In today's section, we read about:
The journey to Moab and victory over Sihon and Og
Balaam's services are bought by Balak, but Balaam blesses Israel 3 times
The Israelites seduced by The Moabites
The second census of Israel's men of fighting age
Joshua chosen to lead Israel after Moses
Daily offerings and offerings for the festivals
Conquest of the Midianites and the division of the plunder
Some tribes ask for land east of the Jordan river
Some thoughts that struck me:
The people's attitude in 21:7-8 is out of keeping with everything else we've heard from then in Numbers
Who exactly is Balaam? He obviously is a genuine prophet of God whose reputation has spread far and wide. And he says only what God tells him, yet his is not an example to follow - why? Is it just because he was not an Israelite? Is it because he is trying to sell his gift and use it for personal financial gain (cf 1 Cor 12-14, Eph 4)? Or was it because he practised divination and sorcery (implicit in 24:1)? If he resorted to divination, how come God still speaks to him?
Nu 23 - "how can I curse those / whom God has not cursed? / How can I condemn those / whom the LORD has not condemned?" - Matt 16:19, Rev 3:7
Re our earlier question about God changing his mind - Nu 23:19 "God is not a man, so he does not lie. / He is not a human, so he does not change his mind. / Has he ever spoken and failed to act? / Has he ever promised and not carried it through?"
Nu 24:17 is a Messianic prophecy
Moab are the descendants of Lot through his eldest daughter (Gen 19:37). The Ammonites are the descendants of Lot through the younger daughter (Gen 19:38)
Nu 25 is exactly as God foretold in Ex 34:15-16
Nu 25:13 is interesting, since God has already promised Aaron that his descendants would be priests for ever, yet here us a special covenant, conferring blessing upon blessing
Although there is only a difference of 1880 between the total of fighting men between Nu 26 and Nu 22, there are so big differences between the tribes, such as 20,500 more in Manasseh, making them larger than Ephraim, Simeon has lost 37,100, or 62%
I like the repetition of the fact that only Caleb and Joshua of all the 600,000 odd men lived to see the Promised Land
God recognises the claims of the daughters of Zelophehad (Nu 27:7), and of daughters to inherit generally (27:8)
Moses is not recorded anywhere at grumbling atbout his fate in not being allowed to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land (he moaned about the burden of leading a whingey-whiney people in Nu 11)
In Moses' prayer for God to provide a suitable leader, he uses the words which are attributed to Jesus in Mk 6:34. The section also makes clear that (a) God's spirit was with Joshua (27:18); (b)it was a public event (v20); and (c) Joshua was dependant on God (21).
The festivals are repeated - they are important and they are to help the people remember what God has done, as well as being a time of joy and celebration.
The conquest of the Midianites is clearly in response to the sins of ch25 - there is also a reminder of Nu 19 with the provisions for purification after coming into contact with dead bodies.
In ch 32, Moses knows the Israelites have 'previous' in terms of turning away from God and going their own way. However, 32:16ff indicates that they might have learnt their lesson, at least for the time being!
1 comment:
How incredible that Moses can suffer such criticism of his leadership and yet he continues to serve the Israelites. We read today of him falling on his face pleading on behalf of them. My anger and frustration would have built up long ago so that no doubt I would have said “Yes God, please kill them”. Yet he knows his special role and has the anointing and grace to carry it out.
I too thought of Chris’s comment about “Does God change his mind” when I read Chap 23. However, I still struggle to understand it all and cannot quite reach the clear cut conclusion yet (although I realise that Chris was saying it was put in a way that man can understand). For me, the readings today shows an incredible relationship between Moses and God. As I mentioned earlier, he pleads on behalf of the Israelites when God’s anger burns against them. Moses later prays for them and makes atonement for them, and as a result saves many from the plague. This is an incredible relationship that God has with Moses and it appears to me that Moses can reason with Him....and so does He change His mind? Was God never going to carry through with his threats and was it all just expression of anger and frustration? (which seems strange too...) We often talk about having a relationship with God. I find it difficult to have a relationship with someone who has already decided what they think, will say etc........and so can we sit down and reason with God....after all what is prayer and intercession if it is not pleading to God on behalf of people. If God is totally fixed that seems very wooden and un-relational to me.
Having said all that, before you cry “heretic”!....who am I to consider myself an equal to God, to understand the whole picture, to consider my ways better than his,to speak to him as Moses did. I certainly don’t hear his voice as clearly, although would love to...........
Mmmmmmm....currently getting more questions than answers through the readings at the moment.
I’ll just have to keep reading on!
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