3/25/11
Numbers 21-22
The Bronze Serpent
Numbers 21:1 When the Canaanite, the king of Arad, who lived in the Negeb, heard that Israel was coming by the way of Atharim, he fought against Israel and took some of them captive. 2 Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.” 3 The Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns; so the place was called Hormah.
4 From Mount Hor they set out by the way to the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; but the people became impatient on the way. 5 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 detest this miserable food.” 6 Then the Lord sent poisonous serpents among the people, and they bit the people, so that many Israelites died. 7 The people came to Moses and said, “We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you; pray to the Lord to take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said to Moses, “Make a poisonous serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.” 9 So Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole; and whenever a serpent bit someone, that person would look at the serpent of bronze and live.
The Journey to Moab
10 The Israelites set out, and camped in Oboth. 11 They set out from Oboth, and camped at Iye-abarim, in the wilderness bordering Moab toward the sunrise. 12 From there they set out, and camped in the Wadi Zered. 13 From there they set out, and camped on the other side of the Arnon, in the wilderness that extends from the boundary of the Amorites; for the Arnon is the boundary of Moab, between Moab and the Amorites. 14 Wherefore it is said in the Book of the Wars of the Lord,
The Arnon 15 and the slopes of the wadis
that extend to the seat of Ar,
and lie along the border of Moab.”
16 From there they continued to Beer; that is the well of which the Lord said to Moses, “Gather the people together, and I will give them water.” 17 Then Israel sang this song:
18 the well that the leaders sank,
that the nobles of the people dug,
with the scepter, with the staff.”
From the wilderness to Mattanah, 19 from Mattanah to Nahaliel, from Nahaliel to Bamoth, 20 and from Bamoth to the valley lying in the region of Moab by the top of Pisgah that overlooks the wasteland.
King Sihon Defeated (Deut 2.26—37)
21 Then Israel sent messengers to King Sihon of the Amorites, saying, 22 “Let me pass through your land; we will not turn aside into field or vineyard; we will not drink the water of any well; we will go by the King’s Highway until we have passed through your territory.” 23 But Sihon would not allow Israel to pass through his territory. Sihon gathered all his people together, and went out against Israel to the wilderness; he came to Jahaz, and fought against Israel. 24 Israel put him to the sword, and took possession of his land from the Arnon to the Jabbok, as far as to the Ammonites; for the boundary of the Ammonites was strong. 25 Israel took all these towns, and Israel settled in all the towns of the Amorites, in Heshbon, and in all its villages. 26 For Heshbon was the city of King Sihon of the Amorites, who had fought against the former king of Moab and captured all his land as far as the Arnon. 27 Therefore the ballad singers say,
let the city of Sihon be established.
28 For fire came out from Heshbon,
flame from the city of Sihon.
It devoured Ar of Moab,
and swallowed up the heights of the Arnon.
29 Woe to you, O Moab!
You are undone, O people of Chemosh!
He has made his sons fugitives,
and his daughters captives,
to an Amorite king, Sihon.
30 So their posterity perished
from Heshbon to Dibon,
and we laid waste until fire spread to Medeba.”
31 Thus Israel settled in the land of the Amorites. 32 Moses sent to spy out Jazer; and they captured its villages, and dispossessed the Amorites who were there.
King Og Defeated (Deut 3.1—22)
33 Then they turned and went up the road to Bashan; and King Og of Bashan came out against them, he and all his people, to battle at Edrei. 34 But the Lord said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him; for I have given him into your hand, with all his people, and all his land. You shall do to him as you did to King Sihon of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon.” 35 So they killed him, his sons, and all his people, until there was no survivor left; and they took possession of his land.
Balak Summons Balaam to Curse Israel
Numbers 22:1 The Israelites set out, and camped in the plains of Moab across the Jordan from Jericho. 2 Now Balak son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. 3 Moab was in great dread of the people, because they were so numerous; Moab was overcome with fear of the people of Israel. 4 And Moab said to the elders of Midian, “This horde will now lick up all that is around us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.” Now Balak son of Zippor was king of Moab at that time. 5 He sent messengers to Balaam son of Beor at Pethor, which is on the Euphrates, in the land of Amaw, to summon him, saying, “A people has come out of Egypt; they have spread over the face of the earth, and they have settled next to me. 6 Come now, curse this people for me, since they are stronger than I; perhaps I shall be able to defeat them and drive them from the land; for I know that whomever you bless is blessed, and whomever you curse is cursed.”
