Numbers 26 – The new generation

A generation has died off in a little less than forty years. Now we are back at the point we were at in chapter 1. As I read this, I wonder what it would have been like to have been a child growing up during that time. What would I have thought of my parents? What would they have told me? How would my view of God been formed by this experience? The wilderness would have been a difficult time.

The Lord’s plans move forward. He is determined to have Israel be a blessing for all the nations of the earth (Gen 12:1-3) and to bring justice to the land (Gen 15:16). But He chooses to use those whose hearts are His. Like the story of Balaam, it is not about being used by the Lord that matters, it is about walking with Him. If this people did not follow their God, I imagine that they’d be in the desert for a few more decades.

This chapter doesn’t just remind us of past failures, but it gives hope. God doesn’t leave his people. He is patient and faithful to carry out His plans.

NB – A friend of mine (whose name is also Todd) said that when he comes across a chapter that is either a genealogy or has a paragraph that is repeated several times, he reads the chapter out loud. This is a great idea.

Numbers 22-25 – Balaam, a man of mystery

What do you do with someone like Balaam? He is a hard guy to figure out.

Balaam, son of Beor at Pethor, is a seer and a prophet that is summoned by Barak, king of Moab, to curse Israel (22:4-5). On the way to meet Barak, Balaam has an interesting encounter with his donkey and an angel who stood to oppose him. It seems that he is only allowed to pass because of his humble attitude (22:34) and because of the Lord’s plan and mercy. From our vantage point, Balaam’s error in this matter is difficult to see (except that he is being summoned to curse Israel).

Although he comes to Barak, he repeats this mantra: "I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God to do less or more (22:18)" – or sayings to this effect (22:38; 23:12, 26; 24:13). Balaam uses the covenant name of the Lord, YHWH, quite frequently in his oracles and his reasoning with Barak on why he will and won't do certain tasks. This knowledge of the Lord could have come through the Lord speaking to him or through the renown of the invading Israelite army and their God.

While Balaam tries to comply with Barak's wishes, each time he is about to curse Israel, he blesses them instead. Barak tries to work around Balaam's inability to curse Israel by moving him from place to place. After three oracles, Barak tells Balaam to flee; “the Lord has held you back from honor” (24:11). Rather than fleeing immediately, Balaam gives Barak some insight as to what the Israelites are going to do to the inhabitants of Canaan.

Balaam's end comes in Numbers 31:8; he is killed with some of the people of Midian. Since the staging point was in the Plains of Moab, we can figure that either Balaam did not go very far, he came back later, or that he never fled from Barak (Pethor, is in Mesopotamia, cf. Deut 23:5). Revelation 2:14 indicates that Balaam taught Barak how to cripple Israel: foreign women and foreign gods. This is the problem in Numbers 25; the people of Israel are captivated by the local culture.

One lesson from the life of Balaam is this: it is not enough to merely be used by the Lord; we must be on His side. Clearly Balaam spoke truth about YHWH and had some knowledge of who He is, but he was still against the people of God and, therefore, God Himself. The Lord is not a machine that is coerced into doing what we want, neither is He someone who tolerates partial obedience and capriciously overlooks hostile alliances. Balaam, for all his oracles and declarations, tried to de-god the Lord.

Numbers 20 – Et tu Moses?

“Take the staff, and assemble the congregation, you and Aaron your brother, and tell the rock before their eyes to yield its water. So you shall bring water out of the rock for them and give drink to the congregation and their cattle.”… Then Moses and Aaron gathered the assembly together before the rock, and he said to them, "Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?" And Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his staff twice, and water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their livestock. And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, "Because you did not believe in me, to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel, therefore you shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them." – Numbers 20:8, 10-12 (ESV) emphasis mine

Now Moses fails. It seems to me that he fails in two ways. First, he didn’t do what he was told. Moses struck the rock (twice) instead of speaking to it. Striking the rock is how water came out earlier and in a similar situation, so Moses does it again (Ex 17:1-7; note: both here and there, they called the place Meribah, meaning quarreling).

Secondly, Moses takes credit for the water coming forth. He is not with the ‘rebels,’ he is with the group that is bringing the complainers their water. He de-gods God by setting himself as the co-provider of the people.

Disobedience and pride – both stem from a lack of faith. We don’t obey because we don’t think God can handle it. We want the credit and status so we see our role as primary, God’s as secondary. Without a clear view of the Lord, we become the one in the driver’s seat. Faith keeps the Lord on the throne and His glory as the motivation for our work. Faith focuses our vision by clarifying the truth: the Lord is our provider.

