This was supposed to be a post on Amos AND Micah but I took a 3 hour nap and didn’t get a chance to read Micah yet
I really liked the title of “Just a Shepherd” (based on Amos 7:14 ) so I was going to use it anyway, but by God’s providence is also the translation for NIV so it’s actually biblical now
As always, first, I will apologize for never posting but a lot has been happening lately and I just haven’t had time!!! (But I’m still reading thru Matthew and Deuteronomy so if anything y’all would like to discuss from those, shoot a message ! There’s actually a lot of cool stuff I COULD share but just been busy 😅)
Secondly, if anyone is new here, this is just a place where I like to put my favorite thoughts and highlights that come up usually (during devotions!)
If you have any questions or disagreements (and in that case I’m ready to throw down 😤), feel free to e-mail (available via “about me” page) or send a message!
In that case, let’s begin!
I made this list while keep a track of stuff I wanted to put in this post while reading but I guess I’ll just leave it here as a kind of agenda for what I’ll be going through today:
Amos the Shepherd (1:1, 7:14)
Pledged Garments (2:8)
Privilege AND responsibility (3:1-2)
Worship (4:4-5, 5:21-24) without justice (2:6-8, 4:1, 5:11-12, 6:12, 8:4-6)
Plumb Line (7:7-9)
A day is coming (9:11-12)
So the first thing we are told in Amos (in 1:1) is that he is a Shepherd. Not any special kind of Shepherd either. He’s literally just a Shepherd (7:14). Oh and he farms sycamore figs (7:14).
Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’
Amos 7:14-15
Every time I see a significant figure being a Shepherd, my eyes light up because there have been some pretty significant figures that also have been Shepherds, i.e. David, Moses, etc
I thought it was really cool how God takes someone who was pretty much a “nobody” – “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son,” and makes him into a speaker of his word. The way that God uses people like that is so cool! (Quick 1 Cor 1:27-31 plug)
So one pretty big theme in Amos is the injustice of Israel, especially towards the poor. One place this shows up with some interesting connotations is in Amos 2:8 which says:
they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
Amos 2:8
I’m focusing more on the “garments taken in pledge” aspect because while I reading through a commentary, it brought up a really interesting insight that I overlooked myself (which was both disappointing that I did not see it myself and cool that it was there at all).
The “garments taken in pledge” may be referring to a law stated in Exodus 22:26-27, where God tells his people that even if your neighbor pledges their cloak to you, you shall return it (by night) because otherwise, they may have nothing to sleep in.
If ever you take your neighbor’s cloak in pledge, you shall return it to him before the sun goes down, for that is his only covering, and it is his cloak for his body; in what else shall he sleep? And if he cries to me, I will hear, for I am compassionate.
Exodus 22:26-27
It certainly fits the theme of Amos very well, showing both the injustice of Israel and God, who has compassion on those who cry out to him in their oppression.
Next, I will take a look at Amos 3:1-2:
Hear this word that the Lord has spoken against you, O people of Israel, against the whole family that I brought up out of the land of Egypt:
You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
Amos 3:1-2
It was interesting to me because looking at the commentary, it suggested that because Israel was chosen to be God’s people, they were expected to be of higher standard.
In a sense, it’s to be read in a “greater privilege” implies “greater responsibility” light.
Although I am not entirely sure if that was the intention (but maybe it was. I’m not really sure so I’m kind of leaving it open ended.) because 9:7-8 actually has God saying to the Israelites that they are indeed NOT that special, and they ought not to think so highly of themselves (but of course, there was a certain context this was said in with all their sinning and refusal to repent).
But whether or not that is the intention, I’m just going to roll with it since I think it’s a great point. Very relevant. Very biblical.
The idea of greater privilege = greater responsibility has been an on-going problem. It was a problem at the time of Amos. And it’s a problem that persists even today. We want to have the privileges of being with Christ but we don’t want to have the responsibilities.
What’s important to note is that it’s not a problem that is exclusive to those times though. Jesus talks about it in his parables. Paul has to confront multiple churches regarding it.
I’m not going to put the entire parable (of the minas) here (Luke 19:11-27) but here’s the interpretation of it:
‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’”
Luke 19:26-27
Basically, it’s what it says. For those who are given more, more will be expected. But the one who has not been faithful with what they have, even that will be taken. This is especially true when we read the case of Israel in Amos.
This idea again shows up in another parable in Luke 12:35-48 (almost exactly as I’ve stated above):
Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Luke 12:48b
So it’s a not a new idea. Nor does it seem to end with his death on the cross as Paul seems to have a similar struggle with the church in Rome and Corinth.
Romans 6 has Paul explaining that yes, we are free under Christ, but that is NOT a means to sin:
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!
Romans 6:15
1 Corinthians has Paul saying “yeah sure, ‘all things are lawful.’” but what?
“All things are lawful,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful,” but not all things build up.
1 Corinthians 10;23
“not all things are helpful, not all things build up.”
What does this exactly mean for us? Maybe there’s an implication that being followers of Christ is not a call to be “content in freedom” and to “do whatever we want,” but actually a call to greater responsibility. A higher standard.
Maybe it’s even a call that demands our everything.
What is (one of) Paul’s final thoughts regarding that passage in 1 Cor 10:23?
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”
Next, a quick look at Israel’s religious obligations:
You’d think they’d be doing a pretty good job, eh? But what do we get after a list of Israel’s “achievements”:
But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.
Amos 5:24
It’s hard to get the tone of the verse without reading it in it’s context but the NLT does a pretty good job of what it’s trying to say: “Instead, I want to see a mighty flood of justice, an endless river of righteous living” (Amos 5:24 NLT).
If you read Amos 5:21-24, it’s actually about God rejecting Israel’s religious obligations because they do so without a heart for justice or ‘mishpat.’ Just for some perspective, mishpat in Judaism stands for more than just the punishing of criminals we would imagine in some court case, it is infused with creating order and making the world “as it should be” (Source).
And so to neglect the poor is to neglect justice and to neglect justice is to neglect God. And that was a pretty big reason with what was wrong with Israel.
Thus says the Lord:
“For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals— those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.
Amos 2:6-8
“Hear this word, you cows of Bashan, who are on the mountain of Samaria, who oppress the poor, who crush the needy, who say to your husbands, ‘Bring, that we may drink!’
Amos 4:1
Therefore because you trample on the poor and you exact taxes of grain from him, you have built houses of hewn stone, but you shall not dwell in them; you have planted pleasant vineyards, but you shall not drink their wine. For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate.
Amos 5:11-12
Do horses run on rocks? Does one plow there with oxen? But you have turned justice into poison and the fruit of righteousness into wormwood—
Amos 6:12
Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?”
Amos 8:4-6
Wow, that’s a lot of…stuff.
Yet, it should bring to our attention whether or not we have that same heart for misphat. Because in the eyes of Amos, what we would call ‘social justice’ and what he would call ‘justice’ has no differentiation. It’s one and the same. It’s a call to make things “as they should be.” Are we fulfilling that call?
So I didn’t know what a plumb line is. But basically it’s a kind of tool used to see if a wall was straight or not. And so in the same way that the plumb line is used to check if a wall measures up to the standard, God uses a plumb line to check if Israel measures up to his standard.
This is what he showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,
“Behold, I am setting a plumb line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass by them; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”
Amos 7:7-9
(spoilers: no)
The last couple chapters are not too hopeful and kind of dreary but ends on a sort of good note. A day is coming where there will be abundance and fortune for Israel (9:13-15). But before that is said, there is a small prophecy here:
“In that day I will raise up the booth of David that is fallen and repair its breaches, and raise up its ruins and rebuild it as in the days of old, that they may possess the remnant of Edom and all the nations who are called by my name,” declares the Lord who does this.
Amos 9:11-12
Two things,
Prophecies about the kingdom of David are always super cool
Prophecies about gentiles being a part of that kingdom are always super cool
I have just been super busy with school, etc that I have not been able to make any posts.
But I had a small but interesting discussion at church today so I will share here with some scripture because I want to share with you all.
I should really be sleeping or studying but I could not resist not posting something
Context: We just had a sermon today about using finances with the eternal perspective in mind and it is now Sunday school (where at the beginning, we discuss a bit about our thoughts on the sermon), and a question comes up on what does it look like to honor God with out finances when money is scarce?
Or more specifically, should we change or even abolish in whether or how we tithe/offer?
For most people, gut reaction will be yes. We read the story of the Widow’s two copper coins:
Jesus looked up and saw the rich putting their gifts into the offering box, and he saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. And he said, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Luke 21:1-4
And the answer here is pretty clear. It’s obviously yes. The widow is commended for her faith.
Some people will quote Malachi 3:10 or 2 Cor 9:6-7 (despite those texts being written to a very specific people, in a very specific time, and with specific purpose) to say that we should.
And I agree, I think that we should. I think that to be willing to tithe and offer your money to God even when finances do not look good is living out what Jesus talks about in Matthew 6 where Jesus tells us to ‘seek first the kingdom and his righteousness’ (Matthew 6:33). Do that, and in turn, God will provide is the gist of Matthew 6.
Yet, here is another proposal.
Let’s go back to Luke 6 where we read the story of David and the Showbread.
On a Sabbath, while he was going through the grainfields, his disciples plucked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands. But some of the Pharisees said, “Why are you doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath?” And Jesus answered them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and also gave it to those with him?” And he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”
Luke 6:1-5
If you have not read this story, essentially, David and his men break Levitical law by eating the bread of the presence meant for the priests.
(Further references are 1 Samuel 21:1-6, Lev 24:5-9 if you are interested)
Yet, his actions commended by Jesus.
Let’s say it’s not simply myself that I have to take care of but my household as well. Could we not draw the same principles as in this story that it is more important to take care of the people we are supposed to oversee than to simply than to ritually preform worship?
Of course, this is not just an excuse to not tithe and not give offerings, etc but a look into what scripture really says because when we look into the scriptures, it’s a lot more complicated than just “yeah, just always tithe.” And I think if we approach is to just always tithe, we may be missing something.
