03/06/10

Numbers 34-36

In chapter 34, the LORD outlines the boundaries of the land that he is giving the Israelites, by noteworthy cities and towns, and geographical barriers. The western boundary is the Mediterranean, "the coast of the Great Sea." To the south, it reaches to the Wadi of Egypt, on the east it extends to the Jordan and the "Salt Sea," and to the north it coes to Mount Hor. It was to be divided among 9 1/2 tribes, with Reuben, Gad and Manasseh already having received theirs on the east side of the Jordan "toward the sunrise." One man from each of the remaining ten tribes were set to assist Eleazar and Joshua in assigning the land.

The Levites were given towns in chapter 35, and the pastureland around them extending out for 3000 feet for their cattle and livestock. Six of the forty-eight towns assigned to the Levites were to be Sanctuary Cities, three on each side of the Jordan. The Sanctuary cities were to be a refuge for anyone, Israelite or alien, to flee to in case they accidentally killed another. Anyone striking someone with "an iron object" or "a stone in his hand" or "a wooden object in his hand" such that that person dies is a murderer. "The avenger of blood shall put the murderer to death when he meets him." But someone killing another "without hostility," unintentionally, shall be protected from "the avenger of blood" in the sanctuary cities until the high priest dies, and then he can return to his home. The penalty for murder is death, but there must be witnesses and "no one is to be put to death on the testimony of only one witness."

In chapter 36, some of the heads of Israelite clans discussed, again, the issue of Zelophehad's daughters and their inheritance. The issue was that if they married men from other tribes, the inheritance would end up leaving their tribe. Moses said that the LORD said they could marry anyone they wanted as long as it was "within the tribal clan of their father" and that no inheritance in Israel was to pass from tribe to tribe. And the book of Numbers ends with "these are the commands and regulations the LORD gave through Moses to the Israelites on the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Numbers is a bit of a smorgasbord. There are passages of law, narrative stories, scenes of sex and war, obedience and reward, disobediance and punishment, and long passages of historical data, such as the two censuses, the travel itinerary and the historical boundaries of the promised land. It covers almost the entire forty year span of the Israelites wandering between the exodus and the conquest.
• The boundaries of the promised land are well defined. I'm curious, though, as to how well we understand any of them today. Clearly, the Jordan and the Mediterranean are what they are, but the rest of the identifying boundaries are based on place names. How well do we understand, now, where the places referred to are or were?
• The concept of Sanctuary as we currently understand it apparently dates back to Numbers 35. Interestingly, though, it does not exist to protect murderers, but accidental killers.

Psalms 25

A psalm of praise of the power and glory of GOD.

Psalm 29
A psalm of David.
1 Ascribe to the LORD, O mighty ones,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.

2 Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
worship the LORD in the splendor of his holiness.

3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
the LORD thunders over the mighty waters.

4 The voice of the LORD is powerful;
the voice of the LORD is majestic.

5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
Sirion like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of the LORD strikes
with flashes of lightning.

8 The voice of the LORD shakes the desert;
the LORD shakes the Desert of Kadesh.

9 The voice of the LORD twists the oaks
and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, "Glory!"

10 The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
the LORD is enthroned as King forever.

11 The LORD gives strength to his people;
the LORD blesses his people with peace.

03/05/10

Numbers 31-33

In Numbers 31, the Israelites attack the Midianites. The LORD told Moses to have the Israelites "take vengeance on the Midianites," after which he would "be gathered to your people." So Moses told the people to arm some of their men to go to war. So twelve thousand men, one thousand from each tribe, were supplied and went out to fight, along with Phinehas (son of Eleazar) who took articles from the Sanctuary and the trumpets. They killed every man, including the five kings of Midian, and also killed Balaam. They captured the women and children and gathered all of the Midianite herds, flocks and goods as plunder. When they returned, Moses was angry for them having allowed the women to live, as they were the ones "who followed Balaam's advice" and "were the means of turning the Israelites away from the LORD." He told them to kill all of the boys and women "who have lain with a man" but to save the virgins for themselves. And then they all had to be purified who had killed or touched a dead body. They gave half of the spoils to the men who had fought, and the other half to the rest of the Israelites. Of the soldiers plunder, one five-hundredth went to the priests, and of the rest, one-fiftieth went to the Levites.

In chapter 32, the Reubenites and Gadites, with large flocks, "saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock." So the told Moses and Eleazar that they would prefer to stay there, but Moses was angry with them, as they were expected to fight with the rest of the tribes to take the land that the LORD had promised them. They said that they would carry arms and participate in the conquest, and Moses agreed that they could, after the conquest, "return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD."

Numbers 33 contains the "travelogue," a list of the places that the Israelites traveled and camped during their forty years in the desert. And the LORD said to Moses to tell the Israelites to "drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places. Take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given you the land to possess... if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• It's rather stunning to see Balaam re-appear here. In his prior appearance, he refused to curse the Israelites for Balak, and did everything the LORD told him. There's no intermediate indication that he did anything wrong, so for them to blame him for Midian's seduction and kill him is more than a little bit surprising.
• The killing of the male children and the non-virgin women is the kind of total war that makes for shocking reading.
• It's easy to look at the Reubenites and Gadites and think, "they are satisfied with what they have - good for them." But it doesn't work that way. There's a covenant, and while GOD's part is to watch over them and deliver the promised land, their part is to follow his laws and take it.
• In the forty years of wandering, the Israelites "camped at" forty-two different places, a little over one per year.

Psalms 28

Again, the psalmist turns to GOD from despair, crying out for mercy from the GOD he praises.

Psalm 28
Of David.
1 To you I call, O LORD my Rock;
do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

2 Hear my cry for mercy
as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
toward your Most Holy Place.

3 Do not drag me away with the wicked,
with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
but harbor malice in their hearts.

4 Repay them for their deeds
and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
and bring back upon them what they deserve.

5 Since they show no regard for the works of the LORD
and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
and never build them up again.

