Nu 20 part 2: swimming to Hawaii - a word study

‘aman and qadash

       10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetch you water out of this rock? 11 And Moses lifted up his hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and the water came out abundantly, and the congregation drank, and their beasts also.

       The LORD instructed Moses to speak to the rock; Moses strikes it. Twice.

       The people, if they were still alive from the time of Exodus 17, would recall that Moses struck a rock once before, with water resulting. To them, therefore, it is no big deal that Moses should strike the rock; they had no idea that Moses was sinning.

       {That first place, in Exodus 17, is called Massah, “temptation,” and also Meribah, “strife/contention.” The first Meribah is near Rephidim before Sinai. The second is this one in Kadesh Barnea.}

       10 And Moses and Aaron gathered the congregation together before the rock, and he said unto them, Hear [emv shama`] now, ye rebels [hrm marah]; must we fetch you water out of this rock?

       I have heard speakers note Moses says “we,” not God. Exactly. Even the NIV and Message bibles use that pronoun.

       12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed [Nma 'aman] me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

       Moses and Aaron didn’t believe God. What didn’t they believe? Didn’t they believe water would come forth at their word? Or did they lack belief in something greater?

       ‘Aman is a word with layers of meaning. It is most often translated as “believe” or “faithful.” It’s not a half hearted belief or hopeful/wishful belief. It means to support, confirm, be faithful. Depending upon the verb form, it has the sense of:

• ·     supporting, nourishing (foster parent, a nurse, pillars, door supports)
• ·     being established, faithful, carried, made firm (be carried by a nurse, reliable, faithful, trustworthy)
• ·     standing firm, trusting, being certain, believing in    

       Moses and Aaron didn’t ‘aman the LORD and didn’t sanctify [vdq qadash] Him in the eyes of the children of Israel. By now, Aaron and Moses experientially should have known the LORD to be faithful, reliable and nurturing. Somehow, the situation pushed Moses (and Aaron) over the edge and they sinned.

       Qadash reminded me of Leviticus 10:3, when Aaron’s sons Nadab and Abihu offered strange fire and died.

         Le 10:3 Then Moses said unto Aaron, This is it that the LORD spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace.

       Thinking about the circumstances in both Leviticus 10 and Numbers 20, to ignore emotions and qadash the LORD sounds harsh. Maybe it is.

       I’m trying to wrap my brain around qadash-ing the LORD. Can any of us really qadash Him in the way his holiness requires?

       Can any of us swim from LA to Hawaii? If Michael Phelps can’t do it, how can any of us?

       Selah.

       I can’t leave you (or myself) despairing. I also don’t want to give a flippant answer. This isn’t the time to say, “Jesus is the answer, sister, just belieeeeeve!”

       For those generations and generations of believers before Christ, what hope could there have been for those dear people who loved God? How could they qadash the LORD in spite of circumstance?

       I think part of the answer is in the very same verse.

       12 And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them.

       It is the belief that enables the sanctification. This is how Judeo Christian faith differs from so many religions. You don’t do the holiness first. The holiness comes out of the faith.

       But from where does faith come? Romans 10:17 says:

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

       Admittedly, this is only the briefest of introductions to faith, obedience and sanctifying the LORD before others. I pray it will tantalize you into further study and hopefully into knowing the LORD as faithful, reliable and nurturing.

       Selah.

Nu 20: Meribah part 1

Numbers 19:

·     The water of purification

·     Infection control regarding someone who has died

Numbers 20:

·     Miriam dies

·     The waters of Meribah and the big time screw up

·     Edom refuses passage

·     Aaron dies

       So much has already been written about the events at the waters of Meribah that I wanted to take some time to think about what I’d write. There are two things I have never heard or read.

       First, Aaron is punished along with Moses (I’ve only heard/read about Moses’ punishment). Second, I have never heard or read of anyone connecting Miriam’s death with the events.

       In the first month (the month to celebrate Passover), the congregation comes to the wilderness of Zin (= “flat”). They yashab in Kadesh (= “holy”). Miriam dies (muwth) there and is buried there.

       In the very next verse, (although we aren’t told how long this is, we can surmise it only took as long as needed to deplete their stores of water), the congregation gathers against Moses and Aaron.

       2 And there was no water for the congregation: and they gathered themselves together against Moses and against Aaron. 3 And the people chode [byr riyb] with Moses, and spake, saying, Would God that we had died [ewg gava`] when our brethren died [ewg gava`] before the LORD! 4 And why have ye brought up the congregation of the LORD into this wilderness, that we and our cattle should die [twm muwth] there? 5 And wherefore have ye made us to come up out of Egypt, to bring us in unto this evil place? it is no place of seed, or of figs, or of vines, or of pomegranates; neither is there any water to drink.