Because obviously it’s of great faith for some to have few but to still give a lot
i.e. The widow with the two copper coins
But is it also not of great faith to search the scriptures, look at some of the great heroes of the faith, and see that sometimes “breaking the law” is the best way to honor God?
i.e. David and the Showbread
In Matthew 15 (which I read like two days ago), Jesus brings this very concern up. He confronts a group of Pharisees who neglect their parents “in the name of God.”
He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God.
Matthew 15:3-6
Yes, they do so honoring tradition rather than Torah but the point is the same. They neglect their family in order to give to God. The Bible actually happens to speak on this as well:
But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
1 Timothy 5:8
If you do not provide for your relatives and the members of your household, you are denying the faith and worse than an unbeliever.
In other words, don’t even bother.
Is honoring you parents and loving the ones of your household not synonymous with loving God? Does Paul not say that the whole law is fulfilled in one word? (Gal 5:14).
Is it not possible that when we get so caught up in trying to be counter-cultural and radical and zealous for God that we actually miss a part of the story ourselves?
So what is the answer?
My proposal is that it’s something for us to wrestle with. That it’s something God doesn’t explicitly give an answer for.
“…the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.”
The last couple of days prior to this, through a variety of means, God was convicting me leverage my time better for his kingdom. I wasn’t exactly sure how to go about this as it seemed like a pretty daunting task at the time but I decided I would spend my Saturday going through my prayer list and going through Hosea.
And so I did.
And I’ll be honest, the first time I read through it, aside from the first 4ish chapters about Hosea & Gomer, and the analogy of “God & Israel” which we were supposed to understand them as, I had no idea what was going on.
And so I read it again. But with a commentary. This is the one I used if you are curious.
And wow, does Hosea have some relevant themes.
“Is it even possible to read a book of the Bible and not have endless things to say about it?”
Me
And so, as I lay in bed last night, I was unable to sleep. For the writing of this blog post was simply too exciting for rest to occur.
For example, did you know “For I desire mercy, not sacrifice” really has nothing to do with sacrifices?
Well, not nothing, but almost nothing. In the sense that it stands for something much, much bigger.
The book of Hosea starts off with God commanding Hosea to marry a prostitute (Hosea 1:2).
How hard of a calling is that?
Yet, as we read through the next 2 chapters, and as we view God’s relationship with Israel through the lens of his calling of Hosea, We begin to understand God’s love for his people.
Hosea presents to us the severity of idolatry in a way that we are able to understand and connect to. As we read through chapter 2, our hearts are torn for Hosea as much as they are torn for God.
We are told that the very gifts that God presents to his people are “used for Baal” (Hosea 2:8). It’s the equivalent of your spouse using your wedding ring to marry the person they’re cheating on you with.
It’s a heartbreaking image and we think to ourselves “surely, no one would bother tolerating something like this.”
Yet. When we flip to chapter 3 and arrive at the conclusion of the Hosea-Gomer story, what does God tell Hosea to do?
“Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins” (Hosea 3:1).
And we learn that God is not a god who gives up on the pursuit of his people.
As it says in 2 Timothy 2:13:
“if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.”
Another interesting application I think we can draw from these first few chapters of Hosea is what it means to “love as your wives, as Christ loved the church” (Ephesians 5:25).
I am not saying that these two passages are related. I don’t think they are. But I do think Hosea gives us an illustration on what it means to love as Christ loved the church.
If understanding the marriage of Hosea & Gomer allows us to better understand the marriage between God and Israel, then surely it allows us to better understand the marriage between Christ and the church!
And if marriage is to emulate Christ and the church as Ephesians 5:32 suggests, then would it make sense to propose that a husband is to pursue his wife in the same way that God pursues Israel through the image that we are given by Hosea & Gomer? A pursuit that persists even through even adultery?
The next couple chapters (4-7) covers God’s case against Israel. Hosea covers a variety of Israel’s sin against people (Hosea 4:2, 6:8-9, 7:1) and of course, sin against God; idolatry (Hosea 4:10-15, 17, 5:3-4, 6:10, 7:4).
In these chapters, we also have the famous verse from Hosea quoted by Jesus himself to the Pharisees in Matthew 9:13 (and is also the title of this post):
“For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings” (Hosea 6:6).
In the beginning of this post, I claimed that the verse ultimately has nothing to do with sacrifice. What is it really about?
Let’s take a look at some of the other verses in Hosea regarding the mentioned topics in Hosea 6.
(quick note: the word used for steadfast love/mercy is translated from chesed and varies depending on version of translation)
Hear the word of the Lord, O children of Israel, for the Lord has a controversy with the inhabitants of the land. There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land (Hosea 4:1).
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children (Hosea 4:6).
With their flocks and herds they shall go to seek the Lord, but they will not find him; he has withdrawn from them. They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord;for they have borne alien children.Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields. (Hosea 5:6-7).
I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me (Hosea 5:15).
Does God have a problem with sacrifices? Is he against them? It certainly does not seem so. Hosea 5:6 mentions Israel ‘seeking’ the Lord with sacrifices but the concern there seems less about sacrifices but rather their dealing “faithlessly with the Lord.“
What are some other comments that God makes throughout these chapters regarding such items?
“I will return again to my place, until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face, and in their distress earnestly seek me” (Hosea 5:15)
“What shall I do with you, O Ephraim? What shall I do with you, O Judah? Your love is like a morning cloud, like the dew that goes early away” (Hosea 6:4)
So what does God really desire, or, what does Israel seem to lack?
Knowledge of God
Mercy/steadfast love/chesed
Faithfulness
With all these read together, the issue doesn’t seem to be that God doesn’t desire sacrifice but rather that sacrifice without knowledge, mercy, and faithfulness is without merit.
And how is this demonstrated?
Israel seems to continue to ‘worship’ God through sacrifice but does so while still worshiping others gods, sacrificing to idols, and living in sin.
I was just mentioning to a bunch of people how I think that this is such a relevant topic not just in Jesus’ time where Pharisees worshiped in ceremony and ritual but without heart (Matthew 23) but even today.
I believe that this kind of worship still exists even today. The idols just look a bit different.
Rather than Baal and Asherah though, it manifests into things like career, financial success, approval, security, etc. Are those things bad in themselves? No. But more often than not, we will place those things above God.
“I’m willing to serve God in this way, as long as it doesn’t affect my careeroptions/financial success/other’s approval of me.”
Is that the kind of worship God desires? Can we hold back those things and still consider ourselves as having knowledge, faithfulness, and steadfast love towards God?
“So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33).
The next few chapters of Hosea (8-13) mainly covers God’s judgement on Israel and I’m going to skip through most of it but this one passage in chapter 11 really stood out to me:
“How can I give you up, O Ephraim? How can I hand you over, O Israel? How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim? My heart recoils within me; my compassion grows warm and tender” (Hosea 11:8)
If you are not familiar with Admah and Zeboiim, they are two cities that were also destroyed in the judgement of Sodom and Gomorrah (Deuteronomy 29:23).
God does not desire to destroy Israel in his judgement against the world and it’s sin. Rather, when he speaks of it, his “heart recoils” within him and his “compassion grows warm and tender.”
This is a God who just would just rather his people “get it right” than have to punish them. He is heartbroken by their turning away from him.
Yet, knowing their inability and inadequacy, he does not leave it to their own accord:
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more” (Jeremiah 31:31-34).
The 14th and final chapter of Hosea has Hosea calling for his people to repent with God making this promise if they do:
“I will heal their apostasy; I will love them freely, for my anger has turned from them.I will be like the dew to Israel; he shall blossom like the lily; he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon; his shoots shall spread out; his beauty shall be like the olive, and his fragrance like Lebanon. They shall return and dwell beneath my shadow; they shall flourish like the grain; they shall blossom like the vine; their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon” (Hosea 14:4-7).
This took a bit longer to write than I expected and I’m not exactly sure how to end this off or the second last section here about Hosea 14 so I will just end it like this.
Quite exciting, it means now I can move on to Deuteronomy and will be 4/5 done of my reading of Torah. 😱😱😱
So last time, we were here, we were reading about Balaam, his donkey, and the angel of death. This time, we will continue on from there!
So what happens in the next two chapters (Numbers 23-24) is Balak asking Balaam to call upon the LORD to curse Israel, and this are the prophecies he gets instead:
“From Aram Balak has brought me, the king of Moab from the eastern mountains: ‘Come, curse Jacob for me, and come, denounce Israel!’ How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How can I denounce whom the Lord has not denounced? For from the top of the crags I see him, from the hills I behold him; behold, a people dwelling alone, and not counting itself among the nations! Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”
Numbers 23:7b-10
“Rise, Balak, and hear; give ear to me, O son of Zippor: God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it. He has not beheld misfortune in Jacob, nor has he seen trouble in Israel. The Lord their God is with them, and the shout of a king is among them. God brings them out of Egypt and is for them like the horns of the wild ox. For there is no enchantment against Jacob, no divination against Israel; now it shall be said of Jacob and Israel, ‘What has God wrought!’ Behold, a people! As a lioness it rises up and as a lion it lifts itself; it does not lie down until it has devoured the prey and drunk the blood of the slain.”
Numbers 23:18b-24
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: How lovely are your tents, O Jacob, your encampments, O Israel! Like palm groves that stretch afar, like gardens beside a river, like aloes that the Lord has planted, like cedar trees beside the waters. Water shall flow from his buckets, and his seed shall be in many waters; his king shall be higher than Agag, and his kingdom shall be exalted. God brings him out of Egypt and is for him like the horns of the wild ox; he shall eat up the nations, his adversaries, and shall break their bones in pieces and pierce them through with his arrows. He crouched, he lay down like a lion and like a lioness; who will rouse him up? Blessed are those who bless you, and cursed are those who curse you.”
Numbers 24:3b-9
If you haven’t figured out yet, the problem with these prophecies is that they aren’t curses but #BLESSINGS for Israel.