6 Praise be to the LORD,
for he has heard my cry for mercy.

7 The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

8 The LORD is the strength of his people,
a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.

9 Save your people and bless your inheritance;
be their shepherd and carry them forever.

03/04/10

Numbers 28-30

In Numbers 28-29, the LORD reiterates and systematically describes the offering schedule. He lists first the offerings that are to be made daily, then the offerings made on the Sabbath and the monthly offerings ("on the first of every month"). This is followed by the offering instructions for the Passover ("on the fourteenth day of the first month"), the Feast of Weeks, the Feast of Trumpets ("first day of the seventh month"), the Day of Atonement ("tenth day of this seventh month") and the Feast of Tabernacles (eight days, from the "fifteenth day of the seventh month").

Chapter 30 contains instructions from the LORD on the keeping of oaths and vows. A man who makes a vow to the LORD must keep it. A woman still living in her father's house was not obligated to keep the vow unless her father hears it and says nothing. If he forbids, however, "the LORD will release her." Likewise, a married woman makes vows only subject to the approval of her husband. A widow or divorced woman can make binding vows.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• I presume that the offering regulations here are in harmony with those offered elsewhere, in Exodus and Leviticus, but I haven't had a chance to examine the various passages. I may do that at some point, because it strikes me that a harmony of the offerings would be interesting. On the other hand, there are probably 50 of them available on the internet right now, so I may not.
• It strikes me reading this passage that the "odor pleasing to the LORD" is going to be an odor pleasing to the people, as well. The Tabernacle is going to, well, reek. There's blood everywhere. Animal blood baking in the sun is an upleasant odor. Certainly, the burning offering are going to give off an odor that masks that and is far less unpleasant.
• The obvious reaction to the vows section in chapter 30 is that it's horribly sexist. But I don't know that that's the correct way to read it. If women were considered incapable, however, divorced and widowed women would not be able to make binding vows. Certainly, the husband and father relationships are given more authority, but also more responsibility. Culturally, in a time and place without advanced medical care or contraception, the responsibility for going out into the world and supporting a family could not - literally could not - fall to a child-bearing woman.
• It's important to remember that GOD was speaking, always, to a specific people, in a specific time and place and condition. We need to study his word because it is his word, but the specific applications are to conditions as the Israelites found them in the desert, in Moab.

Psalms 27

When we are frightened, scared of the world around us, when we feel as if "evil men advance against me" but we turn to the LORD in prayer, that's when we're praying as the psalmist did in Psalm 27. And really, everything in the middle is just commentary or amplification on the first and last lines. "The LORD is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? ... Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD!" As the Veggie-Tales characters sang, "GOD is bigger than the boogey-man."

Psalm 27
Of David.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

2 When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh, [a]
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

3 Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

4 One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

5 For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

6 Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

7 Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

8 My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

10 Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

11 Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

12 Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

13 I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

14 Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.

03/03/10

Numbers 25-27

Numbers 25 relates the seduction of Israel by Moab. As they were waiting in Shittim, the men "began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women." This led them into making sacrifices to Baal, to eating and bowing down before and worshiping Baal, "and the LORD's anger burned against them." The LORD said to Moses to take the leaders and kill them, so Moses told Israel's judges to "put to death those of your men" who were worshipping Baal. One of the Israelites (Zimri, son of Salu, a Simeonite) brought a Moab woman "right before the eyes of Moses and the whole assembly of Israel." Phinehas, son of Eleazar (high priest since the death of his father Aaron) took a spear, entered the tent and killed both Zimri and the Moabite woman with one thrust. This stopped the plague spreading through the camp, but 24,000 had already died. The LORD expressed pleasure with Phinehas "for he was as zealous as I am for my honor" and made a covenant of a lasting priesthood with him and his descendants. The LORD told Moses to "treat the Midianites as enemies and kill them" because they had seduced the people of Israel.

In chapter 26, they take another census of the people, finding that the count is essentially unchanged since the exodus, though some tribes have had significant changes. The total count, including the Levites, was 624,730 at the time of the second census. The LORD told Moses that the land was to be allotted to them "based on the number of names," with larger groups getting larger portions and smaller groups smaller portions. The number for the division was 601,730, because the Levites had no inheritance of the land. And there were no men in this census who were also in the first census other than Caleb, Joshua and Moses.

In chapter 27, the daughters of Zelophehad (Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah) of the tribe of Manasseh approached the entrance of the Tent of Meeting and told Moses, Eleazar and the whole assembly that it was not right that their "father's name [should] disappear from his clan because he had no son," and that they should have property among their father's relatives. Moses brought this to the LORD, who agreed and said that they should have property as an inheritance among their father's relatives. And he gave the Israelites the law of inheritance. Then the LORD told Moses to "go up this mountain...and see the land I have given the Israelites." Because of the failure of Moses and Aaron to honor GOD at Meribah Kadesh, Moses was to be "gathered to your people" just as Aaron had been. Moses asked the LORD to appoint a successor "so the LORD's people will not be like sheep without a shepherd." The LORD told him to lay his hands upon Joshua, and Moses did as the LORD had instructed him.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Obviously, this is not the first time that sex is an issue. Nor will it be the last. It is very possibly the single aspect of our being most easily corrupted and misused.
• The second census:
  

  The Second Census - Numbers 26

  Tribe	Count (2nd census)	Count (first census)	Increase
  Reuben	43,730	46,500	-2,770
  Simeon	22,200	59,300	-37,100
  Gad	40,500	45,650	-5,150
  Judah	76,500	74,600	1,900
  Issachar	64,300	54,400	9,900
  Zebulun	60,500	57,400	3,100
  Joseph (Ephraim)	32,500	40,500	-8,000
  Joseph (Manasseh)	52,700	32,200	20,500
  Benjamin	45,600	35,400	10,200
  Dan	64,400	62,700	1,700
  Asher	53,400	41,500	11,900
  Naphtali	45,400	53,400	-8,000
  Total	601,730	603,550	-1,820
  Levi (Numbers 3)	23,000	22,000	1,000
  Twelve Tribes	624,730	625,550	-820

  • It is not clear exactly how much has elapsed between the first and second censuses. The last specific time reference was much earlier in the book, in chapter 9, when the LORD spoke to Moses "in the first month of the second year" after the exodus. The "wandering" didn't really start until chapter 14, after they balked at entering the promised land following the report of the exploration. Moses is still alive even though he was old when they started. On the other hand,
    

    Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the LORD had told those Israelites they would surely die in the desert, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun.