7 So the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the fees for divination in their hand; and they came to Balaam, and gave him Balak’s message. 8 He said to them, “Stay here tonight, and I will bring back word to you, just as the Lord speaks to me”; so the officials of Moab stayed with Balaam. 9 God came to Balaam and said, “Who are these men with you?” 10 Balaam said to God, “King Balak son of Zippor of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 ‘A people has come out of Egypt and has spread over the face of the earth; now come, curse them for me; perhaps I shall be able to fight against them and drive them out.’ ” 12 God said to Balaam, “You shall not go with them; you shall not curse the people, for they are blessed.” 13 So Balaam rose in the morning, and said to the officials of Balak, “Go to your own land, for the Lord has refused to let me go with you.” 14 So the officials of Moab rose and went to Balak, and said, “Balaam refuses to come with us.”
15 Once again Balak sent officials, more numerous and more distinguished than these. 16 They came to Balaam and said to him, “Thus says Balak son of Zippor: ‘Do not let anything hinder you from coming to me; 17 for I will surely do you great honor, and whatever you say to me I will do; come, curse this people for me.’ ” 18 But Balaam replied to the servants of Balak, “Although Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the Lord my God, to do less or more. 19 You remain here, as the others did, so that I may learn what more the Lord may say to me.” 20 That night God came to Balaam and said to him, “If the men have come to summon you, get up and go with them; but do only what I tell you to do.” 21 So Balaam got up in the morning, saddled his donkey, and went with the officials of Moab.
Balaam, the Donkey, and the Angel
22 God’s anger was kindled because he was going, and the angel of the Lord took his stand in the road as his adversary. Now he was riding on the donkey, and his two servants were with him. 23 The donkey saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with a drawn sword in his hand; so the donkey turned off the road, and went into the field; and Balaam struck the donkey, to turn it back onto the road. 24 Then the angel of the Lord stood in a narrow path between the vineyards, with a wall on either side. 25 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it scraped against the wall, and scraped Balaam’s foot against the wall; so he struck it again. 26 Then the angel of the Lord went ahead, and stood in a narrow place, where there was no way to turn either to the right or to the left. 27 When the donkey saw the angel of the Lord, it lay down under Balaam; and Balaam’s anger was kindled, and he struck the donkey with his staff. 28 Then the Lord opened the mouth of the donkey, and it said to Balaam, “What have I done to you, that you have struck me these three times?” 29 Balaam said to the donkey, “Because you have made a fool of me! I wish I had a sword in my hand! I would kill you right now!” 30 But the donkey said to Balaam, “Am I not your donkey, which you have ridden all your life to this day? Have I been in the habit of treating you this way?” And he said, “No.”
31 Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the road, with his drawn sword in his hand; and he bowed down, falling on his face. 32 The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? I have come out as an adversary, because your way is perverse before me. 33 The donkey saw me, and turned away from me these three times. If it had not turned away from me, surely just now I would have killed you and let it live.” 34 Then Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, “I have sinned, for I did not know that you were standing in the road to oppose me. Now therefore, if it is displeasing to you, I will return home.” 35 The angel of the Lord said to Balaam, “Go with the men; but speak only what I tell you to speak.” So Balaam went on with the officials of Balak.
36 When Balak heard that Balaam had come, he went out to meet him at Ir-moab, on the boundary formed by the Arnon, at the farthest point of the boundary. 37 Balak said to Balaam, “Did I not send to summon you? Why did you not come to me? Am I not able to honor you?” 38 Balaam said to Balak, “I have come to you now, but do I have power to say just anything? The word God puts in my mouth, that is what I must say.” 39 Then Balaam went with Balak, and they came to Kiriath-huzoth. 40 Balak sacrificed oxen and sheep, and sent them to Balaam and to the officials who were with him.