Balak gets a bit upset after the first two prophecies but after the third one, he’s PISSED.
And Balak’s anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, “I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have blessed them these three times. Therefore now flee to your own place. I said, ‘I will certainly honor you,’ but the Lord has held you back from honor.”
Numbers 24:10-11
How does Balaam respond?
And Balaam said to Balak, “Did I not tell your messengers whom you sent to me, ‘If Balak should give me his house full of silver and gold, I would not be able to go beyond the word of the Lord, to do either good or bad of my own will. What the Lord speaks, that will I speak’? And now, behold, I am going to my people. Come, I will let you know what this people will do to your people in the latter days.”
Numbers 24:12-14
Sounds promising, right?
“The oracle of Balaam the son of Beor, the oracle of the man whose eye is opened, the oracle of him who hears the words of God, and knows the knowledge of the Most High, who sees the vision of the Almighty, falling down with his eyes uncovered: I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities!”
Numbers 24:15b-19
Welllll…kind of.
Just for not Balak. Lol.
The prophecy goes on for a bit longer but I just wanted to show how hilarious the whole situation is. In a nutshell:
Balak: Curse these people
Balaam: *blesses them* (x3)
Balak: K, stop this, ur cheesing me bruh
Balaam: *blesses them one last time*
Some other thoughts I had while reading these two chapters:
Balaam is a GENTILE prophet (and I think the only one too). How cool is that? (Later, in Numbers 31, we find out that he actually betrays God and brings idolatry among the people of Israel and so he’s actually a terrible person and that stands out to me because we talk a lot about Jonah, whom God did not forsake despite his reluctance but there is Balaam, whom God did because of his actions against God’s people. You could 100% make a point that Balaam’s actions were much worse than Jonah’s but there does seem to be a way to disobey so extravagantly that God would forsake even a prophet. Sorry, that was long. I’ll end my rant here)
Interesting how many other characters in the old testament do not know God as “the God of Israel” or “the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob” yet still worship him as “God.” Some examples – Melchizedek, Jethro (?), Balaam (You guys can look those up yourselves).
Balaam had the Spirit of God come upon him (Numbers 24:2)
Now to the actual blessings.
Some stuff that stood out (I actually thought all the blessings were really cool but I’d prefer not to go through ALL of them so I’m just putting my favorites):
Who can count the dust of Jacob or number the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the upright, and let my end be like his!”
Numbers 23:10
That reminds me a bit of these:
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies
Genesis 12:2
I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies
Genesis 22:17
Very cool.
God is not man, that he should lie, or a son of man, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it? Behold, I received a command to bless: he has blessed, and I cannot revoke it.
Numbers 23:19-20
God will not change his mind and will fulfill the promises which he promises. Very cool.
I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth.
Numbers 24:17
A double prophecy which refers to David and an ‘eventual’ Messiah? Very cool.
Okay, I think I’ve spent enough time in those two chapters. It’s time to keep going.
I’m going to skip 25 and 26 and head straight into 27 where there is a very interesting case that occurs:
Then drew near the daughters of Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, from the clans of Manasseh the son of Joseph. The names of his daughters were: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they stood before Moses and before Eleazar the priest and before the chiefs and all the congregation, at the entrance of the tent of meeting, saying, “Our father died in the wilderness. He was not among the company of those who gathered themselves together against the Lord in the company of Korah, but died for his own sin. And he had no sons. Why should the name of our father be taken away from his clan because he had no son? Give to us a possession among our father’s brothers.”
Numbers 27:1-4
So, these girls’ father dies and they are trying to figure out who is supposed to get this land. This doesn’t seem like a very interesting story at first, it’s a patriarchal society, etc, etc. You’d expect the girls to just lose their land. But what happens instead?
Moses brought their case before the Lord. And the Lord said to Moses, “The daughters of Zelophehad are right. You shall give them possession of an inheritance among their father’s brothers and transfer the inheritance of their father to them.And you shall speak to the people of Israel, saying, ‘If a man dies and has no son, then you shall transfer his inheritance to his daughter.And if he has no daughter, then you shall give his inheritance to his brothers. And if he has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to his father’s brothers. And if his father has no brothers, then you shall give his inheritance to the nearest kinsman of his clan, and he shall possess it. And it shall be for the people of Israel a statute and rule, as the Lord commanded Moses.’”
Numbers 27:5-11
Wow. Well, I did not expect this at all.
Very cool though.
In the rest of Numbers 27, Joshua is appointed to be Moses’ successor. Some interesting verses that stood out to me:
Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.”
Numbers 27: 15-17
Probably completely unrelated but it just reminded me of this:
When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 9:36
Another verse that was interesting was this:
And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses.
Numbers 27:22
This stood out to me because it’s one of the things that is referred to as an “elementary doctrine” in Hebrews 6 that I forgot to look up until just now.
Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings,the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits.
Hebrews 6:1-3
So this time, slightly more relevant.
I guess it would be more helpful if I gave some context for the first verse:
So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey.
Numbers 27:18-20
The next couple chapters are on laws regarding sacrifices and a chapter on vows but I’m going to go straight into ch 31.
So, Israel is supposed to be getting vengeance against Midian for their people and these are some of the people they killed:
They killed the kings of Midian with the rest of their slain, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba, the five kings of Midian. And they also killed Balaam the son of Beor with the sword.
Numbers 31:8
Hey, is that the same Balaam before???
You bet.
Numbers 22:5 introduces Balaam to us as “Balaam the son of Beor at Pethor.”
If you haven’t heard this story before (and have not read my previous rant at the top of this post) , you may be wondering why are they killing the guy that blessed them?
Well, we are told in verse 16.
Behold, these, on Balaam’s advice, caused the people of Israel to act treacherously against the Lord in the incident of Peor, and so the plague came among the congregation of the Lord.
Numbers 31:16
What is he talking about? Well, I did not mention it in this post yet but it’s referring to the Baal worship that the Israelites preform in in chapter 25. (The chapter right after the chapter of Balaam failing to curse Israel, I know this is not how we are supposed to use brackets but that won’t stop me!)
While Israel lived in Shittim, the people began to whore with the daughters of Moab. These invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. So Israel yoked himself to Baal of Peor. And the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel. And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the chiefs of the people and hang them in the sun before the Lord, that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.” And Moses said to the judges of Israel, “Each of you kill those of his men who have yoked themselves to Baal of Peor.” And behold, one of the people of Israel came and brought a Midianite woman to his family, in the sight of Moses and in the sight of the whole congregation of the people of Israel, while they were weeping in the entrance of the tent of meeting.When Phinehas the son of Eleazar, son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose and left the congregation and took a spear in his hand and went after the man of Israel into the chamber and pierced both of them, the man of Israel and the woman through her belly. Thus the plague on the people of Israel was stopped. Nevertheless, those who died by the plague were twenty-four thousand.
Numbers 25:1-9
This was also an interesting verse in chapter 31!
everything that can stand the fire, you shall pass through the fire, and it shall be clean. Nevertheless, it shall also be purified with the water for impurity. And whatever cannot stand the fire, you shall pass through the water.
Numbers 31:23
It was really significant at the time of me reading this because I was reading the first few chapters of Matthew for a church event that is going on and I had JUST read Matthew 3:
“I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me is mightier than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Matthew 3:11
What is baptism by fire?
Some people think it is judgement of fire.
Others think it is the refining that Jesus does through our walk with him.
Either way, Numbers 31:23 has that interesting imagery in which God purifies through fire.
Some other verses to look at regarding the use of this imagery but about his people:
And I will put this third into the fire, and refine them as one refines silver, and test them as gold is tested. They will call upon my name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are my people’; and they will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”
Zechariah 13:9
So that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Peter 1:7
So, after the fight, they apparently lose NO people
and said to Moses, “Your servants have counted the men of war who are under our command, and there is not a man missing from us.
Numbers 31:49
Whoa, okay.
Numbers 33 has God saying the Israelites MUST drive out the people of Canaan or else:
But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.”
Numbers 33:55-56
“And I will do to you as I thought to do to them.“
That does not sound good at all.
In Numbers 35, God talks about giving cities to the Levites:
“Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites some of the inheritance of their possession as cities for them to dwell in. And you shall give to the Levites pasturelands around the cities. The cities shall be theirs to dwell in, and their pasturelands shall be for their cattle and for their livestock and for all their beasts.
Numbers 35:2-3
If I was the other tribes, I’d be like YO, thought this was our land. Why do they get cities literally in the middle of our lands 😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤😤.
We are told that the cities are special though:
The cities that you give to the Levites shall be the six cities of refuge, where you shall permit the manslayer to flee, and in addition to them you shall give forty-two cities.
Numbers 35:6
So what you’re saying is you can just murder people and hide in these cities?
then you shall select cities to be cities of refuge for you, that the manslayer who kills any person without intent may flee there.The cities shall be for you a refuge from the avenger, that the manslayer may not die until he stands before the congregation for judgment.
Numbers 35:11-12
Well, not exactly.
It’s more of like a witness protection program.
Funnily enough, the “manslayer” must remain in the Levite city until the high priest dies. If he leaves otherwise, the avenger is allowed to ‘avenge’ still.
And the congregation shall rescue the manslayer from the hand of the avenger of blood, and the congregation shall restore him to his city of refuge to which he had fled, and he shall live in it until the death of the high priest who was anointed with the holy oil. But if the manslayer shall at any time go beyond the boundaries of his city of refuge to which he fled, and the avenger of blood finds him outside the boundaries of his city of refuge, and the avenger of blood kills the manslayer, he shall not be guilty of blood. For he must remain in his city of refuge until the death of the high priest, but after the death of the high priest the manslayer may return to the land of his possession.
Numbers 35:25-28
Death of the high priest leading to an avenger having to forgive someone’s (accidental) murder?
I’ve yet to figure it out entirely but sure does sound like some foreshadow to me.