    So some significant amount of time has to have elapsed. Is this the full "40 years" that is traditionally attributed to the wandering in the desert? I don't know, though presumably I'll understand more by the time I get to the end of Deuteronomy.
  • However long it's been, there have been significant population shifts. The most extreme are Simeon, which lost nearly 63% of its population, and Mannasseh, which grew by 63%. On the whole, however, the nation is almost exactly the same size as it was at the foot of Mt. Sinai. At the rate of growth experienced in Egypt, and assuming forty more years, it would have been over 1.8 million people, almost three times the size that it is.
  • Obviously, wandering in the desert isn't the ideal circumstance for having and raising healthy kids. Also, there were several instances in which significant numbers were killed.
    

    Numbers 11:1 - "Then fire from the LORD burned among them and consumed some of the outskirts of the camp."
    Numbers 11:33 - "the anger of the LORD burned against the people, and he struck them with a severe plague."
    Numbers 14:45 - "Then the Amalekites and Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah."
    Numbers 16:32 - "and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them, with their households and all Korah's men and all their possessions"
    Numbers 16:35 - "And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men who were offering the incense."
    Numbers 16:49 - "But 14,700 people died from the plague, in addition to those who had died because of Korah."
    Numbers 21:6 - "Then the LORD sent venomous snakes among them; they bit the people and many Israelites died."
    Numbers 25:9 - "but those who died in the plague numbered 24,000"

    The enumerated casualties (24,000 + 14,700 + 250) equal 38,950, a miniscule portion of the missing 1.2 million, even if the casualties had all been incurred on the first day. But there were many more dead who were not enumerated, and doubtless other instances of mass casualties which aren't mentioned.
  • One can easily understand the LORD's anger with the constant complaining and questioning of the Israelites. But this missing population is interesting, too. Clearly, the population did not grow while wandering the desert. After a survivor birth rate of ~3.4 while in Egypt, the years of wandering produced a survivor birth rate at just about replacement level (~2). It was clearly a hard living, even under the care and protection of GOD.


• Moses is going to die without entering the promised land. Is it kindness or torment to be allowed to see it? One could read it as the latter, as an additional punishment, but I think it's more likely that the former is correct. GOD's saying to Moses, "I've told you that you can't go in, but you can see what you're work has achieved for my people."

Psalms 26

I've written before of the difference in the Christian and Jewish outlook towards judgement, and we see those differences as being very apparent in the psalms. Here, again, the psalmist is claiming GOD's mercy as his due, as something that he has earned.

Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have led a blameless life...I abhor the assembly of evildoers and refuse to sit with the wicked...Do not take away my soul along with sinners...I lead a blameless life...in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

We pray the psalms, as they are prayers of historic significance, which men through the ages have recognized as great. But this is not a Christian prayer...

Psalm 26

1 Vindicate me, O LORD,
for I have led a blameless life;
I have trusted in the LORD
without wavering.

2 Test me, O LORD, and try me,
examine my heart and my mind;

3 for your love is ever before me,
and I walk continually in your truth.

4 I do not sit with deceitful men,
nor do I consort with hypocrites;

5 I abhor the assembly of evildoers
and refuse to sit with the wicked.

6 I wash my hands in innocence,
and go about your altar, O LORD,

7 proclaiming aloud your praise
and telling of all your wonderful deeds.

8 I love the house where you live, O LORD,
the place where your glory dwells.

9 Do not take away my soul along with sinners,
my life with bloodthirsty men,

10 in whose hands are wicked schemes,
whose right hands are full of bribes.

11 But I lead a blameless life;
redeem me and be merciful to me.

12 My feet stand on level ground;
in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

03/02/10

Numbers 22-24

In Numbers 22, the Israelites have camped along the Jordan river, across the river from Jericho. Balak, the king of Moab, was fearful because of what Israel had done to the Amorites, so he send a delegation of the elders of Midian to summon Balaam to curse the Israelites. But GOD told Balaam not to go, so they returned his answer to Balak. He sent another delegation, and this time, GOD told him to go with them, but only to do what he said. The next morning, Balaam mounted his donkey and went with the delegation of Moabites, but "GOD was very angry when he went." An Angel of the Lord blocked his path so that his donkey would not continue, and he beat her. This happened three times, and the "LORD opened the donkey's mouth" so that she could ask what she had done to be beaten. Then "the LORD opened Balaam's eyes" and he saw the angel and "bowed low and fell facedown." The Angel told him to go on, "but speak only what I tell you." When he arrived, Balak greeted him and berated him for not coming sooner, but Balaam told him that "I must speak only what God puts in my mouth." After a sacrifice, Balak took him to Bamoth Baal, where he could see part of the Israelite camp.

Over the next two chapters, Numbers 23-24, Balak and Balaam build seven altars on three different sites at three different times, sacrificed a bull and a ram on each, and Balaam provided an oracle. In each of the three cases, Balaam offered an oracle ("the LORD put a message in Balaam's mouth") which refused to curse Israel. "How can I curse those whom GOD has not cursed? ... No misfortune is seen in Jacob, no misery observed in Israel. The LORD their God is with them; the shout of the King is among them...Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse them? 'May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!'" Each time, Balak berates Balaam, and Balaam responds that he had told Balak the he must say what the LORD puts in his mouth. "Then Balak's anger burned against Balaam" and he told him that there would be none of the promised reward. But Balaam delivered another oracle to Balak, telling him that "a star will come out of Jacob; a scepter will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab...A ruler will come out of Jacob and destroy the survivors of the city." He also foretold doom for the Amalekite and Kenites and Asshurites, before returning to his home.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• I thought that the story of Balaam's ass was later, somewhere in Kings or Chronicles. I was wrong.
• There are several strange or curious aspects to this story.
  
  • Who is Balaam?
  • How does he know GOD, and talk to GOD? This is one of the few indicators in the Pentateuch that GOD is not just talking to the Israelites. Melchizedek, back in Genesis 14, was another.
  • GOD tells Balaam to go with the Midianites. The next morning, he is angered when Balaam does so. What's missing?
• Balak was not a very good listener. (An occupational hazard of royalty, of course.)
• OK, I'll admit it - sometimes, I have difficulty focusing on the story and the point of the story if there's something about it that distracts me. And what distracts me about this is how did this story get included in this part of the book of Numbers? There are no Israelites here, other than distant object of fear (Balak) and veneration (Balaam). How did the story get into the books of Moses?