Balaam’s First Oracle
41 On the next day Balak took Balaam and brought him up to Bamoth-baal; and from there he could see part of the people of Israel.
Devotionals, Videos and more ...
by Bill Federer
On this day, March 25, 1835, Andrew Jackson wrote in a letter: “I was brought up a rigid Presbyterian, to which I have always adhered. Our excellent Constitution guarantees to every one freedom of religion, and charity tells us (and you know Charity is the real basis of all true religion)… judge the tree by its fruit. All who profess Christianity believe in a Saviour, and that by and through Him we must be saved.” Andrew Jackson concluded: “We ought, therefore, to consider all good Christians whose walks correspond with their professions, be they Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist or Roman Catholic.”
Federer, B. (2003). American minute. St. Louis, MO.: Amerisearch, Inc.
by D.H. Stern
He who pursues righteousness and kindness
finds life, prosperity and honor.
A wise man can go up into a city of warriors
and undermine the strength in which it trusts.
Stern, D. H. (1998). Complete Jewish Bible-OE
: An English version of the Tanakh (OT) and
B'rit Hadashah (NT) (1st ed.). Clarksville, Md.: Jewish
New Testament Publications.
by Oswald Chambers
The most delicate mission on earth
The friend of the Bridegroom. --- John 3:29. Chambers, O. (1993). My Utmost for His Highest
Goodness and purity ought never to attract attention to themselves, they ought simply to be magnets to draw to Jesus Christ. If my holiness is not drawing towards Him, it is not holiness of the right order, but an influence that will awaken inordinate affection and lead souls away into side-eddies. A beautiful saint may be a hindrance if he does not present Jesus Christ but only what Christ has done for him; he will leave the impression—‘What a fine character that man is!’—that is not being a true friend of the Bridegroom; I am increasing all the time, He is not.
In order to maintain this friendship and loyalty to the Bridegroom, we have to be more careful of our moral and vital relationship to Him than of any other thing, even of obedience. Sometimes there is nothing to obey, the only thing to do is to maintain a vital connection with Jesus Christ, to see that nothing interferes with that. Only occasionally do we have to obey. When a crisis arises we have to find out what God’s will is, but the greater part of the life is not conscious obedience but the maintenance of this relationship—the friend of the Bridegroom. Christian work may be a means of evading the soul’s concentration on Jesus Christ. Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, we become amateur providences and may work against Him whilst we use His weapons.
the Poetry of R.S. Thomas
Anniversary
Nineteen years now
Under the same roof
Eating our bread,
Using the same air;
Sighing, if one sighs,
Meeting the other's
Words with a look
That thaws suspicion.
Nineteen years now
Sharing life's table,
And not to be first
To call the meal long
We balance it thoughtfully
On the tip of the tongue,
Careful to maintain
The strict palate.
Nineteen years now
Keeping simple house,
Opening the door
To friend and stranger;
Opening the womb
Softly to let enter
The one child
With his huge hunger.
Thomas, R. S. Selected poems, 1946-1968
Pesaḥim 64a–b
Often, we complain that people who help others do so for the wrong reasons. They act out of self-interest, for publicity, or to be like their neighbors. A man donates $10 million to a hospital less because of a concern for health care and more because he wants to see a new building named after him. A couple spends the afternoon working as volunteers in a local soup kitchen not because they care about feeding the poor or ending hunger, but simply because they have nothing to do one afternoon a week. The charity work fills up their empty time. A high school student works as a “candy striper” in the local hospital not out of any interest in healing the sick or relieving those in pain, but simply because it will look good on her college résumé. Rav Yehudah is reminding us not to be so critical of such people. At least they’re doing something good—albeit for empty, silly, or selfish reasons. Perhaps next time, their motivation will be purer. At least now, the deed is in place. They can then move on to raise the level of the act, to make it “higher than the heavens.”