Chapter 36 expands more on the events that happened with the daughters in chapter 27. I did not find anything particularly interesting to share so I’m probably going to end it here.
I have not written in quite a while but yesterday someone told me that they liked my blog and I was in shock and did not know what to say because I thought only Gabriel read my posts.
I was actually not planning to write this one tonight and was going to be doing homework instead but I’ve been inspired to spend these next several hours writing on my past week’s devotion of Numbers.
It’ll probably take me a bit several extra hours as well but I really wanted to write on Genesis as well which I’ve been reading for a class. Not sure if I will continue writing on Genesis as it has a lot of chapters and writing posts take a surprisingly large amount of energy and time.
But for today, I will do so because these first 11 chapters of Genesis has so much cool stuff that it’d be wrong not to take share with all of my friends who take their time to read these absurdly long posts.
Starting from Numbers 15…
For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the Lord. One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”
Numbers 15:15-16
So this is about some law about sacrifices when they get into the land or something. I’m kind of overlooking the context as a whole (so hopefully I don’t miss any huge theological implications) but I just thought it was very cool how even in these early books of the Torah, God has consideration for the Gentiles who desire to serve him and even allows them opportunities to do so.
We are not actually given any context but we are told that one day, about 250 of the Israelites decided they did not like Moses and Aaron’s leadership. And this is what they say:
They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the Lord?”
Numbers 16:3
If we put our thinking caps on, we will realize that this situation is absolutely absurd. What in the world do you mean “why does Moses have authority?” Do these 250 people not remember this event that happened only around a year prior?
Now when all the people saw the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the mountain smoking, the people were afraid and trembled, and they stood far off and said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin.” The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was.
Exodus 20:18-21
Do they not remember Moses being in communion with God for forty days and forty nights?
Moses entered the cloud and went up on the mountain. And Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights.
Exodus 24:18
Or his shining face from talking with God?
Whenever Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he would remove the veil, until he came out. And when he came out and told the people of Israel what he was commanded, the people of Israel would see the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face was shining. And Moses would put the veil over his face again, until he went in to speak with him.
Exodus 34:34-35
There’s literally dozens of passages we could pick from that showed Moses’ special relationship to God. My favourite one probably being:
Thus the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Exodus 33:11
Anyone else in the congregation do this?
What a weird complaint.
So we keep following the story and God gets pretty angry:
“Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.”
Numbers 16:21
Fortunately for the Israelites, Moses and Aaron intercedes and God listens, only destroying the rebellious dudes:
And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”
Numbers 16:22
What’s interesting is how exactly God punishes these men.
Moses goes up to them:
Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones.
Numbers 16:25-27
And this is what he says:
And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the Lord has not sent me. But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.”
Numbers 16:28-30
Now, if you’ve been paying attention to the story, something that seems interesting that is that although God has threatened to destroy these men, the text does not explicitly have God telling Moses to say the things he says in v. 28-30. There is no “the Lord said to Moses…” regarding such things.
YET, God does as Moses says anyway
And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods.
Numbers 16:31-32
We witness God honoring his prophet ! (OR maybe God did tell him and it just doesn’t tell us but God honoring the prayers of his prophet sounds like a much better story)
This is more of an larger insight but it appears as chapters 16 and 17 are consecutive chapters with the intention of solidifying Moses and Aaron’s roles as the leaders of the congregation
Ch 16 has people questioning Moses and Aaron’s roles as the leaders of the congregation and leads to the death of some rebels because of them trying to “burn incense before the Lord” – something that should only be done by the priests (v.40)
Ch 17 does not have any complaining people but God ‘randomly’ tells Moses to gather staffs from each tribe and put them into the tabernacle and God is like “the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout” (v.5) Obviously, Aaron’s staff sprouts as expected in verse 8.
In a vacuum, chapter 17 seems completely random but when we read it in conjunction with chapter 16, it appears God is trying to do something so that chapter 16 does not repeat itself or as he says in verse 10:
And the Lord said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.”
Numbers 17:10
Chapter 18 has some good stuff.
First, we start off with this passage that we took a look at before:
And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
Numbers 18:20
The priests get the Lord as inheritance. Still very cool.
Something new though comes right after
To the Levites I have given every tithe in Israel for an inheritance, in return for their service that they do, their service in the tent of meeting
Numbers 18:21
For the tithe of the people of Israel, which they present as a contribution to the Lord, I have given to the Levites for an inheritance. Therefore I have said of them that they shall have no inheritance among the people of Israel.”
Numbers 18:24
So let’s just piece this together
The other 12 tribes get land
The Levites get “no inheritance” which actually turns out to be (v. 24):
God himself for the priests (v. 20)
The tithes for the Levites who do the service of the tent of meeting (v. 21, 23-24)
Wow, shoutout to @God for making this clear and easy to understand!
The second part about the Levites who do the service of the tent of meeting get expanded on in the next few verses too:
Moreover, you shall speak and say to the Levites, ‘When you take from the people of Israel the tithe that I have given you from them for your inheritance, then you shall present a contribution from it to the Lord, a tithe of the tithe.
Numbers 18:26
And your contribution shall be counted to you as though it were the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress.
Numbers 18:27
Two takeaways:
By v.26: The Levites who took the tithes as their ‘salary’ also had to give their own tithe. (Interesting implications for workers in ministry)
By v.27: The Levites who worked on the tent of meeting took the tithes as a ‘salary’ as if it were “the grain of the threshing floor, and as the fullness of the winepress” with an implication that these “workers of God” deserved to be compensated for their work
Paul says something similar in 1 Corinthians:
Do you not know that those who are employed in the temple service get their food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the sacrificial offerings? In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
1 Corinthians 9:13-14
A call for the workers of God to tithe and a call for followers of God to support them.
All in one chapter!!!
Great.
As I was reading these instructions in Numbers 19…
Then the priest shall wash his clothes and bathe his body in water, and afterward he may come into the camp. But the priest shall be unclean until evening. The one who burns the heifer shall wash his clothes in water and bathe his body in water and shall be unclean until evening. And a man who is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer and deposit them outside the camp in a clean place. And they shall be kept for the water for impurity for the congregation of the people of Israel; it is a sin offering. And the one who gathers the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes and be unclean until evening. And this shall be a perpetual statute for the people of Israel, and for the stranger who sojourns among them.
Numbers 19:7-10
So prior to this, the “people of Israel” are supposed to bring a red heifer and the priest does some sacrifice things and then we get the above where the priest needs to wash his clothes and a third guy (who is clean) needs to gather up the ashes.
BUT, hear me out.
What if you only have two people total: one priest and one other guy who brings the heifer OR what if there is no more clean people after this???
How can they complete this offering without a third clean person to gather the ashes????????????
Cannot believe that God does not address this!
So Numbers 20,
People complain there is no water (v.2-5)
God says talk to this rock (v.8)
Moses STRIKES it instead TWICE (!!!) (v.11)
God says ur not going to the promised land now bud (v.12)
A bunch of people are gonna talk about how he was angry or he did this wrong or that wrong and that’s why this and that.
We are NOT doing that today.
Something much much much much much more interesting is why would we even think Moses is going to the promised land in the first place?????
Let’s head back to when God says to the people “y’all never seeing the promised land.”
But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.
Numbers 14:21-23
not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
Numbers 14:30
He says “EVERY SINGLE ONE OF Y’ALL IS NOT GOING TO THE PROMISED LAND EXCEPT CALEB AND JOSHUA.”
Is MOSES named CALEB or JOSHUA?
NO
So there should be absolutely NO surprise when we find out Moses will not be making it into the promise land because God clearly named the two people that will eventually and Moses was not on that list.
Now, we can ask the REAL questions:
Did God not name Moses because he knew Numbers 20:11 would happen?
OR
Did Moses not care because he knew his name was mentioned so Numbers 20:11 happened?
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Some more interesting stuff in Numbers 20:
Let Aaron be gathered to his people, for he shall not enter the land that I have given to the people of Israel, because you rebelled against my command at the waters of Meribah.
Numbers 20:24
But Aaron doesn’t even do anything at Meribah??????? It was like all Moses ???????
and
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.
Numbers 20:29
IRONIC considering how much heat this guy took from the people 😤😤😤.
OH BOY, we are almost done half this post 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
Numbers 21 we have the bronze serpent story:
From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom. And the people became impatient on the way. And the people spoke against God and against Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food.” Then the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many people of Israel died. And the people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against you. Pray to the Lord, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.
Numbers 21:4-8
YO, are you reading this???????
“Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when sees it, shall live.”
ARE YOU READING THIS???????????
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
This is SO cool that I’m going to skip the rest of this chapter.
Wow, Numbers FINALE for the day.
Numbers 22 tells us of our friend Balaam, his talking donkey, and an invisible angel of death.
It is a very strange story:
STRANGE POINT #1: God seemingly tells Balaam can go in v.20 and gets angry at him in v.22 for going
STRANGE POINT #2: There is a talking donkey who can see angels (v. 23, 28-30)
So here is the sumamry
Balak wants to fight Israel but they are too strong
Balak calls for help of Balaam
Balak’s people: bro, come
God: no
Balaam: sry, my God said no
Balak’s people (pt 2.): bro, come
God: go
Balaam: ok
God: I’m gonna destroy this guy
Balaam’s donkey sees angel of death and stops
Balaam: y u stop
Balaam proceeds to argue with his donkey and she speaks back
God opens Balaam’s eyes and he talks to the angel and he passes
Balaam meets up with Balak
Cliffhanger
And that is the end of the chapter 22 and Numbers for this post.
On to Genesis 1…
So if you read the first creation account that appears from Genesis 1:2-3,
you will realize there is 7 times that God says something is “good.”
You might be asking,
Doesn’t that make sense considering there is 7 days?