Psalms 25

A psalm of praise and supplication. "To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul...may integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope is in you." The psalmist expresses his trust in the LORD, and asks for guidance and protection. Yes, that's a fairly generic comment which could apply to most of the psalms.


Verses 4-5 have been set by Walter Pelz in a lovely anthem which I've done several times, and like.

Psalm 25
Of David.
1 To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul;

2 in you I trust, O my God.
Do not let me be put to shame,
nor let my enemies triumph over me.

3 No one whose hope is in you
will ever be put to shame,
but they will be put to shame
who are treacherous without excuse.

4 Show me your ways, O LORD,
teach me your paths;

5 guide me in your truth and teach me,
for you are God my Savior,
and my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember, O LORD, your great mercy and love,
for they are from of old.

7 Remember not the sins of my youth
and my rebellious ways;
according to your love remember me,
for you are good, O LORD.

8 Good and upright is the LORD;
therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.

9 He guides the humble in what is right
and teaches them his way.

10 All the ways of the LORD are loving and faithful
for those who keep the demands of his covenant.

11 For the sake of your name, O LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

12 Who, then, is the man that fears the LORD ?
He will instruct him in the way chosen for him.

13 He will spend his days in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.

14 The LORD confides in those who fear him;
he makes his covenant known to them.

15 My eyes are ever on the LORD,
for only he will release my feet from the snare.

16 Turn to me and be gracious to me,
for I am lonely and afflicted.

17 The troubles of my heart have multiplied;
free me from my anguish.

18 Look upon my affliction and my distress
and take away all my sins.

19 See how my enemies have increased
and how fiercely they hate me!

20 Guard my life and rescue me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in you.

21 May integrity and uprightness protect me,
because my hope is in you.

22 Redeem Israel, O God,
from all their troubles!

03/01/10

Numbers 18-21

In chapter 18, the LORD spoke to Aaron, and told him that he and his sons "and your father's family" will bear the responsibility for any offenses against the sanctuary, and that he and his sons will bear responsibility for any offenses against the priesthood. The other Levites have been given to do the work of the Tent of Meeting, but only he and his sons may serve as priests at the altar and inside the curtain - anyone else would be put to death. With their burdens and responsibilities, they will also be supported by the offerings of the people. He and his sons are to have "\the part of the most holy offerings that is kept from the fire." The LORD gives them that as their portion. That also means that they "will have no inheritance in their land...I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites." They are to have "all the tithes in Israel as their inheritance."

Numbers 19 describes the water of cleansing. A red heifer "without defect or blemish" is to be sacrificed and burned, with cedar, hyssop and scarlet wool tossed on while its burning. The ashes are to be gathered by someone clean and put in a ceremonially clean place outside camp. The ashes, placed in a clean jar with clean water forms the water of cleansing, which can be used to clean unclean people and things.

In chapter 20, Miriam dies and is buried at Kadesh. Then the company grumbles against Moses and Aaron again, because there is no water. Moses and Aaron "fell facedown" in the Tent of Meeting, and "the glory of the LORD appeard to them." He told Moses to gather the assembly and to speak to a rock, and "it will pour out its water." So Moses speaks to the assembly, calls them rebels, and strikes the rock with his staff, and water gushes out. But the LORD was angered with Moses "because you did not trust in me enought to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites," and he told him that he would not lead the people in to the promised land.

Moses sent messages to the king of Edom, telling him about the promises the LORD had made and how he had brought them out of Egypt, and asked permission to pass through Edom. But the Edomites refused and threatened to attack them if they tried. The Israelites sent back word that they would stay on the main road, and take nothing, not even grass or water, but again the Edom said no, and "came out against them with a large and powerful army." So Israel turned away.

After that they left Kadesh and came to Mount Hor, where the LORD told Moses and Aaron that "Aaron will be gathered to his people." At the LORD's command, they went up Mount Hor with Eleazar and transferred the priestly garments on to him, and then Aaron died on top of the mountain. The whole of Israel mourned for 30 days.

Numbers 21 starts with a story of the Canaanite king of Arad capturing some Israelites as they traveled the road to Atharim. Israel pledged to GOD that if he would "deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities." The LORD heard, and gave the Canaanites over to them and they destroyed the cities.

But, as they traveled the Red Sea route around Edom, they again grew miserable and grumbled against Moses and against the LORD. The LORD sent venomous snakes among them and many died, but Moses prayed, and the LORD told him to "make a snake and put it on a pole." Moses made a bronze snake and put it on a pole, and anyone who was bitten could look at the bronze snake and live. They continued on towards Moab, and the book describes places along the way. It also references another book, apparently now lost, called the "Book of the Wars of the LORD."

As they had done with Edom, the Israelites sent a message to Sihon, king of the Amorites, that they would take nothing if allowed to pass through, but, also like the Edomites, Sihon refused. He mustered his army and marched out to attack. The Israelites won, and "took over his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, but only as far as the Ammonites." They captured all of the cities of the Amorites and occupied them. Moses then sent spies to Jazer and captured its settlements and "drove out the Amorites who were there." They then turned towards Bashan, and Og, kind of Bashan, marched to meet them with his entire army. The LORD told Moses that "I have handed him over to you," and they struck him down and his whole army, "leaving them no survivors," and "took possession of his land."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• Among a nation set apart from other nations, the descendants of Aaron are set apart yet again, as a priesthood among the nation of priests. That seems a heavy burden.
• Ps 51:7 - "Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow."
  
  I've recited that many times, as we read the 51st psalms as a prayer of confession before the Lord's Supper at Park Street. But I never understood the context for it. Now I do. It's a reference to Numbers 19 and the water of purification. The ashes from the purification offering, with clean water, are sprinkled using hyssop. And there was hyssop burned as part of the purification offering. The ritual was to be performed to make the unclean clean. So this is a prayer for ritualistic cleansing as the LORD commands.
• It's difficult to be sure what, exactly, Moses did that angered GOD at Meribah. My best guess reading is that Moses said "must we bring you water out of this rock" rather than "must the LORD bring water out of this rock" but I don't know that for sure. I may be misreading. If that's it, again, it seems harsh to treat Moses that way after the service he's given (albeit, not without some grumbling of his own along the way.) Maybe that's part of the lesson. "With GOD all things are possible" and failing to acknowledge the work of the LORD is a sin. And all sin, and fall short, and are in danger of judgement. If Moses can be kept out of the promised land for mis-speaking at this point and in this way, how could any of us possibly think we've "earned" our way in to heaven?
• Aaron's death seems...unseemly. I guess that it makes sense, if dead bodies are unclean, that you don't want him dying in the priestly garments, but the passage reads cold. Aaron also gave good service to the LORD.
  