                Some Americans use the acronym SSDD: Same Stuff, Different Day. Once again, the congregation wishes they were dead, once again they accuse Moses and Aaron of lying to them. Once again, they selectively remember.

       Moses and Aaron leave the paniym (remember that word?) of the assembly [lhq qahal]. Qahal means congregation or convocation or assembly (for war or invasion, or for religious purposes). They fall on their faces before the LORD. The kabod appears.

       The LORD speaks to Moses (while Aaron is there).

       8 Take the rod, and gather thou the assembly together, thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speak ye unto the rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his water, and thou shalt bring forth to them water out of the rock: so thou shalt give the congregation and their beasts drink.

 9 And Moses took the rod from before the LORD, as he commanded him.

       Since Moses took the rod from before the LORD, it must have been Aaron’s rod, the one that budded, signifying Aaron's authority given him from the LORD. They gather the crowd before the rock [elo cela`].

       To supply the crowd, it was probably a big rock. Cela` comes from an unused root “to be lofty.” It can also mean crag, cliff or stronghold. Big rock.

       This is where their obedience stops.

       [Now, before you condemn Moses and Aaron, saying, “I would have obeyed God,” I challenge you to remember verse 1. I know the pain of losing a sibling. I know my frame of mind at the time. Grief can overwhelm someone into making choices out of emotion, out of fear and anger and sadness. I barely made it through that semester of school. I barely made it, period. I thank God for the people that loved me through it.]

       The LORD instructed them to speak to the cela`. Jumping forward, the psalmist Asaph tells more of this story, from God’s point of view. (As an aside, Asaph’s psalms really touch my heart; he’s another person I would like to meet in heaven!)

       7 Thou calledst in trouble, and I delivered thee; I answered thee in the secret place of thunder: I proved thee at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

–and–

         16 He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

       God’s intent is to over-deliver. The people wanted water, but God had something sweeter in mind. The LORD wanted to ebs saba` them (stuff them!) with sweetness. Heavenly “food coma.”

       It was an amazing miracle that water to feed the multitudes came out of the rock. But had Moses and Aaron obeyed, who knows what amazing goodness might have poured forth?

Nu 18: 3 words for death, membership has its privileges

       In the end of chapter 17, Aaron’s rod has budded. The leaders take their own rods. Moses per the LORD’s command, puts the rod before the testimony, to be kept there. This is to stop the murmurings so the people will not die.

       The children of Israel respond to Moses:

       12 And the children of Israel spake unto Moses, saying, Behold, we die [ewg gava`], we perish [dba 'abad], we all perish [dba 'abad]. 13 Whosoever cometh any thing near unto the tabernacle of the LORD shall die [twm muwth]: shall we be consumed with dying [ewg gava`]?

         Gava` means to die, give up the ghost, be dead. 'Abad has a slightly different meaning: to perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed, be lost; to destroy, kill, cause to perish, exterminate, blot out; used in divine judgment to destroy, put to death. Muwth’s meaning is somewhere between the other words, with a hint of prematurely dying thrown in.

       In 18, note something new. The LORD answers them by speaking to Aaron. He delineates the roles of the sons of Levi once more, but don’t miss the new details.

       3b only they shall not come nigh the vessels of the sanctuary and the altar, that neither they, nor ye also, die [muwth].

         Aaron is also at risk for disobedience.

       6 And I, behold, I have taken your brethren the Levites from among the children of Israel: to you they are given [Ntn nathan] as a gift [hntm mattanah] for the LORD, to do the service of the tabernacle of the congregation.

       The Levites alone are nathan’d to the LORD as a mattanah.

       12 All the best of the oil, and all the best of the wine, and of the wheat, the firstfruits of them which they shall offer unto the LORD, them have I given thee.

       This is a principle that in modern day, we do well to consider for our own pastors. Sure, “membership has its privileges,” but to handle the responsibility of being a pastor or priest? It’s a heavy undertaking. If your pastor asks for a raise, please be compassionate. Unless your pastor is in flagrant sin, give him/her a raise!

       Remember the sobering warning in James:

       Jas 3:1 My brethren, be not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation.

       In other words, God holds them to a higher scrutiny. Selah.

      

       20 And the LORD spake unto Aaron, Thou shalt have no inheritance in their land, neither shalt thou have any part among them: I am thy part and thine inheritance among the children of Israel.

       The Levites are called to an interesting and difficult position of duty and faith. They don’t have land for their inheritance; they have the LORD. They will, however, have the offerings and the tithes given by the congregation.

       The gem in verse 20 is that the LORD decrees that He will be their portion and their inheritance. Selah.