The Last Day!

Hello! Today is our last day with Leviticus. And today is the first day with Numbers. I thought maybe I could do a little intro to Numbers to get you started off right. But first, questions and answers.

Here's the question and answer from yesterday:
Weds, Feb. 25- How many years is the Year of Jubilee?
Leviticus 25:11, “The fiftieth year shall be a jubilee for you.”

And here's the question of the day:
Thurs, Feb. 26- What happened to Paul in Lystra?


And here's the reflection of the day:
Here are some themes to look for as you read through Numbers:

1. COMMUNITY--The nation of Israel was formed at Sinai and they journey with God through the wilderness. This is intended "to be a continuing model of how the people of God live out their faith in this world" (Thomas Dozeman, Numbers, NIB Commentary).

2. WILDERNESS SETTING--This is the primary setting for Numbers, as the Israelites travel from Sinai to the promised land of Canaan (through Num 21). The wilderness is replaced by "the plains of Moab" in Numbers 22. The wilderness is the "birthplace" of Israel, a symbol of testing, a symbol of homelessness, and is a location for "God's continuing work in creation" (Brozeman).

3. CHARACTERS--The development of the characters in Numbers revolves around the problem of how to build a theocratic ("a form of government in which a god or deity is recognized as the state's supreme civil ruler"--God bless www.wikipedia.org) society in the wilderness. God is the central character in the story, and all the other characters are defined in relation to God. Brozeman says, "The goal is to devise a way in which a holy God can be brought into relationship with humans who do not share this quality, and, and hence, are at risk in the presence of God."

4. TENSION--There is an underlying tension in the book of Numbers. God, who is holy, separate, and other is also in covenant with humans and creation in spite of their sin. But how can a God who is holy continue to be in relationship with sinful humanity who repeatedly violate the covenant? Something to think about as you read!

The central question of these first group of chapters is "how Israel should organize itself around Yahweh, who dwells in the sanctuary?" (Brozeman). Chapter 1 talks about how Israel was organized into 12 tribes with 12 lay leaders representing them. Also in chapter 1 we see God designating the "Levites" ask keepers (priests) of the tabernacle (0r "Tent of Meeting). Chapter 2 talks about the arrangement of the camp: tribes are clustered in groups of three, surrounding the tabernacle from four directions. Each encampment represents a different theological significance.

Numbers 1:1 sets the stage for reflecting on the importance of order for the priests. It is important that the people are numbered precisely, hence the census here in Numbers 1. The nation is divided up into groups; each group needs a lay leader; the Levites are separated from the other groups to encircle the tabernacle. All things are done "decently and in order," a Presbyterian catchphrase.

But what may seem like OCD to us is actually a response to the presence of God in the community. Administration--numbers and order--are intended to foster a new community in the wilderness. God imposed order upon the chaos at Creation, just as the priest seek to order their new society. But the order of creation is vulnerable to disruptions, just as society is easily susceptible to descent into disorder.

We see that every day, don't we? How neatly ordered life is stretched thin and frequently disrupted by those who refuse to be rank and file members of society. Chaos breaks in at any given moment, and society seeks to patch the hole. We seek to impose order again in hopes of discouraging any other chaos.

So, next time you have to read a list of numbers of this and that (the book is called Numbers, remember!), consider it the priests' way of making the community a presentable place for God to dwell. A spring cleaning of sorts.

What kind of spring cleaning do you need to do in your own life, in your own heart?

Have a great day!
Allison