  But again, all sin, all fall short. Even Aaron, even Moses.
• As some point, you assume that you're going to stop reading things like this:
  

  They quarreled with Moses and said, "If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the LORD! Why did you bring the LORD's community into this desert, that we and our livestock should die here? Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place?

  But no. No amount of convincing seems to work. Here, in chapter 20, complaining about their conditions.
  
  And here again in chapter 21:
  

  ...they spoke against God and against Moses, and said, "Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the desert? There is no bread! There is no water! And we detest this miserable food!"

  It's understandable why the LORD was angered against them.
• Yes, GOD told them to make the bronze snake while they made the golden calf on their own, but that strikes me as dangerously close to idol worship. And it's definitely the kind of thing that leads to idol worship - "hey, that bronze snake can protect you from snake bites!"
• It seems likely that Numbers 21 marks the actual start of the conquest of Canaan, which is predominantly documented in the book of Joshua.

Psalms 24

Another psalm of praise, of acknowledgment of the LORD and the debts we all owe to him. "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it..." But again, we see the Jewish perspective of ritualistic cleansing, of following the law, as preparing a man to "ascend the hill of the LORD." The Christian perspective is that none of us can ever prepare to ascend that hill on our own, that no amount of works or cleansing can enable a man to follow the law well enough to earn that. Only Jesus could ascend that hill, and we can only do it in him.

One of Handel's wonderful Messiah choruses is the last four verses of this psalm.

Psalm 24
Of David. A psalm.
1 The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it,
the world, and all who live in it;

2 for he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the waters.

3 Who may ascend the hill of the LORD ?
Who may stand in his holy place?

4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to an idol
or swear by what is false. [a]

5 He will receive blessing from the LORD
and vindication from God his Savior.

6 Such is the generation of those who seek him,
who seek your face, O God of Jacob. [b]
Selah

7 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
be lifted up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

8 Who is this King of glory?
The LORD strong and mighty,
the LORD mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O you gates;
lift them up, you ancient doors,
that the King of glory may come in.

10 Who is he, this King of glory?
The LORD Almighty—
he is the King of glory.
Selah

02/27/10

Numbers 1-3

In the first part of Numbers 15, the LORD conveys to the Israelites, through Moses, information about some further detail on some offerings, including the kind of grain and drink offerings to give with various animal sacrifices. He tells them that the rules apply both to native born and aliens, "a lasting ordinance for the generations to come." And he told them again that the offerings to the LORD should come "from the first of your ground meal." These rules are followed with more rules for offerings for unintentional sins. "But anyone who sins defiantly...must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the LORD's word and broken his commands...his guilt remains on him." The chapter ends with instructions from the LORD that they are to wear tassels on the corners of their garments, to remind them of the commands of the LORD.

Between the offering commands and the instructions to wear tassels, however, there's a story of a man "found gathering wood on the Sabbath day." They put him in to custody, unsure of what to do with him. The LORD said to Moses that the whole camp should stone him, so they put him to death.

Chapter 16 relates the story of a revolt against the leadership of Moses and Aaron, led by three Israelites named Korah, who was himself a Levite, and Dathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben. They denounced the way in which Moses and Aaron appeared to claim more holiness than the rest of the community. Dathan and Abiram also denounced Moses for having brought them out of a land of mil and honey "to kill us in the desert." Moses "fell facedown," and told them to put fire and incense in their censers the next morning, and that the man the LORD chooses "will be the one that is holy."

They gathered at the Tent of Meeting, and the LORD wanted to separate Moses and Aaron and then kill the whole assembly, but Moses and Aaron prayed that he not. So he told them to tell the assembly to move away from the tents of Korah, Dathan and Abiram. Moses told everyone that they would know that the LORD had not sent him "if these men die a natural death and experience only what usually happens to men" but if the ground swallowed them, "then you will know that these men have treated the LORD with contempt." The ground split open and Korah, Dathan and Abiram, with their tents and households and possessions, were "swallowed up" and the the ground closed over them. Then the people fled, fearing that they would also be swallowed up, and the fire of the LORD consumed the 250 men who had joined the leaders and were offering incense. The LORD told Moses to have Aaron's son Eleazar take the censers out of the remains and hammer them into sheets to overlay the altar. "This was to remind the Israelites that no one except a descendant of Aaron should come to burn incense before the LORD." The next day, the grumbling continued, now against Moses and Aaron for having "killed the LORD's people." So the LORD sent a plague among them. Aaron offered incense and made atonement for them, and stopped the plague, but 14,700 people had died.

In chapter 17, the LORD told Moses to gather twelve staffs from the Israelites, one from each of the tribes, including Aaron's, and to put them in the Tent of Meeting, where he would make one of them bud. So they did this, and the next day, entering the Tent of Meeting, saw that Aaron's staff, representing the house of Levi, "had not only sprouted but had budded, blossomed and produced almonds." So they kept Aaron's staff in the Tent of Meeting, but the people said to Moses, "We will die! We are lost, we are all lost! Anyone who even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD will die. Are we all going to die?"

Thoughts, questions, issues

• There will always be a challenge to leadership. In the case of the Israelites, the younger generation, led by three men, revolted against the leadership of Moses and the elders.
• There are passages in the Bible that make it very hard to worship GOD. This section of Numbers is one of them, as GOD comes across as petty, vengeful and almost sadistic. Does gathering wood on the Sabbath really warrant public stoning? Even if a man challenges the leadership of Moses, does that justify his wife and children and servants being buried alive? The responses to the provocation seem all out of proportion to those provocations.
  
  How are we to understand these stories? What can we read out of them of relevance to us today?