It WOULD but all 7 of these show up on days 1-6 while none of them occur during day 2
Verse 4: Light is good
Verse 5: End of first day
Verse 8: End of second day
Verse 10: It was good (heavens and earth)
Verse 12: It was good (plants)
Verse: 13 End of third day
Verse 18: It was good (stars, sun, and moon)
Verse 19: End of fourth day
Verse 21: It was good (sea and air animals)
Verse 23: End of fifth day
Verse 25: It was good (land animals)
Verse 31: It was very good (everything) + End of sixth day
Here is a not very helpful visual:
Something else that is also very cool in Genesis 1:1-3 is the appearance trinity
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.
Genesis 1:1-3
The last one is a bit less straightforward but if take a look at some of the New Testament writings…
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.
John 1:1-3
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
Colossians 1:15-16
On to Genesis 2…
When no bush of the field was yet in the landand no small plant of the field had yet sprung up—for the Lord God had not caused it to rain on the land, and there was no man to work the ground, and a mist was going up from the land and was watering the whole face of the ground— then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
Genesis 2:5-7
“no bush of the field was yet in the land and no small plant of the field had yet sprung up.”
Okay, must be day 2 or 3
“then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.”
What??????
This does not appear to line up with the events that precede in Genesis 1 😱😱😱😱
???????????????
And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:11-12
😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Genesis 2:8-9
My textbook pointed out that if there are two trees in the garden and one tree is the tree of life then it would make sense for the other tree to be the tree of death.
(spoilers: and so it was)
Super interesting:
Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.
Genesis 2:24
If you follow along, this is just after Adam’s poem celebrating the creation of Eve.
BUT,
why is this interesting??
Well, first off, this verse is completely out of flow with the rest of the preceding passages and has nothing to do with the story.
But aside that, could the inclusion of it at the time of the story (i.e. pre-fall) suggest that marriage was originally something that was intended for man (and woman)?
I’m not trying to say people should or shouldn’t marry, but just how significant of a part of it was it in God’s original creation plan that it purposely mentioned right here? At a completely, seemingly random part of the story?
Maybe not so random after all.
Genesis 3 has some weird stuff like talking snakes and God walking in the garden (Whoa, could that be Jesus?) but I’m more interested in the curses:
I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.
Genesis 3:15
It’s a curse on the snake but it’s also the protevangelium or “the first mention of the Gospel.”
(haha, I found that on wikipedia while I was searching on a way to explain this prophecy)
I’ve decided I’m not going to explain it but key questions to keep in mind:
Is “offspring of the woman” significant?
What are the implications of bruising someone’s heel?
Is it better or worse to have your head bruised?
Next eye-catching curse:
To the woman he said,
“I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.”
Genesis 3:16
“Your desire shall be contrary to your husband, but he shall rule over you.” is a CURSE of the fall.
What exactly does that mean? What implications does that have?
I’ve decided I’m not going to answer those questions because ultimately in whichever way I explain it, someone will inevitably tell me how I’m wrong and supposed to read it the other way.
Quick summary of the curses for man-kind
Painful childbirth (v. 16)
Woman’s desire will be contrary to be husband, but he will rule over her (v.16)
Cursed is the ground (v.17)
Death (v.19)
Before we move on, can someone PLEASE explain why God would put an object that would lead death literally in the middle of the garden???
It’s like putting a weapon beside a toddler and asking them not to touch it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, it’s the same language as Genesis 3:16
If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
Genesis 4:7
What could this mean for the understanding of the previous passage?
Well, I’m not going to answer that but I’m sure you, as the reader, could use this new and significant piece of information.
When you work the ground, it shall no longer yield to you its strength. You shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth.” Cain said to the Lord, “My punishment is greater than I can bear.
Genesis 4:12-13
Cain is literally a farmer and God’s curse is that he can no longer farm.
Pretty big punishment.
So one of Cain’s descendants kills and dude and pronounces a curse on himself on anyone who tries to kill him:
If Cain’s revenge is sevenfold, then Lamech’s is seventy-sevenfold.”
Genesis 4:24
The number sticks out to me though. Where else do we read seventy-seven?
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Matthew 18:21-22
I wonder if Jesus is alluding to this dude and the forgiveness God lays on Cain despite his murder.
Onto Genesis 6…
These are the generations of Noah. Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generation. Noah walked with God.
Genesis 6:9
You may be thinking I skipped Genesis 5 but take a look at this!!!
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Genesis 5:24
These are the only two people who are said to have “walked with God” and what did God do for Enoch? He’s one of the few people in the Bible who do not die 😱. Noah is in pretty good company.
Oh, and about the Nephilim:
The Nephilim were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.
Genesis 6:4
We are not exactly sure who they are but many apocryphal texts have them as fallen angels. With the term meaning “fallen ones.”
Some Bibles have it translated as “giants” because the Septuagint has it translated as “gigantes” or “giants.”
If you do not know what any of the words I’ve just said mean, just know that I’m not entirely sure either (but it seems as it is probably fallen angels!!)
I’m going to skip the flood and the “how many days was it” and the “how many animals were on it” and skip straight to Genesis 9 where Noah exits the boat.
Some pretty significant things happen:
Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything.
Genesis 9:3
Humans can eat meat now 😱😱😱.
Also interesting:
And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.
Whoever sheds the blood of man, by man shall his blood be shed, for God made man in his own image.
Genesis 9:5-6
It seems to imply that even animals will be judged for the death of man.
Lastly, the covenant God makes with Noah:
“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
Genesis 9:9-11
And not just Noah, but also all the living creatures of creation as well.
Very cool.
I think I will be ending it here. If we go any further, we would be heading into Abraham and the patriarchs (😱) which would be very exciting but this post has to end somewhere.
I’m going to cover quite a few chapters today (6 chapters !!) so hold on to your hats and hope that I can make it through it 😱😱😱😱
Hopefully this does not go too long!
Okay, going into Numbers 9….
“Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If any one of you or of your descendants is unclean through touching a dead body, or is on a long journey, he shall still keep the Passover to the Lord. In the second month on the fourteenth day at twilight they shall keep it. They shall eat it with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
Numbers 9:10-11
Observations:
Super cool that God allows people an opportunity to keep the Passover even if they are unavailable/not able to do so during the regularly appointed time (14th day of the 1st month). Instead, he allows them
Why does he include people who are on a journey?
It’s quite possible he’s including it for future context when they are no longer wandering in the desert but at the moment, the people are pretty much sticking together with God. The writer makes sure to mention this many, many, many, many times during the next part of Numbers 9:
People did NOT set out when the cloud did not:
Even when the cloud continued over the tabernacle many days, the people of Israel kept the charge of the Lord and did not set out.
Numbers 9:19
Whether it was two days, or a month, or a longer time, that the cloud continued over the tabernacle, abiding there, the people of Israel remained in camp and did not set out, but when it lifted they set out.
Numbers 9:22
And they ONLY set out when the cloud set out, or “at the command of the LORD”:
At the command of the Lord the people of Israel set out, and at the command of the Lord they camped. As long as the cloud rested over the tabernacle, they remained in camp.
Numbers 9:18
Sometimes the cloud was a few days over the tabernacle, and according to the command of the Lord they remained in camp; then according to the command of the Lord they set out.
Numbers 9:20
At the command of the Lord they camped, and at the command of the Lord they set out. They kept the charge of the Lord, at the command of the Lord by Moses.
Numbers 9:23
I wonder if there’s some chiasms in there 😱😱😱.
Another SUPER COOL verse in Numbers 9:
And if a stranger sojourns among you and would keep the Passover to the Lord, according to the statute of the Passover and according to its rule, so shall he do. You shall have one statute, both for the sojourner and for the native.”
Numbers 9:14
Gentiles are allowed to fully participate in the Passover???
WOW.
Super cool.
Okay, onto chapter 10.
And when the tabernacle was taken down, the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who carried the tabernacle, set out.
Numbers 10:17
As I read this verse about them packing up the tabernacle and stuff, I realize they probably have not moved from where they are since Exodus until now because God didn’t explain how to move the tabernacle until only a couple chapters ago.
Haha.
And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.” But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.”So they set out from the mount of the Lord three days’ journey. And the ark of the covenant of the Lord went before them three days’ journey, to seek out a resting place for them. And the cloud of the Lord was over them by day, whenever they set out from the camp.
Numbers 10:29-34
Here, there is a conversation between Moses and Hobab (someone whom we are still not really sure who he is since a bunch of commentaries suggest a couple different things).
Moses: “aye mate, u should run wit us”
Hobab: “nah b, probs gon’ get back to my fam”
Moses says “come wit us bro, we’ll #BLESS u as the LORD has #BLESSED us #Abraham, #GENESIS12”
CLEARLY, Moses knew his text.
Does he stay?? Does he ditch?? Do we have no idea because it does not say?????
Well, we actually find out next time on the Bible™.
Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh.
Judges 4:11
Seems like he stay.
Onto Numbers 11.
Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, “Oh that we had meat to eat!
Numbers 11:4
This is a really strange complaint.
In Exodus 16, God actually brings them quail, so you may wonder why there is a complaint at all?
“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’” In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp.
Exodus 16:12-13
Numbers 11:19-20 suggests that possibly may have not have been an event that happened on the daily.
You shall not eat just one day, or two days, or five days, or ten days, or twenty days, but a whole month, until it comes out at your nostrils and becomes loathsome to you, because you have rejected the Lord who is among you and have wept before him, saying, “Why did we come out of Egypt?”’
Numbers 11:19-20
Gotta say, I’m not exactly sure whether this is an act by God of punishment or graciousness.
Probably a bit of both, considering not everyone actually had a chance to eat it.
Then a wind from the Lord sprang up, and it brought quail from the sea and let them fall beside the camp, about a day’s journey on this side and a day’s journey on the other side, around the camp, and about two cubits above the ground. And the people rose all that day and all night and all the next day, and gathered the quail. Those who gathered least gathered ten homers. And they spread them out for themselves all around the camp. While the meat was yet between their teeth, before it was consumed, the anger of the Lord was kindled against the people, and the Lord struck down the people with a very great plague.
Numbers 11:31-33
Or maybe those people did have a chance and then died?