A woman joins a health club not for the exercise benefits, but because it is the “in” place to go, where the trend-setters are seen. The last thing on her mind is her own physical fitness and health benefits. However, because she is at a place where people are involved with regular exercise, she begins to participate more and more in aerobic activities. While she initially came “to see and be seen,” and she still enjoys the company of the trend-setters, she now is benefitting greatly from and enjoying the physical fitness, even if this originally was an incidental reason for her being there.
Jewish tradition has taken a similar approach to the giving of the Law at Sinai. The Israelites are highly praised not only for accepting the Torah, but also for how they accepted it. “And they said: ‘All that the Lord has spoken we will faithfully do.’ (Exodus 24:7)” “We will faithfully do” is actually two Hebrew verbs: na’aseh, “we will do,” and v’nishmah, “we will listen.” Together, the meaning is “we will faithfully do,” but the Rabbis saw in these verbs a lesson. The Israelites first agreed to do and to practice. Only later would they listen and find out the rationales. Even if they obeyed without knowing why, even if they observed for reasons that would later prove illogical or inexact, the Israelites were first doing. The Rabbis saw a great value in their response.
There are few things that we do in our lives for pure reasons. At work or at play, at home or even in the synagogue, much of what we do has some ulterior motive. Rav Yehudah, in the name of Rav, informs us that this is natural. He is reminding us that positive motivations often follow positive actions. We should do these good things, even if for the wrong reasons, because this will train us to do them for the right reasons.
We do not rely on a miracle.
Text / Mishnah (5:5): The Passover offering is slaughtered by three groups, as it says: “And all the assembled congregation of the Israelites shall slaughter it” [Exodus 12:6]—“assembled,” “congregation” and “Israelites.” When the first group entered, the courtyard was filled, and the doors of the courtyard were closed, and they blew a long note, short notes, and a long note.
Gemara: “When the first group entered.” It has been said: Abaye said: “We have learned: ‘They [the doors] are closed.’ ” Rava said: “We have learned: ‘We close them.’ ” What’s the difference? Here is the difference: Relying on a miracle. Abaye said: “We have learned: ‘They are closed,’ and whoever got in is in, and we rely on a miracle.” But Rava said: “ ‘We close them,’ and we do not rely on a miracle.”
Context / The discussion about the sacrificial system of the Temple may seem foreign to us, more like a philosophical argument than a relevant matter of practical Jewish law. In fact, the rules and regulations of the Temple period were no longer relevant to Abaye and Rava, living two to three hundred years after the destruction of the second Temple! Why, then, the concern with how the doors were closed?
First, the Rabbis prayed for and hoped for the rebuilding of the Temple. Their discussions could have practical implications as preparation for the time when the sacrifices would be restored “as in olden days.”
In addition, this discussion, like many arguments of the Talmud, is a theoretical one, a practice in reading and interpretation of text. The Rabbis found intellectual challenge in arguing their points back and forth. Furthermore, as we have seen, every disagreement even about a theoretical issue like the closing of the doors reflects differing world views. The Rabbis teach their general attitudes towards important questions from such specific discussions.
The Pesaḥ sacrifice that was originally offered as the Israelites left Egypt was later transferred to the Temple ritual. This Mishnah and Gemara are discussing the order for the sacrifice. According to the Mishnah, those offering the sacrifice are divided into three groups, based on the verse from Exodus. To the rabbinic mind, the Hebrew verse seems redundant, and any of the three words—kahal (assemblage/assembled), eidah (congregation), or Yisrael (Israelites)—would have sufficed. According to this reading of the verse, the redundancy is there to prove that three shifts should participate in the sacrifice of the paschal offering, one after the other, while the shofar is sounded.
The disagreement between Abaye and Rava starts with a minute point of Hebrew grammar in the Mishnah’s wording. The Mishnah uses a phrase which, because of the nature of Hebrew, is unclear in its intent. The words na’alu daltot haazarah, “the doors of the courtyard are closed,” is as ambiguous in the Hebrew as in the English translation. How do the doors of the courtyard get closed, especially when there will be so many pilgrims in the Temple court on the Pesaḥ holiday? The Hebrew verb, na’alu, supports two possible readings. Abaye understands it as nina’lu, a passive verb meaning “they are closed.” From this inactive verb, Abaye learns that we ourselves do not push the doors shut but let whoever wants to enter the courtyard do so, even if this may be too many people. We rely on a miracle, that is, divine intervention, to insure that the courtyard will not be overcrowded at this time. Rava, however, has a different reading of the Mishnah. He says that the word is to be understood as no’alin, an active verb, implying “we close.” It is our responsibility to close the gates to the Temple courtyard so that only a certain number of people enter. We do not expect divine intervention, nor do we wait for a miracle.