Psalms 20

If there's a better-known piece of scripture than the 23rd Psalm, I don't know what it is. I would guess that, of all the people in the world that know one Psalm by heart, the vast majority know this one. It's certainly the piece of scripture that I know best, and the prayer that I tend to pray in any times of strife and stress. "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want."

I've used the NIV most of the time during this project, but I love the KJV Psalm 23. That's the one that I know and pray.

I've sung at least four different settings of this text, possibly as many as seven.

1The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

02/26/10

Numbers 10-14

Chapter 11 relates how the Israelites, almost immediately upon leaving Mount Sinai, demonstrated ingratitude towards the LORD again. They "complained about their hardships" and the LORD was angered and sent fire among the outskirts of the camp which consumed some of them. They cried out to Moses, who prayed and the fire stopped.

"And again the Israelites started wailing," complaining that they had no meat and were tired of the manna. The LORD got "exceedingly angry" but Moses was troubled, asking the LORD why he had to deal with all of the burdens of the Israelites. The LORD had him gather seventy elders "who are known to you as leaders" and he put the spirit on them to help carry the burdens. Two of the elders, Eldad and Medad, did not join them, but the spirit "also rested on them." When Joshua heard them prophesy, he encouraged Moses to stop them, but Moses was pleased to have more of the people with the spirit. Then the LORD sent a wind which drove quail in from the sea, three feet deep around the camp in all directions. The people gathered and ate, but the LORD was angry with them and "struck them with a severe plague." From there, which they named Kibroth Hattaavah, they traveled to Hazeroth.

In chapter 12, Miriam and Aaron began to speak against Moses because he had married a Cushite. The LORD spoke to all three to come to the Tent of Meeting, then he "came down in a pillar of cloud." He told them that he normally communicated with prophets through dreams and visions but with Moses he speaks face to face, and wonders why they aren't afraid to speak against him. When the cloud lifted, Miriam was leprous, like snow, but Moses cried out to the LORD to heal her. She was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not move on until she came back. They then left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran.

In Numbers 13, the Israelites near the promised land, and Moses, at the LORD's command, sent one man from each tribe into Canaan on a scouting mission, to find out about the land and its inhabitants. They went and explored, and brought back grapes and pomegranates and figs, returning after forty days. They reported that the land was flowing with milk and honey but that the people living their were giants, and too strong to attack.

Again, in chapter 14, the people of Israel rebelled against the leadership of Moses, fearing destruction if they tried to enter the promised land, and telling one another that they should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb, from among those who had explored Canaan said that the land was good and the LORD would give it to them, but the people talked about stoning them. The LORD came down and threatened to destroy the people and make a new nation out of Moses, but Moses, arguing in part that the Egyptions would scoff, talked him out of it. The LORD forgave the people, but decreed that none of those who had come out of Egypt and then disobeyed in the desert would enter the promised land, except for Caleb and Joshua. The rest would stay in the desert, their children being shepherds, for forty years, and "in this desert your bodies will fall." The men who had explored Canaan and returned a bad report were struck down by a plague and died - of the men that explored, only Caleb and Joshua survived. When Moses told the LORD's decree to the people, they "mourned bitterly" and acknowledged their sin. Then they determined that they would go up to the promised land, but Moses told them that they were disobeying again and couldn't succeed. They started towards the hill country, "then the Amalekites and Canaanites...came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• It must be unpleasant to wander in the desert. It would tiresome to eat the same thing every day. When we don't have meat, we want meat. But. For the Israelites of all people, having seen what they had seen, being rescued from captivity, to show so little faith seems astounding.
• Seems. If we stop and examine ourselves, truthfully, it is not, perhaps, as astounding as it seems. Which of us does not quickly become accustomed to good things, to the point of taking them for granted? Which of does not resent an injury, or even an inconvenience, not matter how small? It's part of the sinful nature of humanity.
  
  God wanted to set Israel apart as an example for other nations. Reading this book, would anyone argue that they aren't?
• What is the lesson of the story of Eldad and Medad? Is it that GOD will bestow his blessings where he will, and we need to recognize and accept them? Is it simply to reinforce the description of Moses as "more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth"?
• Certainly, part of the lesson that one can take from is that there is no indispensible man. GOD uses Moses, but he can use others among the Israelites, and will.
• The Israelites have provoked GOD, and pay the price. Some are killed by fire, others by plague, and, when Moses argues against the destruction of the people, all those who came out of Egypt but disobeyed are prevented from entering the promised land.
• Human nature has not changed in the last 3000 years. How many times have we resisted something that was asked of us, or ignored it, only to do it defiantly after it was too late or we were told not to? Some of the Israelites did that, only to find, again, that their plans did not work if the were not obeying the LORD's word.

Psalms 22:12-31

I noted the despair in the first half of this prayer yesterday. It continues. This whole psalm is a cry of despair, a cry to the LORD from the depths. The psalmist is surrounded by bulls, dogs, roaring Lions, evil men. Yet in the end, faith remains, trust in the LORD.

All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the LORD and he rules over the nations.

In his pain, the way out, the comfort and strength, is the LORD, the promises of the LORD and the righteousness of the LORD.

In this psalm, many see the clearest foreshadowing of the crucifixion in the Old Testament.

I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted away within me...my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death...a band of evil men has encircled me, they have pierced my hands and my feet...They divide my garments among them and cast lots for my clothing.

Psalm 22 is a yearly reading during Holy Week services.

12 Many bulls surround me;
strong bulls of Bashan encircle me.

13 Roaring lions tearing their prey
open their mouths wide against me.

14 I am poured out like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart has turned to wax;
it has melted away within me.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
you lay me in the dust of death.

16 Dogs have surrounded me;
a band of evil men has encircled me,
they have pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I can count all my bones;
people stare and gloat over me.

18 They divide my garments among them
and cast lots for my clothing.

19 But you, O LORD, be not far off;
O my Strength, come quickly to help me.

20 Deliver my life from the sword,
my precious life from the power of the dogs.

21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;
save me from the horns of the wild oxen.

22 I will declare your name to my brothers;
in the congregation I will praise you.

23 You who fear the LORD, praise him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!
Revere him, all you descendants of Israel!

24 For he has not despised or disdained
the suffering of the afflicted one;
he has not hidden his face from him
but has listened to his cry for help.