Therefore the name of that place was called Kibroth-hattaavah because there they buried the people who had the craving.
Numbers 11:34
Footnote for “Kibroth-hattaavah” says “graves of craving.” So maybe the plague was in the quail so all the people who ate it, died? Or did it only selectively kill the people who ate it? Or did he just strike down the people who craved it before having a chance to eat it?
Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me? Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom, as a nurse carries a nursing child,’ to the land that you swore to give their fathers? Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me and say, ‘Give us meat, that we may eat.’ I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me. If you will treat me like this, kill me at once, if I find favor in your sight, that I may not see my wretchedness.”
Numbers 11:11-15
I just thought it was cool how Moses is able to freely cry out to God his stress and frustrations here and how God works with him in response to that.
Then the Lord said to Moses, “Gather for me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them, and bring them to the tent of meeting, and let them take their stand there with you. And I will come down and talk with you there. And I will take some of the Spirit that is on you and put it on them, and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, so that you may not bear it yourself alone.
Numbers 11:16-17
This is also interesting because it reminds me of the story in Exodus 18 where Jethro tells Moses to appoint leaders and stop trying to do everything by himself.
The next day Moses sat to judge the people, and the people stood around Moses from morning till evening. When Moses’ father-in-law saw all that he was doing for the people, he said, “What is this that you are doing for the people? Why do you sit alone, and all the people stand around you from morning till evening?” And Moses said to his father-in-law, “Because the people come to me to inquire of God; when they have a dispute, they come to me and I decide between one person and another, and I make them know the statutes of God and his laws.” Moses’ father-in-law said to him,“What you are doing is not good. You and the people with you will certainly wear yourselves out, for the thing is too heavy for you. You are not able to do it alone. Now obey my voice; I will give you advice, and God be with you! You shall represent the people before God and bring their cases to God, and you shall warn them about the statutes and the laws, and make them know the way in which they must walk and what they must do. Moreover, look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”
Exodus 18:13-23
Great conversation:
But Moses said, “The people among whom I am number six hundred thousand on foot, and you have said, ‘I will give them meat, that they may eat a whole month!’ Shall flocks and herds be slaughtered for them, and be enough for them? Or shall all the fish of the sea be gathered together for them, and be enough for them?”
Numbers 11:21-22
And the Lord said to Moses, “Is the Lord’s hand shortened? Now you shall see whether my word will come true for you or not.”
Numbers 11:23
This next one is probably my favourite thing in this entire post.
God gathers the elders and takes some of the spirit that is on Moses and gives it to the other elders who then start prophesying (and then stop).
Joshua runs to the meeting and tells Moses of two elders that started prophesying in the camp (since they did not come to the meeting) and tells Moses that they should them.
How does Moses reply? (I’m going to post the NIV since it is slightly easier to read)
But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!”
Numbers 11:29 NIV
Is this a foreshadow???????? 😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱
“I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
Ezekiel 36:27
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own
I’m going to ignore the larger story in this chapter but one verse that stands out:
And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the Lord make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the Lord. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?”
Numbers 12: 6-8
It’s a response to this question:
And they (*Miriam and Aaron) said, “Has the Lord indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the Lord heard it.
Numbers 12:2
(* denotes that I added it for context)
So what WAS special about Moses?
Some other versions (they’re basically split) translate “mouth to mouth” as “face to face” which we know as a reference to Exodus 33:11
Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as a man speaks to his friend. When Moses turned again into the camp, his assistant Joshua the son of Nun, a young man, would not depart from the tent.
Exodus 33:11
Sounds pretty special to me 😱 .
In Numbers 13,Moses sends people to go spy out the land of Canaan and how long are they gone????????
At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land.
People complain: Better if we had died in Egypt, etc
God gets mad: I will destroy these people and make a nation out of you (Moses)
Moses: Plz no, spare these people for your glory
Why is this CLASSIC?
A nearly identical thing happens in Exodus 32:
And the Lord said to Moses, “Go down, for your people, whom you brought up out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted themselves. They have turned aside quickly out of the way that I commanded them. They have made for themselves a golden calf and have worshiped it and sacrificed to it and said, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!’” And the Lord said to Moses, “I have seen this people, and behold, it is a stiff-necked people. Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them, in order that I may make a great nation of you.” But Moses implored the Lord his God and said, “O Lord, why does your wrath burn hot against your people, whom you have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘With evil intent did he bring them out, to kill them in the mountains and to consume them from the face of the earth’? Turn from your burning anger and relent from this disaster against your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, your servants, to whom you swore by your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven, and all this land that I have promised I will give to your offspring, and they shall inherit it forever.’” And the Lord relented from the disaster that he had spoken of bringing on his people.
Exodus 32:7-14
For a side-by-side comparison:
And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.” But Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O Lord, are in the midst of this people. For you, O Lord, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, ‘It is because the Lord was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.” Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord
Numbers 14:11-20
The “The Lord is slow to anger…” is actually from Exodus 34 (during the same encounter too!!)
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
Exodus 34:6-7
He spares them but punishes them in this way:
But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.
Numbers 14:22-23
And this is after all they’ve been through.
Got out of Egypt only to die within the next 40 years in the wilderness.
(Well, of course other than Caleb and Joshua: via v. 30)
F to pay respects
I’m kind of tired of writing since it’s been almost two-and-a-half hours so I’m just going to end it here.
That being said, today marks the start of a new semester at school, so hopefully, I can continue posting even in these times of busyness!
Diving straight into Numbers 6, we read (basically) a chapter on the “Nazirite Vow” which was a vow that a person took to personally dedicate themselves to God.
Or as it says in Verse 2:
Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When either a man or a woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord
Numbers 6:2
(Some other versions such as NIV and NASB use the word “dedicate” instead of separate which may be more clear)
There are three conditions of this vow: you could no longer drink or eat ANY grape related products (v. 3-4), you could not shave or cut your hair (v.5), and you could not touch a dead body (v.6-7).
If you happened to break ANY of these rules, you’d go back to square zero and you’d have to start your vow from day 1 again.
You may be asking, what exactly do you gain from doing this vow?
If you happen to read the passage, you’d find that you don’t actually gain any particular reward for doing this special act for God.
That’s not to say nobody in the Bible would take the vow.
One famous Nazirite was Samson:
And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, so the Lord gave them into the hand of the Philistines for forty years. There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. And his wife was barren and had no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Behold, you are barren and have not borne children, but you shall conceive and bear a son. Therefore be careful and drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for behold, you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor shall come upon his head, for the child shall be a Nazirite to God from the womb, and he shall begin to save Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”
Judges 13:1-5
He had great strength, and we find out in the story that it was actually not cutting his hair that gave him his strength:
And she said to him, “How can you say, ‘I love you,’ when your heart is not with me? You have mocked me these three times, and you have not told me where your great strength lies.” And when she pressed him hard with her words day after day, and urged him, his soul was vexed to death. And he told her all his heart, and said to her, “A razor has never come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If my head is shaved, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak and be like any other man.”
Judges 16:15-17
And to make sure he was legit this time:
She made him sleep on her knees. And she called a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his head. Then she began to torment him, and his strength left him.
Judges 16:19
So why exactly should we or anyone take this vow?
I gotta be honest and say that I have no idea.
Well, time to move on.
What really stood out to me in chapter 6 is the last couple verses where Aaron blesses the people of Israel:
The Lord spoke to Moses, saying,“Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them,
The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
“So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:22-27
What stood out to me exactly? Some thoughts:
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:25-26
Here, the passage keeps talking about God’s face: “the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you” (v. 25) and “the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (v.26).
Why is this interesting?
Well, if we recall our Exodus and recall when Moses asks to see God’s glory, what does God say?
But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.”
Exodus 33:20
Okay, so why in the world would we want to see his face if we’re gonna die ?????
Okay. Next, let’s read v.25 again.
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you
Numbers 6:25
“the Lord makes his face shine upon you.”
If we are familiar with the gospels then this might make us think of this event….
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Matthew 17:1-2
Okay. Next, let’s read this:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
John 14:27
Sound familiar? I wonder exactly what kind of person or god claims to be the one who gives peace?
the Lord lift up his countenanceupon you and give you peace.
Numbers 6:26
Oh right. We just read that.
Wow. That makes Jesus’ claim all the more bold.
Next off, Numbers 7.
Initial thoughts:
and brought their offerings before the Lord, six wagons and twelve oxen, a wagon for every two of the chiefs, and for each one an ox. They brought them before the tabernacle
Numbers 7:3
If you’re me, you’re probably wondering, “hey, I wonder what they’re carrying in the wagons.”
Then the Lord said to Moses,“Accept these from them, that they may be used in the service of the tent of meeting, and give them to the Levites, to each man according to his service.” So Moses took the wagons and the oxen and gave them to the Levites. Two wagons and four oxen he gave to the sons of Gershon, according to their service. And four wagons and eight oxen he gave to the sons of Merari, according to their service, under the direction of Ithamar the son of Aaron the priest. But to the sons of Kohath he gave none, because they were charged with the service of the holy things that had to be carried on the shoulder.
Numbers 7:4-9
“Oh. Lol. Never mind.”
I was going to paste all 12 of the offerings from each of the tribes and ask you guys to read through them to see if you guys saw anything that stood out only to point out there wasn’t anything particularly interesting that stood out aside from Judah being the first tribe because it happens to be EXACTLY the same things offered 12 times in a row and you’ll realize this if you read the totals:
This was the dedication offering for the altar on the day when it was anointed, from the chiefs of Israel: twelve silver plates, twelve silver basins, twelve golden dishes, each silver plate weighing 130 shekels and each basin 70, all the silver of the vessels 2,400 shekels according to the shekel of the sanctuary, the twelve golden dishes, full of incense, weighing 10 shekels apiece according to the shekel of the sanctuary, all the gold of the dishes being 120 shekels; all the cattle for the burnt offering twelve bulls, twelve rams, twelve male lambs a year old, with their grain offering; and twelve male goats for a sin offering; and all the cattle for the sacrifice of peace offerings twenty-four bulls, the rams sixty, the male goats sixty, the male lambs a year old sixty. This was the dedication offering for the altar after it was anointed.
