Nu 14: Timing and Obedience

       When it comes to obeying God, timing can mean everything. When the people hear the judgment against them, they decide to try to fix it.

       After pronouncing judgment upon the faithless congregation, the LORD tells them in verse 25:

       “To morrow turn you, and get you into the wilderness by the way of the Red sea.”

       Does the congregation obey? No.

       40 And they rose up early in the morning, and gat them up into the top of the mountain, saying, Lo, we be here, and will go up unto the place which the LORD hath promised: for we have sinned.

       The Hebrew uses two words for rising up early in the morning/break-of-day/first light. I can picture them trying to sneak out at first light without Moses’ knowledge.

       King Saul lost a kingdom for his own disobedience (I Samuel 15). He had very specific instructions to utterly destroy everything when they fought the Amalekites. He and the people, however, only destroyed the vile and refuse while they kept the best. When confronted, Saul said to the prophet Samuel that they kept the best for sacrifices. Read the chapter and let it sink in. (At my present rate of writing this blog, it may be a few years before I get to that chapter.)

       Moses finds out what the Israelites are about to do.

       41 And Moses said, Wherefore now do ye transgress the commandment of the LORD? but it shall not prosper. 42 Go not up, for the LORD is not among you; that ye be not smitten before your enemies. 43 For the Amalekites and the Canaanites are there before you, and ye shall fall by the sword: because ye are turned away from the LORD, therefore the LORD will not be with you.

       What was the Israelites’ last instruction? To go to the wilderness by the Red Sea. Here’s my point: when something is God’s will on one day but you don’t do it, don’t assume God wants you to do it the next day, especially if it involves war and/or people’s lives.

       Initially, the people were afraid and angry enough to kill their own leaders. When they hear that they will all be dead in 40 years, rotting in the wilderness, suddenly they are all sorry. But are they really sorry? Not sorry enough to listen to God’s new instruction. They foolishly plunge into war.

         44 But they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and Moses, departed not out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote [hkn nakah] them, and discomfited [ttk kathath] them, even unto Hormah.

       Nakah means to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill, slaughter. Kathath means to beat, crush by beating, crush to pieces, crush fine. They were soundly defeated and probably many died.

       There is a strong impulse to try to “fix” things when we screw up, or at least there should be. But I really wonder about the motivation of the congregation. It seems that fear of punishment, not desire to obey God, drove them to foolishness.

       I count at least ten times the Israelites could have chosen a better outcome. This is in the span of a day or two. In our 20:20 hindsight, we can see the choices.

Verse	Choice	Better Choice
13:31	Listen to fear	Listen to faith
14:1	Pity party	Pray for direction
14:2	Murmur against Moses, Aaron	Pray for them
14:3	Ask for death (they do end up dying!)	Grow up, get a grip
14:4	Falsely accuse God of evil intent	Remember His goodness
14:5	General foolish talk	Trust God’s man (Moses)
14:10	Threaten to stone the four	Not act in anger
14:39	Mourn greatly	Repent
14:40	Disobey the next direction	Go where God said
14:44	Ignored Moses’ warning	Listen to Moses

       How do we benefit from this 20:20 hindsight? When I screw up, I need to be prepared to face the consequences like a grownup. If my only reason for obedience is to avoid punishment, I am acting as a child instead of a mature believer. Ouch!

       Selah.

Nu 14: What I'd ask Moses.

       There are a few famous people I’d love to have a cup of coffee with. (It’s ok; my husband knows.) They are Jimmy Stewart, Jaime Laredo, Peyton Manning and Moses. I might be too star-struck to say anything intelligent for the first few minutes, but at least three of them seem (or seemed) so comfortable with themselves that I might be able to speak actual words eventually. In the worst case, I could always do an MDS (a federally mandated nursing home assessment; that’s my job) on them. That's something I know by heart and can rattle off until I compose myself.

       As for Moses: I don’t know if he was comfortable with himself in the same way, but I know what I would say to him. I’d say, “Tell me.”

       Tell me what?

       11 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.