Numbers 19 – The red heifer

This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect, in which there is no blemish, and on which a yoke has never come. – Numbers 19:2 (ESV)

Now that I am in Iowa, there is no need to describe what a heifer is. But the placement of this command forces us to ask the question – what is the purpose of this command and why are we being told about it now?

The purpose of this command is to reestablish ritual cleanliness to a person who has killed or touched a corpse. Now priests and Nazirites have their own way of dealing with touching a corpse. For the rest of the people, this ash/water mix is kept outside of the camp, providing easy access and keeping the uncleanliness from spreading.

We are told about the generational turnover that will happen because of the unwillingness of the people to take the land (Numbers 13-14). Now millions of people are going to die (Num 14:26-35). Not only that, but they will be attacked along the way and they will attack those that inhabit the land. Since our Lord is a God of life, death causes a person to be unclean. With all the death that is about to happen (and has happened), the Lord provides a way for the living to be restored to fellowship in the tabernacle. If someone fails to participate in the red heifer cleansing, they are cut off from everyone (Num 19:13, 20).

This is a familiar story – the Lord provides a way for people to be restored. Without the Lord there is no restoration: either to Himself or to the rest of his people.

Numbers 17 – Coming to our defense

The problem: there were divisions forming among the people and all the people were starting to complain.

The solution: the leaders of the tribes give Moses a staff with their name on it. God shows His choice for the tribe of Levi by causing Aaron’s staff to bud with almonds. This staff is kept in the ark as a reminder of what the Lord confirmed. National unity is (somewhat) preserved.

The point: it is hard not to defend yourself and it is hard to see people tear themselves up over rivalries. But it is always better when the Lord is our advocate and not our impulses or our fears. (And it is always better when God sorts out people problems without our help.)

Numbers 14 – The pivotal moment

The reports were made. The land looked very good, but the people were huge and well-fortified. Israel selected fear instead of faith. Jesus closes a parable about praying without losing heart with the following words:

And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them? I tell you, he will give justice to them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth? – Luke 18:7-8 (ESV)

Pick faith. And let God take care of the enemies.

Numbers 10 – Remembering

The trumpets serve as a reminder. The trumpets are blown so that Israel may be remembered before the Lord in their time of need (v. 10:9). Likewise, on a day of gladness, the trumpets are used in the same way (v. 10:10). Now, God knows all and sees all, He doesn’t need a ‘reminder’ in the conventional sense. But by blowing the trumpets, they show their need for God.

Whether in days of adversity or in days of gladness, we are to keep the Lord before us. He is not a God that simply ‘rescues’ us and He is not a God that only comes in times of joy. He is involved in all aspects of our daily living. While we are not usually tempted to worship another god in one circumstance and the Lord in another, functionally we do this by seeking the Lord only in particular situations (often bad ones). In the others, we often become the god. Requests for healing – Jesus; vacations and birthdays – us.

May we seek the Lord’s remembrance of us in all arenas of life.

Numbers 9 – Scheduling conflict

The Passover: a requirement for Hebrews and an option for the foreigner that lives with them. But what happens if you are not ritually clean by the time Passover comes around? What if you touched a dead body (a big problem that will come up in just a few chapters) or were traveling? Moses puts this question to the Lord and the Lord tells Him to do it again: same time only a month later.

The focus here is inclusion; everyone should participate. Everyone that observes the Passover is affected by what the Lord did in Egypt that night. Everyone should remember. For us, we not only reflect upon the Egyptian Passover, but we reflect on God's ultimate saving act: the cross. That is the crucial element for having the Lord's Supper – we remember together what the Lord has done for us.

Numbers 8 – A gift from the Lord

For all the firstborn among the people of Israel are mine, both of man and of beast. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt I consecrated them for myself, and I have taken the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel. And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and his sons from among the people of Israel, to do the service for the people of Israel at the tent of meeting and to make atonement for the people of Israel, that there may be no plague among the people of Israel when the people of Israel come near the sanctuary. – Numbers 8:17-19 (ESV)

The Lord is not taking what is His, namely, He is taking a tribe (1/13^th of all the people) instead of the firstborn of every Israelite. Then the Lord gives the Levites for sanctuary service so that the people of Israel can be close to Him. A needy people, a gracious and generous God.