Numbers 7:84-88
But I did not because that’s a lot of work.
You might be wondering why exactly we are told the EXACT same thing (pretty much) 12 times in a row.
I’m going to tell you that I have no idea.
Some interesting stuff in Numbers 8:
and Aaron shall offer the Levites before the Lord as a wave offering from the people of Israel, that they may do the service of the Lord.
Numbers 8:11
The Levites are an offering to God.
Hey, interesting.
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Romans 12:1
What else is interesting?
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 8:19
God gives a people (Levites) to the priest (Aaron) as a gift.
Sounds familiar?
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
1 Peter 2:9
(I’m actually not sure exactly sure if this is the correct verse that I’m looking for but something about us being given as people to Christ. RIP, I do not know my text. If you have the answer, PLEASE tell me so I can fix it)
Maybe I’m reaching…or…maybe it’s a foreshadow 😱😱😱
Who can know but the spirit of God?
I can’t wait for the day that God will allow us to browse his heavenly libraries and browse his handwritten commentaries 😭😭😭
That’s going to be all for today.
Thanks for reading!!!
Stay cool!
Jason
P.S. As I read this, I realize there’s a lot of “I have no idea”s in today’s post. Haha.
sorry that I have not been posting a lately, the previous couple days I was at a conference and yesterday, I spent my day reading David Platt’s Radical so I’ve just been super behind on my Bible reading. 😭😭😭
I’m done the book though, so if anyone would like to read it as well, let me know!
Today, I am going to head back into Numbers.
I did not find anything particularly profound in chapter 2 with the arrangement of tribes but it was helpful to look up some visuals on what it possibly may have looked like! (from google images)
Just to clarify, the writer of Numbers does not really make it a concern for how precisely the tribes were organized in the written text. Just that 3 of each of the tribes are placed in the N/W/S/E direction.
Numbers 3 expands on this arrangement, adding to it, but not before a small side note in Numbers 3:4 to Leviticus 10:1-2
But Nadab and Abihu died before the Lord when they offered unauthorized fire before the Lord in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children. So Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests in the lifetime of Aaron their father.
Numbers 3:4
Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord.
Leviticus 10:1-2
One thing that is super interesting about the set-up is if we put together the information we have in Numbers 2-3 and a section of the Exodus 27 text, we realize that the entrance to the tabernacle actually faces towards the East.
“You shall make the court of the tabernacle. On the south side the court shall have hangings of fine twined linen a hundred cubits long for one side. Its twenty pillars and their twenty bases shall be of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And likewise for its length on the north side there shall be hangings a hundred cubits long, its pillars twenty and their bases twenty, of bronze, but the hooks of the pillars and their fillets shall be of silver. And for the breadth of the court on the west side there shall be hangings for fifty cubits, with ten pillars and ten bases. The breadth of the court on the front to the east shall be fifty cubits. The hangings for the one side of the gate shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. On the other side the hangings shall be fifteen cubits, with their three pillars and three bases. For the gate of the court there shall be a screen twenty cubits long, of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen, embroidered with needlework. It shall have four pillars and with them four bases. All the pillars around the court shall be filleted with silver. Their hooks shall be of silver, and their bases of bronze. The length of the court shall be a hundred cubits, the breadth fifty, and the height five cubits, with hangings of fine twined linen and bases of bronze. All the utensils of the tabernacle for every use, and all its pegs and all the pegs of the court, shall be of bronze.
Exodus 27:9-19
If you don’t believe me, you can look it up yourself or check out some of the articles here and here.
The big question is whether or not this is something that is significant or if I’m just wasting my time.
Some interesting verses to look at:
And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:8
He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.
Genesis 3:24
And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.
Genesis 11:2
Because I’ve yet to provide any context:
The first verse is from the creation of the garden of Eden, in which we are told was planted “in the east“
The second verse is after the fall of man, where man is kicked out cherubim are set to guard the entrance “at the east of the garden of Eden”
The third verse is from just before they build the tower of Babel, in which we are told they came “from the east“
So we can kind of draw a picture of creation to fall to Babel:
That’s a whole lot of east.
Here’s more stuff:
Then the cherubim lifted up their wings, with the wheels beside them, and the glory of the God of Israel was over them. And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city and stood on the mountain that is on the east side of the city.
Ezekiel 11:23
What is the glory of God?
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
Hebrews 1:3
Here’s a map of Jerusalem and that big red circle is the Mt. of Olives which is on the “east side of the city.”
Maybe you don’t believe me and think I’m reaching hard for this and that’s okay but here is a link that I thought pointed out some really cool and interesting things.
(I added this later because after I saw the Zechariah ref. I couldn’t NOT share it so here it is:
Behold, a day is coming for the Lord, when the spoil taken from you will be divided in your midst. For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken and the houses plundered and the women raped. Half of the city shall go out into exile, but the rest of the people shall not be cut off from the city. Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward.
Zechariah 14:1-4
end thought here).
Even if you aren’t completely on board the Jewish philosophical points or the conclusions they draw, (which I would admit I’m not completely knowledgeable on so don’t take my word for it), there is a bunch of verses in the middle of the article which use east and the coming of the Lord from the east and it’s fulfillment in Matthew.
Here is another link that kind of pieces together that prophecy and fulfillment.
So, a bit of a side thought but still REALLY cool.
What else stands out from Numbers 3?
Last time we talked a bit about the Levites, how they were given a special privilege and inheritance among the tribes.
This time, God affirms their special place among the tribes even further
“Behold, I have taken the Levites from among the people of Israel instead of every firstborn who opens the womb among the people of Israel. The Levites shall be mine, for all the firstborn are mine. On the day that I struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, I consecrated for my own all the firstborn in Israel, both of man and of beast. They shall be mine: I am the Lord.”
Numbers 3:11-13
God announces that he is taking the Levites as his firstborn.
Take the Levites instead of all the firstborn among the people of Israel, and the cattle of the Levites instead of their cattle. The Levites shall be mine: I am the Lord.
Numbers 3:45
Does that matter?
Rightly so!
This command shows up a bit later (in Deuteronomy) but being the firstborn is a special privilege, so much so, that God commands that the firstborn receive double in portion in inheritance:
but he shall acknowledge the firstborn, the son of the unloved, by giving him a double portion of all that he has, for he is the firstfruits of his strength. The right of the firstborn is his.
Deuteronomy 21:17
If we want to tread backwards, we see that special privilege for the firstborn exists even in Genesis when we see Jacob’s desire for Esau’s birthright:
Once when Jacob was cooking stew, Esau came in from the field, and he was exhausted. And Esau said to Jacob, “Let me eat some of that red stew, for I am exhausted!” (Therefore his name was called Edom.) Jacob said, “Sell me your birthright now.” Esau said, “I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to me?” Jacob said, “Swear to me now.” So he swore to him and sold his birthright to Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and lentil stew, and he ate and drank and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright.
Genesis 27:29-34
There’s so much more other stuff with being the firstborn that extends all throughout the Bible, going from Exodus and the redemption of the firstborn all the way to Colossians and even beyond where Paul says:
[Jesus] is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
Colossians 1:15
But I’m not going go through all of it today. I just wanted to point out the significance of God declaring the Levites to be his firstborn.
Numbers 4 was an extension of 3, going into depth of the roles of the specific houses of the Levites (which I failed – just to emphasize that I’m the failure, not the word of God, to find anything interesting but I’m sure there’s loads of interesting things I’ve missed. Please nobody call me a heretic just yet)
Just to end off, I’ll leave some of my thoughts with some of the passages I read in Numbers 5:
“Command the people of Israel that they put out of the camp everyone who is leprous or has a discharge and everyone who is unclean through contact with the dead. You shall put out both male and female, putting them outside the camp, that they may not defile their camp, in the midst of which I dwell.” And the people of Israel did so, and put them outside the camp; as the Lord said to Moses, so the people of Israel did.
Numbers 5:2-4
Nothing super new, it’s just funny how there isn’t really given time periods for how long they are outside the camp for.
I’m pretty sure Leviticus addresses the time periods for the discharges and leprosy but the dead one is only mentioned for priests (correct me if I’m wrong) in Leviticus and doesn’t have a time period.
I’m not going to quote the whole Numbers 5:11-31 about how to test a woman for adultery because it’s too long.
But there is a funny appearance of holy water
And the priest shall take holy water in an earthenware vessel and take some of the dust that is on the floor of the tabernacle and put it into the water.
(Before I start, I just wanted to mention that I was considering naming the post Lettuce Lament but ultimately decide this title because I liked the tone it set better but I may have ruined it with this long note before even starting the actual post)
Hello,
my name is Jason, and as a follower of Christ, I’m really passionate about being biblical in the attitudes we have surrounding current events and issues surrounding our lives.
So I have some pretty BIG opinions on the attitude that we as Christians should have for certain topics. Some low-to-medium controversial topics include:
How Christian culture breeds idolatry of relationships and marriage
The church’s obsession with conservatism
Why we should be welcoming Kanye West instead of condemning him
Why Christians should care about climate change
So much so that I’ve actually been told someone has referred to me as “that guy on Facebook who is a fan of bad theology.”
(So if you wanna THROW down about how I think the church’s attitude on what it looks like for someone to be ready for relationships/marriage ultimately leads to idolatry or how it’s ridiculous that there’s this idea that voting conservative even remotely equates to voting Christian or why Christians should care about climate change or why we should be welcoming Kanye in his apparent conversion regardless of shortcomings, shoot me an e-mail or message).
But it’s not just limited to current events, I also have some pretty big opinions on theology as well.
So today, I’m going to talk about lament (as per recommendation by my friend Sarah after hearing my rant about this topic at a midnight McDonald’s run as a group************* while we were at a conference).