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;
before those who fear you will I fulfill my vows.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied;
they who seek the LORD will praise him—
may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the LORD,
and all the families of the nations
will bow down before him,

28 for dominion belongs to the LORD
and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich of the earth will feast and worship;
all who go down to the dust will kneel before him—
those who cannot keep themselves alive.

30 Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord.

31 They will proclaim his righteousness
to a people yet unborn—
for he has done it.

02/25/10

Numbers 8-10

The first verses in Numbers 8 tell how Aaron set up the lamps to light the area in front of the lampstand as the LORD commanded. The rest of the chapter describes the purification of the Levites. They were taken from among the other Israelites and made ceremonially clean by washing, shaving "their whole bodies" and washing their clothes. They performed a grain offering and a sin offering, and gathered the whole Israelite community to lay hands upon the Levites. After the burnt offerings, the Levites were presented as a wave offering to the LORD, set apart from the other Israelites. The LORD said that the Levites were to perform their duties in the Tent of Meeting from age 26 to age 50.

In chapter nine, the LORD tells Moses to have the Israelites celebrate the passover. Moses told the Israelites this, but some were unable to celebrate due to ceremonial uncleanness because of a dead body. They asked what they should do, and Moses told them to wait until he could find out the LORD's command. The LORD instructs them that one who his traveling or unclean may still partake of the passover meal but one is who is not traveling and is clean who does not partake must be cut off.

The LORD's presence rested in the cloud above the tabernacle. When it stayed, the Israelites stayed. When the cloud lifted from the tent of meeting, the Israelites traveled. "Whether the cloud stayed over the tabernacle for two days or a month or a year, the Israelites would remain in camp and not set out; but when it lifted, they would set out."

In chapter ten, the LORD tells Moses to make two silver trumpets, which are to be used for signalling to the camp when it is time for the leaders to meet and when it is time for the camp to move out. And he tells them to blow the horns when they are in battle in their own land, and "you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies."

Finally, the LORD deemed that they were ready to move on from Sinai, and on the 20th day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year, "the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle of the Testimony." They left the camp, Judah leading the way, followed by Issachar and Zebulun. The tabernacle was carried by the Gershonite and Merarites next. These were followed by Reuben, Simeon and Gad, before the Kohathites came, carrying the holy things. ("The tabernacle was to be set up before they arrived.") Ephraim, Manasseh and Benjamin were next, with Dan, Asher and Naphtali as the rearguard.

Moses told Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite (who was Moses' father-in-law) that they were leaving and encouraged him to come with them. When he said that he was going to return to his own land and his own people, Moses pleaded with him to come, because he knew the desert and could "be our eyes," and told him that they would share with him "whatever good things the LORD gives us." They set out from Sinai ("the mountain of the LORD") with the ark of the covenant going before them and the cloud of the LORD over them. And the chapter closes the ritualistic prayers that Moses would give whenever the ark set out or came to rest.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• One of the striking aspects of the book of Numbers is how mundane much of it is. It has a kind of dry weight of authenticity, in that the vast majority of it, at least thus far, is material that there's absolutely no reason to invent. There are those who contend that the exodus and the conquest never happened, but it's hard to see a good reason that this book would be a late invention.
• Numbers 9:8 is shocking for those of us who have never heard the voice of GOD directly. A procedural question arises, and Moses' response is, "I don't know - let me ask GOD." And GOD answers him. Directly and, apparently, immediately. Which of us hasn't dreamed of having that resource for our questions? For us, our questions tend to get asked and the answers come, when they do, in very indirect and open-to-interpretation ways, if they come at all. It's hard to imagine having that kind of pipeline to the creator of the universe.
• The question arises, again, of how the people of Israel could ever turn away after witnessing GOD's presence the way that they have.

• When you go into battle in your own land against an enemy who is oppressing you, sound a blast on the trumpets. Then you will be remembered by the LORD your God and rescued from your enemies

  There's a passage that I'd completely forgotten about. And so I've read the Chronicles of Narnia many times, and never realized that Susan's horn is yet one more piece of theology that Lewis "smuggled in."
• The story of Hobab is interesting in that he does not say what he decided. We are left to imply that he came, but it doesn't actually say that. What I don't know, as I'm writing this, is whether or not it becomes obvious later. If Hobab plays a prominent role later in the book of Numbers or in Deuteronomy, then this quesion will be answered. But right now, I have it.

Psalms 22

Psalm 22 starts with a cry of despair, a cry that Jesus echoed from the cross. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" I think it's a cry which we can all understand. Even if never the depth of the pain and suffering that Jesus took for us, or that the psalmist felt, we've all had times when we felt distant or disconnected or "forsaken" by GOD.

As an aside, one of my favorite Messiah choruses is from this passage, "He trusted in GOD that he would deliver him." But there's almost never a chance to sing it unless you're doing the whole oratorio. It has a fabulous bass line, but doesn't really lend itself to a stand-alone performance - there's too much context needed.

Psalm 22
For the director of music. To the tune of "The Doe of the Morning." A psalm of David.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me,
so far from the words of my groaning?

2 O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
by night, and am not silent.

3 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the praise of Israel.

4 In you our fathers put their trust;
they trusted and you delivered them.

5 They cried to you and were saved;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm and not a man,
scorned by men and despised by the people.

7 All who see me mock me;
they hurl insults, shaking their heads:

8 "He trusts in the LORD;
let the LORD rescue him.
Let him deliver him,
since he delights in him."

9 Yet you brought me out of the womb;
you made me trust in you
even at my mother's breast.

10 From birth I was cast upon you;
from my mother's womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.

02/24/10

Numbers 4-7

Numbers chapter four describes the duties and responsibilities of the various sub-tribes of the Levites. The Kohathites were responsible for "the care of the most holy things." First, Aaron and his sons are to take down the curtains and cover the holy things, then the Kohathites are to do all of the carrying, though "they must not touch the holy things or they will die" and they "must not go in to look at the holy things, even for a moment, or they will die." The Gershonites wre responsible for carrying the curtains, the Tent of Meeting, and the curtains, cloths, etc. The Merarites were responsible for carrying basically all of the structural elements of the tabernacle, the frames and tent pegs and bases. From age 30 to 50, the Kohathites numbered 2750, the Gershonites 2630 and the Merarites 3200, totalling 8580.

