Day 64, March 5 Bible Reading
Deut. 1:6-18 The command to leave Mount Horeb / Appointing leaders
Num. 10:11-33 The Israelites leave Sinai
Num. 9:15-23 The cloud of the Lord
Ex. 40:36-38 / Num. 10:34 – (chap)11 The cloud of the Lord / Fire and quail from the Lord
Num. 12 Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses / Miriam’s leprosy
Deut. 1:6-18 The command to leave Mount Horeb / Appointing leaders
Deut 1:6-8 Time to move from Mt. Sinai/ Horeb to go to the promised land. It was an eleven day journey.
Deut 1:9-15 Leaders were appointed to help Moses. Moses released that as the leader, it would be too much to hear everyone’s complaints, and problems. The criteria: possess wisdom, understand and knowledge, What is the difference among all three? Knowledge is the ability to take raw data/ facts, and distill the appropriate information from it, placing it into discernible categories, for future reference. Understanding is the analytical awareness, to be able to draw inferences, deduce outcomes, see the connections between differing points of data, and information. Wisdom is the ability to apply context to information, see with the hidden eye, patterns, glean principles, determine causality, that is cause and effect, understand patterns of consequences or logic based on a starting point, and more appropriately, know which principle and pattern should be applied to a particular situation, to achieve the desired outcome.
Deut 1:16-18 You should not show partiality in judgment and judge righteously, not being afraid of any one person’s presence or reaction. If the case was too hard, Moses acted as the appellate court. God was the supreme court.
Num. 10:11-33 The Israelites leave Sinai
Num 10:11-13 Finally on the 20h day of the second month they left Mount Sinai. From my calculations they were there for about 11 months.
Num 10:14-28 Imaging the trumpets blowing and the eastern Tribes, the Lion under Judah (for that was his standard/flag), breaking camp first, with Issachar and Zebulun. Then Gershon and Merari of the Levites carried the tabernacle. Then the southern Tribes, the Face of the Man, Reuben followed with Simeon and Gad. The the Western tribes, the Face of the Ox, Ephraim, with Manasseh and Benjamin. Then finally the northern tribes, the Face of the Eagle with Serpent in its talons, Dan with Asher and Naphtali. This is the order in which they marched.
Num 14:29-33 Moses asked Hobab his brother in law to come with them. He said he cannot. I thought Moses' reasoning was great.. “If you go with us, whatever good God will do to us, the same we will do to you”
Interesting that the ark of the covenant was declared to be searching for a place of rest for them. They had a three days journey from the wilderness of Sinai to Paran. The cloud was above the ark.
Num. 9:15-23 The cloud of the Lord
Focusing on the cloud, remember when the tabernacle was dedicated, a cloud covered the tabernacle, and God was both a fire and cloud between the cherubim above the mercy seat, and a cloud by day over the tabernacle and a pillar of fire by night. The Children of Israel only moved when the Cloud moved.
Ex. 40:36-38 / Num. 10:34 – (chap)11 The cloud of the Lord / Fire and quail from the Lord
Num 10:35-36 Anytime the ark set out, Moses attributed that to God rising up. When the ark rested, He attributed that to God returning back to the many thousands of Israel. God was really with them with the ark, His throne on earth.
Num 11:1-3 Well after all of that, the people complained on their first road trip. God heard it. Now if you have the ark so close to you why complain to be heard. It seemed that the complaints came from those on the periphery, the outskirts of the camp God sent a fir and burned them. It always seems that those people on the outskirts of a thing, who are not fully invested always have time to complain. So they called the place “Burning” or Taberah for obvious reasons.
Num 11:4-9 Next complaint. This time from a mixed multitude. Who were these mixed multitude? Egyptians and other strangers who were with them. They remembered their bellies, fish, cucumbers etc. They complain all they are eating is manna, manna. Apparently it can be made into a paste or grounded, and cakes made. It is like a sourdough.
Num 11:10-15 Even Moses was displeased this time. He classically in exasperation asked “Am I their father” in classic Star Wars style. “Did I birth these people?” The burden is too leader. Sometimes if you are a leader it is ok to be transparent if the burden is too heavy. Although Moses took it a little too far saying “If you treat me like this, please kill me here”. I wonder what his wife said when she heard that.
Num 11:16-17 God’s answer to Moses’ burden was to have 70 men, (the Septuagint said 72, 6 from each tribe) and He will take some of Spirit on Moses and put it on them so he does not have to bear the burden of the people alone.
Num 11:18-20 God’s solution to the meat complain was to have them eat meat, go on the Carnivore diet for a whole month, until it comes out of their nostrils and they despise it. Why? Because they despise the Lord.
Num 11:21-23 Why did Moses assume that this was a bug task for God? He said, wait God, there are 600 thousand men on foot here, plus women and children, about 1.3 million people. Should all the fish of the sea be gathered and will it be enough? Moses was a little small minded here.
Num 11:24-30 So the Spirit did fall on the 70. What happened as evidenced? They prophesied but did not do so again. So what was exactly the nature of this prophesying? Was it the foretelling of the future? No. It was simply the involuntary declarations of who God is in an intense moment. Two of them, Eldad and Medad were not in the camp, but it happened to them at the same time. A young boy told Moses. Joshua thought they should be told to stop, maybe because they were not at the tabernacle? So this was a foretaste that even though the Tabernacle was the center of life, God is ok just interacting with men wherever they are. Even Moses understood that the real intention is that all the Lord’s people were prophets.
Num 11:31-35 a Tornado or string wind came, and brought quail. It seems as if the sight of the people gathering qual all day and night and filling up their mouth with quail was too much for God that his wrath was aroused and he kill the people with a great plague They called the place “Graves of Craving” or Kibroth Hattaavah. They moved from here to Hazeroth.
Num. 12 Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses / Miriam’s leprosy
Num 12:1-2 Seems like one wife was not enough for Moses. He fell for and married an Ethiopian woman. I don’t blame him. But Miriam and Moses did not like that. They accused Moses of being above the law and who does he think he is? Does he think God only speaks through Him? Once again God heard it. God hears everything.
Num 12:3 Moses was not one to think himself above the law. Moses was said to be very humble, more than all men on the earth. He could have had imposter syndrome also.
Num 12:4-5 God brought Moses, Aaron and Miriam like kids getting ready for a spanking “Come out you three”. That sounds like a black mama bear. To make it more dramatic, the pillar of cloud stood at the door of the tabernacle.
Num 12:6-8 God said Moses was more than a prophet. He would speak to a prophet in a vision or dream. With Moses it was on a face to face basis, painly and not darkly. He sees the form of God, so why the disrespect? Aren’t you afraid? This is interesting. God acknowledges that for MOST PEOPLE, most prophets he would speak darkly, or in a vision or dream. This answers the question of how does God talk to people. However since Christ, God speaks plainly only through Him. Christ is the last voice [Heb 1:1-4].
Furthermore God said Moses was the servant faithful in God’s House. The writer from Hebrews used this declaration to show Christ was greater than Moses as Moses was just a servant, but Christ BUILT the House that Moses was a servant in and Christ is THE SON over His own House [Heb 3:1-6]
Num 12:9-12 Miriam was struck with leprosy. Aaron got scared and asked for hee life.
Num 12:12-16 Moses cried out to God to heal her. God had an interesting response. He said if a father had spit in her face would she not be put to shame for 7 days? (Which father would do that? That Ancient Near Eastern culture was different). Well the leprosy was God spitting in Miriam’s face. So she was sent out of the camp for 7 days. God did not answer Moses’ prayer.
Comments
Post a Comment