Katz, M., & Schwartz, G. (1998). Swimming in the Sea of Talmud: Lessons for Everyday LIving
. Philadelphia, PA: The Jewish Publication Society.by Diana Wallis
I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one. --- John 17:11
Argumentative prayers are excellent prayers. The strength of everything is in its joints; how strongly jointed, how sinewy was this prayer of Christ. Some think we need not argue and plead in prayer but only present the matter and let Christ plead with the Father—as if the choicest part of our prayers must be kept back because Christ presents our prayers to God. No, Christ’s pleading is one thing, ours another; his and ours are not opposed but subordinate. His pleading does not destroy ours but makes it successful.
God calls us to plead with him: “Come now, let us reason together” (Isa. 1:18). God reasons with us by his word and providences outwardly and by his Spirit inwardly. We reason with him by framing (through the help of his Spirit) certain arguments, grounded on allowed principles, drawn from his nature, name, word, or works. What was Jacob’s wrestling with the angel but his holy pleading and persistence with God? Let God frown, strike, or wound, a blessing Jacob came for and a blessing he will have; “I will not let you go,” he said, “unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:26). His limbs, his life might go, but there is no going from Christ without a blessing. The Lord admires him and honors him to all generations.
We are not heard either for our much speaking or our excellent speaking; it is Christ’s pleading in heaven that makes our pleading on earth effective. But surely when the Spirit of the Lord suggests proper arguments in prayer and helps the humble suppliant to press them home, when he helps us to weep and groan and plead, God is greatly delighted in such prayers. “I will surely make you prosper” (Gen. 32:12) is your own promise. This is pleasing to God, we can come to him crying, “Abba, Father, hear, forgive, pity, and help me. Am I not your child?”
To whom may a child be bold to go, with whom may a child have hope to succeed, if not with its father? The fathers of our flesh are full of tenderness and pity their children and know how to give good things to them. And is not the Father of spirits more full of tenderness, more full of pity? “Father, hear me.” This is that kind of prayer which is melody in the ears of God. --- John Flavel
(27). Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications.The Lost Rest: Hebrews 3:7–11
(continued)
Hebrews 4 goes on to apply this incident directly to you and me. “Today if you hear His voice,” the Scripture warns, “do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 4:7). Because distrust kept Israel from obeying God, the people were unable to enter the Promised Land. They never knew rest from their wanderings in desolate wilderness. And they died there.
But how does this apply to us? The Bible says “There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9). There remains the promise of experiencing life and meeting its challenges with peace in our hearts, and confidence that God’s good will is being worked out in every circumstance. We can miss the experience of peace if we follow the Israelites’ “example of disobedience.”
All this helps us see more clearly the nature of Christian responsibility. We are to listen for God’s voice today. And when the Holy Spirit makes us aware of God’s will, we are to trust God completely—and express that trust in obedience.
Like Joshua and Caleb, we are to see our enemies clearly, but are also to have such a clear vision of the Lord that we remember we are well able to overcome them. With this kind of confidence in God, we will obey Him, and find the peace and joy that only obedience can provide.
This responsibility of the believer remains the same across the centuries. It is the same, under Law or under grace. Redemption’s story is one—a story replayed at different times on different stages, but with unifying themes. Redemption brings men and women to God, frees and cleanses them, and provides a choice.
Wilderness—or Promised Land?
Disobedience—or obedience to God’s voice?
Unbelief—or a complete and childlike trust in the God who has broken our chains and who promises to enrich our forgiveness with an experience of His rest?
Will we find that rest? The choice, and the responsibility, is ours and ours alone.
(323). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.