       The LORD offers Moses the promise of a lifetime, but Moses either doesn’t hear it, or ignores it.

         13 And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) 14 And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night.

         15 Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, 16 Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness.

       Moses says that the peoples of the world will bad mouth the LORD. They will misjudge His character. They will misjudge His ability, that He was all talk. Does the LORD really want that to happen?

       In Genesis 18, Abraham convinces the LORD to not destroy Sodom and Gomorrah if there are ten righteous people found there. If you add up his nephew Lot’s family, it was at least eight. Sadly, there weren’t ten righteous people.

       Abraham dares to ask God: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? (Gen 18:25 b.) He asks the LORD to remember His character. Like Abraham, Moses asks the LORD to remember His character. Moses uses the very words the LORD said:

       Exodus 34:6 And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

       In Numbers 14, Moses recounts this.

         Numbers 14:17 And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying,

 18 The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation.

 19 Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.

       This scripture sets an amazing precedent. Abraham and Moses knew the LORD so well that they dared to try to change God’s mind. This won’t be the last time for Moses, either.

       What was it in Moses that gave him such passion for the children of Israel? I have my own ideas, but I would love to hear it from him.

Nu 14: Enough is Enough (Part 1 of a few)

Nu 14 Yikes! Enough is enough.

       The weeping, moaning, faithless congregation has finally provoked the LORD enough to incur a final judgment against them.

·      1-4: the congregation complains

·      5-9: Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb urge the people to get a grip

·      10: The people want to stone them and the LORD appears

·      11-19: the LORD tells Moses He’ll wipe them out and make a mighty nation of Moses; Moses talks the LORD out of it

·      20-38: only Caleb and Joshua will see the promised land; they will wander 40 years and all the people over 20 years old will die in the wilderness

·      39-40: the people think they can make right and go to fight the Amalekites; the Amalekites and Canaanites soundly beat them back.

       Desperate for the people to understand, Moses and Aaron fall on their faces before the congregation. Joshua and Caleb tear their clothes.

       It’s an exceedingly good [bwj towb] land. Towb is a good Hebrew word to know. It means “good.” It’s used 559 times.

       Joshua and Caleb say to the people:

       8 If the LORD delight [Upx chaphets] in us, then he will bring [awb bow'] us into this land, and give [Ntn nathan] it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.

o  Chaphets = to delight in, take pleasure in, desire, be pleased with, favor

o  Bow ’= lead in, carry in, bring in, bring to pass

o  Nathan = give, put, set, cause (a primitive root, used 2008 times); multiple layers of meaning.

       9 Only rebel [drm marad] not ye against the LORD, neither fear [ary yare'] ye the people of the land; for they are bread [Mxl lechem] for us: their defence [lu tsel] is departed [rwo cuwr] from them, and the LORD is with us: fear [ary yare'] them not.

o  Marad = rebel, revolt, be rebellious

o  Yare’ = fear, revere, be afraid

o  Lechem = bread, food, grain

o  Tsel = shadow, shade, defense

o  Cuwr = depart, turn aside (primitive root used 301 times

       [Yare’ and cuwr appeared in chapter 12. Then, the LORD asked why Miriam and Aaron weren’t yare’ to speak against Moses. It is good to yare’ speaking against God’s man. It is not good to yare’ God’s enemies. As the cloud cuwr-d from the tabernacle, so the defense of the people of the land has cuwr-d.]

       Joshua and Caleb’s words of faith didn’t help. The congregation wants to stone (kill!) them. The dwbk kabowd, the glory of the LORD, appears before all the children of Israel.

       If this is all happening in rapid succession, Moses and Aaron are either still on their faces, or perhaps the mob has grabbed all four of them.

       When the kabod appears, did everyone stand motionless? Did they run away? Maybe they let go of the four men and Moses enters the tabernacle. In verse 39, it says Moses tells the children of Israel what the LORD said.

       I muse about this moment because it seems that the children of Israel have no clue what Moses has just done for them. He saves their skins, he declines an amazing offer for his own life and reminds the LORD of His character, all the while talking the LORD into preserving His own reputation.