(needed to get some of that extra ***** emphasis in just to clarify the legality of the scenario)
I’ve actually had a bit of a tangent on this topic in one of my other posts but I’m going to explore it even more in this one!
So,
what’s the common response we get when we talk about suffering?
Well, two verses that usually come to mind for me are these two:
though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me.But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
2 Corinthians 12:6-10
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:4-7
What two things are we told?
Christ’s power is made perfect in our weakness
Rejoice and find things to be thankful for and sing praises to God
Are any of things bad? Do they hold any semblance of poor advice or are they wrong or ungodly in any way? Should we not encourage others with these gospel truths?
No, No, and No.
And yet, when our only advice to people who are in suffering and in pain is to just try to find joy and be content in it, we only tell half the story.
Should we strive those things?
Absolutely. And in every way.
But us, as people, are more complex than that. And God does not forget that in his word.
For every beautiful ending of praises to God in Habakkuk 3,
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer’s; he makes me tread on my high places.
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments.
Habakkuk 3:17-19
There is a Habakkuk 1 and 2, where we read Habakkuk’s complaint and frustration vented out to the Lord:
O Lord, how long shall I cry for help, and you will not hear? Or cry to you “Violence!” and you will not save? Why do you make me see iniquity, and why do you idly look at wrong? Destruction and violence are before me; strife and contention arise. So the law is paralyzed, and justice never goes forth. For the wicked surround the righteous; so justice goes forth perverted.
Habakkuk 1:2-4
Are you not from everlasting, O Lord my God, my Holy One? We shall not die. O Lord, you have ordained them as a judgment, and you, O Rock, have established them for reproof. You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent when the wicked swallows up the man more righteous than he? You make mankind like the fish of the sea, like crawling things that have no ruler. He brings all of them up with a hook; he drags them out with his net; he gathers them in his dragnet; so he rejoices and is glad. Therefore he sacrifices to his net and makes offerings to his dragnet; for by them he lives in luxury, and his food is rich. Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?
Habakkuk 1:12-17
I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint.
Habakkuk 2:1
And what do we get? We get a God who answers
And the Lord answered me:
Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it.
Habakkuk 2:2
In the same Psalm where we read this repeating praise to the Lord:
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.
Psalm 42:5b
We read countless lines of the Psalmist’s laments to God:
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me?
Psalm 42:5a
By day the Lord commands his steadfast love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life. I say to God, my rock: “Why have you forgotten me? Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?” As with a deadly wound in my bones, my adversaries taunt me, while they say to me all the day long, “Where is your God?”
Psalm 42:8-10
Now that we’ve gotten to this point, we should probably explain what lament means.
Per Merriam-Webster:
“to express sorrow, mourning, or regret for often demonstratively.“
Dictionary.com has
“tofeel or express sorrow or regret for” or “to mourn for or over.“
Wait a second, are we allowed to feel sorrow or mourning or regret before God?
Well, the bible certainly thinks so!
Let’s flip to Matthew 26.
Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”
Matthew 26:36-39
Here, by Jesus’ very words, we are told he is “very sorrowful, even to death.”
In Luke, we are told:
And he withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.” And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him. And being in agony he prayed more earnestly; and his sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:41-44
If it isn’t clear by now, Jesus is having a pretty rough time. And how does he respond?
He prays to God a prayer of lament. He is faithful when he prays “not my will, but yours, be done” yet at the same time he is scared and is willing to bring that to God when he prays “Father, if you are wiling, remove this cup from me.”
During his Crucifixion, this theme continues. We see his prayer of lament when he quotes Psalm 22:
Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Matthew 27:45-46
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest.
Psalm 22:1-2
Is that where it ends though?
No, because as we’ve seen in Habakkuk and Psalm, lament and praise go hand in hand,
Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame.
Psalm 22:3-5
And there is beauty in that.
We have a God who understand and sympathizes with us:
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 4:14-16
And there is comfort in that.
It doesn’t even end there. The Bible has so much more to say:
Lamentations: There is a very book that is of poems and prayers of lament (and amidst all the lament, there is a neat section of praise to God in chapter 3)
Job: Entire book is an excellent example of what it looks like to uphold God’s name even in sorrow and lament
Elijah: 1 Kings 19
And those are just the ones that come up from the top of my head.
(What’s kind of funny is that I read through Lamentations today just for the sake of this post and didn’t really use it and was wondering if I should read through the entirety of Job just for the purpose of this post just to realize maybe it’s not really needed after all but even if you just flip to chapter 3 of Job and read just that, you’ll see the sorrow and struggle that he directs to God)
Before I end off this post though, there’s one more story I would like to go through.
For obvious reasons, I’m not going to post the entire chapter of John 11 here but the story goes like this:
Jesus is told his dear friend Lazarus is sick (v. 1-4)
Jesus stays 2 more days where he is and announces to his disciples that Lazarus has died before departing for Bethany (v. 5-16)
Jesus and his disciples arrive in Bethany, 4 (!!) days after Lazarus has already died (v. 17)
Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus weep at the feet of Jesus, both saying “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died” (v. 32)
Jesus weeps (v. 35)
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead and people believe (v. 38-45)
Notice anything weird in this summary? I mean, other than the fact I point out a seemingly obscure detail which is likely the weird thing I’m referring to?
Why exactly does Jesus weep? We are told in v. 35:
Jesus wept.
John 11:35
After you’re done laughing at the lame jokes about how this is “easiest verse to remember in the bible,” really think about it.
Why in the world, does Jesus, who intentionally has let Lazarus die and knows that he’ll be resurrecting him pretty soon, cry? Surely, he has no reason to?
It shows his sympathy, his humanity, and his love for the people in this story.
It is as Hebrews says: that we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with us and understand us. Who has experienced many of the things we’ve experienced. Who has suffered many of the things that we suffer.
So in those seasons of suffering, of sorrow, of trial, let us continue to praise God and do so wholeheartedly. But at the same time, let us do so hand and hand in lament and with honesty towards God.
For what does he require of us?
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
because I have finished Luke, it’s time to go back to the old testament to continue my reading of Torah.
If you’re interested in looking up any of the stuff I wrote for Luke, I make a “directory” page that’ll make it easier to find stuff rather than having to scroll down the blog feed.
I had just finished reading Exodus and Leviticus a bit prior to this, so I’ll be continuing on from Numbers 1!
So it starts off with this census thing, and we get a bunch of numbers from each tribe with how many soldiers (men who are at least 20 years of age) they have.
I was going to make a list of the tribes in order from the most soldiers to the least soldiers but I’m lazy and I’ll just tell you that Judah has the most and Manasseh the least.
Something that is interesting that is kind of foreign to even me is the significance of a person’s lineage at the time of this writing.
We are told each of the tribes have a head of the household and they are the ones to do the census:
and on the first day of the second month, they assembled the whole congregation together, who registered themselves by clans, by fathers’ houses, according to the number of names from twenty years old and upward, head by head
Numbers 1:18
These are those who were listed, whom Moses and Aaron listed with the help of the chiefs of Israel, twelve men, each representing his fathers’ house.So all those listed of the people of Israel, by their fathers’ houses, from twenty years old and upward, every man able to go to war in Israel
Numbers 1:44-46
So for the 70,000 people of Judah, every single one knew their “lineage” in a sense; that they were descendants of Judah. It was something that was significant and it was how they were counted among the census.
And yet I don’t even know the names of my great grandparents. Lol.
Here is the big part of the chapter though; we are told the Levites are to be exempt from the census and soldiering.
Instead, what are the Levites to do?
But the Levites were not listed along with them by their ancestral tribe. For the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, “Only the tribe of Levi you shall not list, and you shall not take a census of them among the people of Israel. But appoint the Levites over the tabernacle of the testimony, and over all its furnishings, and over all that belongs to it. They are to carry the tabernacle and all its furnishings, and they shall take care of it and shall camp around the tabernacle.
Numbers 1:47-50
They’ll handle the tabernacle and move it and stuff and etc. There’s some other tasks they also have if you keep reading.
But the question that pops up for me is:
Why the Levites to do all this tabernacle stuff anyway?
Why not choose one of the any other tribes to do it?
Just for clarity, I did stumble upon of a lot of apocrypha stuff that kind of has “answers” like “The Book of Jubilees” and “Legends of The Jews” but I will not be going through those.
But what I will go through is two of the texts prior to Numbers that may have clues for us:
In Genesis 49, Jacob prophesies what is to come for his sons, what does he say about Levi?
“Simeon and Levi are brothers; weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their council; O my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel! I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
Genesis 49:5-7
Well that doesn’t sound very good to me. But what does it say?
I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel.
This is fulfilled later in Numbers 18 (spoilers) when God gives the Levites no land:
And the Lord said to Aaron, “You shall have no inheritance in their land, neither shall you have any portion among them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the people of Israel.
Numbers 18:20
What do they get instead? They get to be scattered among Israel to be God’s priests.
So even though Jacob kinda curses Levi, the situation has a strong has a strong “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” vibe to it.
What else do we have?
Well, we have this moment during the golden calf:
And when Moses saw that the people had broken loose (for Aaron had let them break loose, to the derision of their enemies), then Moses stood in the gate of the camp and said, “Who is on the Lord’s side? Come to me.” And all the sons of Levi gathered around him.
Exodus 32:25-26
Some say the reason that God chose the Levites to be priests is because of this moment.
BUT, that same link which I stole the idea on God using Jacob’s curse as a blessing also mentions that even before this event occurs, God has already ordained Levites (Aaron and his sons) to be priests.
Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and his sons with him, from among the people of Israel, to serve me as priests—Aaron and Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar.
Exodus 28:1
Which is true.
Ha, this is kind of like when Paul argued that Abraham was justified by his faith BEFORE he did any works.
Probably means that Exodus 32 may not be our answer though.
But then why the Levites?
Maybe it really is the “you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good” theory after all – God had to fulfill Jacob’s prophecy somehow and he did so by #BLESSING the tribe of Levi to have Him as their inheritance.
Jason Reads the Bible 