Chapter five addresses the issue of the purity of the camp. Any who are diseased or discharging, as described in Leviticus, are sent outside of the camp. The LORD instructs them in giving restitution to those who are wronged, generally adding one fifth to the value in recompense, and atonement sacrifices. There is a test to be performed by the priest if a man suspects his wife of unfaithfulness, involving

Chapter six describes "a vow of separation to the LORD as a Nazirite." A Nazirite would dedicate him or herself to living separately from the rest of the tribe, and refraining from the fruit of the grapevine, shaving or going near dead bodies (to the extent of avoiding becoming unclean if a close relative dies). "Throughout the period of his separation he is consecrated to the LORD. At the end of the year, he must make a sacrifice and shave off his hair, among other things. The chapter finishes with the high priestly blessing.

Chapter seven details the offerings made by the various tribes at the dedication of the tabernacle. Each of the twelve offered the same offering. And then Moses entered the Tent of Meeting and spoke to the LORD.

Thoughts, questions, issues

• The test for an unfaithful wife reads uncomfortably like the medieval customs of dunking to see whether a witch would drown or not.
• The blessing is probably the best known text from this book, and is frequently used as a benediction still today.
• I'd be surprised to learn that there's a more repetitive chapter in the Bible than Numbers 7. Day by day, the representatives of the twelve tribes bring their offering, consisting of
  

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

  
  And the text presents the list for each of them. So it's in there twelve times. And then, there's a list of the totals, which are, of course, 12 times the individual offerings.

Psalms 21

A psalm of praise. The psalmist praises the LORD, for the joy that the king has in the victories the LORD has given him. There is no supplication here, just joyful acknowledgment of the LORD's grace.

Psalm 21
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 O LORD, the king rejoices in your strength.
How great is his joy in the victories you give!

2 You have granted him the desire of his heart
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
Selah

3 You welcomed him with rich blessings
and placed a crown of pure gold on his head.

4 He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
length of days, for ever and ever.

5 Through the victories you gave, his glory is great;
you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.

6 Surely you have granted him eternal blessings
and made him glad with the joy of your presence.

7 For the king trusts in the LORD;
through the unfailing love of the Most High
he will not be shaken.

8 Your hand will lay hold on all your enemies;
your right hand will seize your foes.

9 At the time of your appearing
you will make them like a fiery furnace.
In his wrath the LORD will swallow them up,
and his fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
their posterity from mankind.

11 Though they plot evil against you
and devise wicked schemes, they cannot succeed;

12 for you will make them turn their backs
when you aim at them with drawn bow.

13 Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength;
we will sing and praise your might.

02/23/10

Numbers 1-3

The book of Numbers begins on the first day of the second month of the second year after the exodus from Egypyt, and the LORD told Moses to take a census of the Israelites. Chapter one lists the numbers of "men twenty years old or more who were able to serve in the army" for each of the twelve tribes of Israel, with the exception of the Levites, who are set aside to serve as priests. There were twelve "tribes" enumerated, however, as the descendants of Joseph's sons Ephraim and Manasseh were listed seperately. The Levites were given instructions to maintain the Tabernacle, to take it down and set it up and carry and care for it. And "the Israelites did all this just as the LORD commanded Moses."

Chapter two discusses the arrangement of the tribal camps, with each tribe having a specified spot to occupy. To the east, Judah, Issachar and Zebulum; to the south, Reuben, Simeon and Gad; to the west, Ephraim and Manasseh, and Benjamin; and to the north, Dan, Asher and Naphtali. The Levites were to set up in the middle with the Tent of Meeting.

In chapter three, the census is taken of the Levites, including Aaron and Moses and their families. Aaron had four sons, two of whom, Nadab and Abihu, died in the Tabernacle as we saw in Leviticus chapter 10, without sons. The rest of the Levites were given to Aaron to assist him in the priestly duties, "doing the workd of the tabernacle." The LORD said that he was taking the Levites "in place of the first male offspring of every Israelite woman...for all the firstborn are mine." The rest of the chapter contains the Levite census, 22,000 men at least one month old, as well as the specific duties of the various sub-tribes out of the Levites. But there were 22,273 first-born in the people of Israel, and the LORD instructed Moses to collect five shekels for each of the 273 by which the number of first-born exceeded the number of Levites. "Moses gave the redemption money to Aaron and his sons, as he was commanded by the word of the LORD."

Thoughts, questions, issues

• This section is strictly historical data. There is no action, no teaching and no giving of law. There's simply a census and enumeration of the tribes of Israel.
• The largest tribe was Judah. The second largest was Joseph, 72,700 combined. The smallest number listed is Manasseh at 32,200, but that only represents half of the tribe of Joseph. The smallest tribe was Benjamin.
  
  

  The Census - Numbers 1

  Tribe	Count
  Reuben	46,500
  Simeon	59,300
  Gad	45,650
  Judah	74,600
  Issachar	54,400
  Zebulun	57,400
  Joseph (Ephraim)	40,500
  Joseph (Manasseh)	32,200
  Benjamin	35,400
  Dan	62,700
  Asher	41,500
  Naphtali	53,400
  Total	603,550
  Levi (Numbers 3)	22,000
  Twelve Tribes	625,550

  
  


• The size of each tribe is consistent in chapter one and chapter two. The total number, including the Levites, is 625,000, which is consistent with the 600,000 of the exodus, and reasonable for 430 years descent from 69 or 70, as I discussed earlier.

Psalms 20

A short prayer, in which the psalmist asks for the LORD's answer when the reader is in distress. The dedication is "for the director of music," but was this intended for a specific person? Is this a prayer or song written for the uplift or encouragement of a specific person, or a person having a specific title, or is it mislabeled? Whoever it was intended for, it is a prayer for Godly assistance in times of trouble, and praise for the LORD who is known to provide help.

For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary
and grant you support from Zion.

3 May he remember all your sacrifices
and accept your burnt offerings.
Selah

4 May he give you the desire of your heart
and make all your plans succeed.

5 We will shout for joy when you are victorious
and will lift up our banners in the name of our God.
May the LORD grant all your requests.

6 Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
he answers him from his holy heaven
with the saving power of his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

8 They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.

9 O LORD, save the king!
Answer us when we call!