       In a way, it really doesn’t matter if they heard what Moses just did for them, since even witnessing miracles didn’t change their hearts. It’s mighty hard to shake some sense into someone who won’t change. That does little for my urge to grab someone and holler, “Don’t you see what he has just done? Don’t you get it?”

       There’s a William Wyler film (besides Ben Hur), called The Big Country. It’s a little violent and harsh although the violence pales in comparison to today’s films. James McKay (Gregory Peck) quietly proves his manhood while his fiancée Patricia Terrill (Carroll Baker) wants him to show it. In one scene, Patricia argues with Julie Maragon (Jean Simmons), saying if he loved her, he’d prove himself. Julie says if she loved him, he shouldn’t have to. Sadly, Patricia never gets it.

       Shameless promo: Atticus Finch on horseback. Can't go wrong with that. Oh yeah, Charlton Heston is in it too. Watch it on your next “oldies” night.  

Nu 13: 12 spies with mixed results

       At the LORD’s command, Moses sends out 12 rulers of Israel to scope out Canaan. I never noticed before that these 12 are rulers/princes [aysn nasiy'] and heads [var ro'sh] of Israel. Keep that in mind.

1.    of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur.

2.   of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori.

3.    of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh.

4.   of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph.

5.    of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.

6.   of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu.

7.    of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi.

8.   of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.

9.   of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli.

10.  of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael.

11. of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi.

12. of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi.

         Manasseh and Ephraim are the 2 tribes from Joseph. Moses didn’t send out a Levite on the expedition. Here are the meanings of their names.

1.    Renowned the son of Mindful.

2.   He Hath Judged the son of Cave Dweller.

3.    Dog the son of He Will Be Facing.

4.   He Redeems the son of Jehovah Has Added.

5.    Salvation the son of Fish/Posterity.

6.   My Deliverance the son of Healed.

7.    God Is My Fortune the son of Acquaintance.

8.   My Fortune the son of My Horse.

9.   My Kinsman Is God the son of Camel Driver.

10.  Hidden the son of Who Is Like God.

11. Hidden the son of Rich.

12. Majesty of God the son of Decrease.

       We don’t need to draw any great spiritual meaning from their names. I just think names and the meanings of names are cool.

       Moses nicknames Oshea Jehoshua, or “Jehovah is Salvation.” We know him as Joshua.

       Moses sends out the 12 to spy on the land. He tells them to be of good courage [qzx chazaq] and to bring back samples. It’s grape season.

       They check out Flat Place and Broad Place near Fortress. They go to Association where the children of Anak live. They go to Cluster and get a cluster of grapes so large that two carried it on a staff. They also bring pomegranates and figs. They search the land for forty days.

       They return for “show and tell.” It’s a place flowing with milk and honey.

    But.

     Most of the 12 men freak at the walled cities and size of the people. In verse 30, only Caleb speaks positively.

    30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.

    The other leaders that went say the inhabitants are like giants and they seemed to themselves like grasshoppers in comparison. The people feed off the lack of faith of their leaders:

         14:1 And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness! 3 And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?

          4 And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.

       Here we go again. Sigh.

Nu 12 part 2: when "Kindled" doesn't refer to an e-device

      I spent a few days on a bible bunny trail. It was intellectually stimulating, but not of much use for this study. I now return you to our regularly scheduled Miriam.

         Numbers 12:1 And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian [tyvwk Kuwshiyth] woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.

       Looking at a smattering of Bible commentaries, most suggest the Ethiopian/Cushite woman is not Zipporah, who came from Midian rather than Cush.

       Besides, if it were Zipporah, why did Miriam and Aaron wait so long to protest Moses’ marriage to her? So my guess is that she is a different woman.

       Why did Miriam and Aaron start criticizing Moses? Maybe they were close to Zipporah and they didn’t want Moses to remarry or replace her. Maybe they were prejudiced. Maybe they had a big fight with Moses’ wife. Who knows?

