

"13His offering was one silver plate weighing a hundred and thirty shekels,^a and one silver sprinkling bowl weighing seventy shekels,^b both according to the sanctuary shekel, each filled with fine flour mixed with oil as a grain offering; 14one gold dish weighing ten shekels,^c filled with incense; 15one young bull, one ram and one male lamb a year old, for a burnt offering;16one male goat for a sin offering; 17and two oxen, five rams, five male goats and five male lambs a year old, to be sacrificed as a fellowship offering."

Then he reminds us again whose day it was. He does this twelve times. No twists. No build. No excitement.

I'm not sure why we need such detail. Maybe this was an attempt to stress that all the families were equally dedicated. No one needs to get all Cain and Abel on anyone else.

Maybe this was a repetitive device to help them remember what was sacrificed- although I'm not sure how far after the fact they'd be reading this. It could have been a moot point by then.

Maybe Moses just needed a better editor.

He ends the chapter with a cool image- when Moses enters the Tent of Meeting to talk with God, His voice comes from between the two cherubim above the atonement cover on the ark of the testimony.

This must have been an amazing experience- to talk to God, and to actually hear him talk back. To have a physical place to go and literally have a conversation with God.

Why he spent 88 verses on the sacrifices and one on the conversation is frustrating.

My Breakfast with Blessings

Numbers 6:22-27

Really short section consisting primarily of instructions for Aaron and his sons on how to bless the Israelites.

The blessing is short and commonly known:

²⁴ " ' "The LORD bless you

and keep you;

²⁵ the LORD make his face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;

²⁶ the LORD turn his face toward you
and give you peace." '

It's interesting to me that the blessings come from God. So essentially God wishes his own blessings on the Israelites. At first it seems a little silly to me. If God wishes his face to shine upon them, why doesn't He just do it? But maybe from his perspective He's wishing that the Israelites be the kind of people He would shine his face upon.

But regardless, He is claiming the Israelites for Himself. He goes on to say "they will put My name on the Israelites." He wanted them- He was looking to lavish them with blessings.

And as His people today, I'm confident He wants the same for us.

So today- my wish for you is that God blesses you and keeps you. That his face shines blindingly bright on you and His grace pours down on you. May God turn His face on you and may you receive peace.