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.