       2 And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard [emv shama`] it.

       It appears from what Miriam and Aaron say is that their dispute really had little to do with Moses’ wife, but actually with other issues. That Moses married an Ethiopian/Cushite woman becomes the springboard for their complaint.

       God hears Miriam and Aaron speaking against Moses. Moses doesn’t have anything to do with what happened next. (Verse 3 describes Moses as wne `anav, meek/humble.)

       4 And the LORD spake suddenly unto Moses, and unto Aaron, and unto Miriam, Come out ye three unto the tabernacle of the congregation. And they three came out.

       Suddenly. The LORD hears Miriam and Aaron and speaks suddenly. This behavior of theirs must stop. Now.

       None of them were at the tabernacle at the time; the LORD calls them to the tabernacle. What any of them were doing at the time is speculation. (I confess, I have speculated on it already.) Whether the three were apart or together, they all hear from the LORD suddenly.

       Next, the LORD separates Aaron and Miriam from Moses. If you look at the verses, Miriam was mentioned first in verse 1, but then it becomes “Aaron and Miriam.” (Speculation time again.)

       5 And the LORD came down in the pillar of the cloud, and stood in the door of the tabernacle, and called Aaron and Miriam: and they both came forth.

 6 And he said, Hear now my words: If there be a prophet among you, I the LORD will make myself known unto him in a vision, and will speak unto him in a dream. 7 My servant Moses is not so, who is faithful in all mine house. 8 With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches; and the similitude of the LORD shall he behold: wherefore then were ye not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?

       The LORD says some amazing things about Moses. He says Moses is faithful [Nma 'aman] in all his (God’s) house. He speaks to Moses apparently [harm mar'eh}, in the sense of appearing or visibly. He doesn’t speak to Moses in dreams or visions but hp peh to hp peh.

       Why then were Miriam and Aaron not afraid [ary yare'] to speak against his servant Moses? Yare means to fear, revere or be afraid.

       The LORD’s anger [Pa 'aph] is kindled [hrx charah] against them. What does He do? He departs [Kly yalak]. Then the cloud departs [rwo cuwr] from the tabernacle.

       Remember yalak? It means “to go, walk, come”; it also has a meaning “to live, manner of life, to die.” I contrast this with the cloud cuwr-ing from the tabernacle. The cloud turns aside, a simple movement, but the LORD yalak-s from Miriam and Aaron. Did the LORD yalak from them as a punishment? Or did He yalak from them to keep from punishing them?

         There is another phrase in scripture, the “fierce anger” of the LORD. It uses a word similar to the anger that is kindled in verse 9. In Hebrew, it is Nwrx charown Pa 'aph. You don’t mess around with the LORD’s charown ‘aph. See Nu 25:4; Nu 32:14; Isaiah 13:9; Jer 4:8, 26; Jer 12:13 and more. Invariably, judgment and desolation follow. That is, unless, people repent.

       To find the LORD’s anger being kindled [charah], look in your concordance for “anger + kindled” or “wrath + kindled.” We’ve already seen what happens when the LORD’s anger is kindled in Nu 11. The LORD’s anger was kindled against Moses in Exodus 4:14. At that time, Moses got off easily compared to the subsequent times His anger is kindled.

       10 And the cloud departed from off the tabernacle; and, behold, Miriam became leprous, white as snow: and Aaron looked upon Miriam, and, behold, she was leprous.

        When the cloud departs, Miriam becomes leprous. Aaron sees her state and repents to Moses (to Moses, not to the LORD, who has just left them). It’s all he can do.

             11 And Aaron said unto Moses, Alas, my lord, I beseech thee, lay not the sin upon us, wherein we have done foolishly, and wherein we have sinned. 12 Let her not be as one dead, of whom the flesh is half consumed when he cometh out of his mother’s womb.

       13 And Moses cried unto the LORD, saying, Heal her now, O God, I beseech thee.

       Cried is qeu tsa`aq, “to cry, cry out, call, cry for help, clamor, cry out in distress or need” and to call together/gather. The brothers are desperate for their sister’s healing. The LORD responds to Moses.

       14 And the LORD said unto Moses, If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be ashamed seven days? let her be shut out from the camp seven days, and after that let her be received in again.

       This is a tough one for me. The idea of one’s father so humiliating a child seems to hold a kind of rejection that would last more than seven days. Exegetically, was it a typical practice in ancient Palestine? Maybe it was commonplace and doesn’t have my 21^st century horror at the thought of it. See Deuteronomy 25:9.

       The LORD defines the shame [Mlk kalam] as lasting seven days. Hermeneutically, if I were feeling shame about something for more than seven days, maybe I’d better take those feelings to God and get myself whole. Living in shame doesn’t do me (or the people around me) any good. To paraphrase one of my pastors, go to the hardware store, buy a ladder and get over it.

       Numbers 11 doesn’t actually say that Miriam is healed. She is shut out [rgo cagar] of the camp for seven days and is brought in [Poa 'acaph] again, so I infer that she was actually healed.

       The people don’t travel until Miriam is brought in again. They are not going to abandon her. Nor is the LORD.

Nu 12: the other Miriam - Part 1

       At first blush, I rather prefer the references to Miriam in Exodus 15 and Micah 6:4 (the worship leader rather than the leper).

         Ex 15:20-21 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them, Sing ye to the LORD, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.

         Mic 6:4 For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed thee out of the house of servants; and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.

       Long ago, my Mom told me that if I were a boy, I was going to be named “Joshua.” (My older brothers were David, Paul and Jonathan.) She said that when I was born, I seemed like a Miriam. (My two older sisters were named Naomi and Elizabeth. Priscilla came after me. Yes, all biblical names. If you count, that makes seven children. I’m the 6^th of 7, or as I call myself, the penultimate. That’s a very fancy word for second to last.)

       I mentioned growing up with a name like Miriam in my blog “Opening the Old Testament.” http://miriamsmindset.blogspot.com/2012/01/opening-old-testament.html

       I once worked as an office nurse in a very French Catholic population. I always introduce myself to my patients. Maybe it was their hearing, maybe it was their language barrier, maybe it was their Catholicism: at the mention of my name, out came this beatific smile and “Oh, Marion.” To their thinking, it was the second most saintly name in the universe.

       My dilemma: to correct the little old lady whose finger I was about to stab with a sharp instrument? [No, my name is Miriam and Mary was actually named after me!] or do I just let her have a moment of joy? I was, after all, about to inflict pain. I chose the saintly route.

       I love that the first Miriam was a worship leader. I love that she was a prophetess. I love that she was a leader. Joshua might be an easier name to say, but this Miriam chick is pretty admirable in her own right.

       We assume that it is Miriam who watched over Moses, the baby in the bulrushes. The bible actually doesn’t say her name in this verse, although no other daughters of Amram and Jochebed are mentioned. Therefore, the assumption is pretty sound. Why didn’t Moses write his sister’s name in this verse when he penned Exodus? Moses himself doesn’t have a Hebrew name. In fact, although we know he is a Levite, Moses’ Hebrew family isn’t named at all until after he is a grown man (Exodus 6).

       As detail oriented as Moses is, he doesn’t bog down the action with lots of names. Pharaoh’s daughter isn’t named, either. Her position is, but not her name. I infer that the point of Exodus 1-2 is to give a quick but poignant look at the situation. Pharaoh orders that every single baby boy is to be slaughtered, but God’s hand is upon Moses so that one day the slaughter will stop and the people will be free. You may want to look at Exodus 1 and the heroic midwives Shiphrah and Puah. (Exodus 1:15-21).

       I just realized something. Although Jochebed hid Moses for 3 months, she in a way did obey Pharaoh.

         Ex 1:22 And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river, and every daughter ye shall save alive.

       Jochebed protected Moses in the little ark, but did put him in the river. Way to go, Jochebed!

       Maybe I should have been a lawyer.

       I haven’t even gotten to the other Miriam yet. 'Til next time.