The structure of the book has two main divisions:

The conquests (Chapters 1-12)

Allotment of the land (Chapters 13-24)

The book concludes with one of the most famous verses ” As for me and my house, we will choose the Lord.”  Once again it is a reminder that faith needs  constant reaffirmation not to prove ourselves to God but to remind ourselves of who we are and where we came from.   This day whom will you choose?

We begin in the first three chapters with a historical review of the Exodus and the giving of the land.  Passages like this later become credal in the traditions of the Jewish people.  Repeated in communal worship and in family ceremonies, it is a constant reminder  of their relationship with their Creator and Sustainor.  It almost sounds like a sermon rather than a list of rules like the earlier books of the Torah.

This all is a prelude to the second giving of the Decalogue (10 commandments)  made necessary because Moses broke the first tablets when he came upon the worship of the golden calf.  The emphasis begins with a covenant made “not with our ancestors but with us.” (5:3)   This covenant is unusual,  because in that time a deity disclosing himself to an entire nation across lines of gender, race and class was unprecedented. The personal nature of this covenant (use of the personal pronoun YOU) is also remarkable because usually the laws of a nation were directed toward changing society in general. (Think Constitution of the US).   These laws require personal commitment of morality.

Starting in chapter 12 we begin the “legal corpus”  the Deuteronomical transformation of the Israelite religion.

Chapter 12  Centralization of worship

Chapter 13  Unconditional loyalty to God

Chapter 14 The obligations of holiness

Chapter 15 The remission of debts and dealing with slaves

Chapter 16 Festivals, laws of public officials, and the organization of the judiciary

Chapter 17 The rules of judiciary and the law of the king.   (interesting that there are no kings up to this point but there are rules for their authority. Evidence again of this being written much later)

Chapter 18 the Levitical priesthood and the establishment of the prophet status

Chapter 19 Cities of Refuge, rules about murder

Here in these passages we see the stories of the complaints of not enough food and water repeated from the Exodus story.  They are such wonderful stories of God’s people voicing their concerns, being heard and not ignored and Moses’ s attempt to placate both people and God.  What a challenge to stand in the middle of two sides of an argument.  However right in the middle is life is where holiness resides.

Later in the book we have the wonderful story of Balaam and his donkey.  God uses the donkey to speak to Balaam and get him back on the right track.  Which leads to one of the more famous seminarian goofs in which the student said in a sermon:  “If God can speak through Balaam’s ass, He can speak through yours!”     Right up there with the other sermon entitled “Who did it to Mary?”   True stories…       So now we will see who is reading this blog!!

So back to decorum….

The stories in Numbers may seem dry but theyare an important part of the narrative of the Jewish people’s journey in the wilderness.  The tribe is growing, the memories of the past are fading with the death of several generations, and the nation is getting ready to learn to follow leaders other than Moses.  Aaron , Moses brother, is releaved of his job of being the high priest.

Several times the people are infected with a plague (the desert influenza or food poisoning? )  and they interpret these events as signs from God.  Rules of basic hygiene, family relationships and care of the dead are important as they move through the years, so they are not infected with more disease.  A weakened nation will not survive nor be able to inhabit or invade the promised land when their time has come.

So how would you prepare your family or yourself for a move?  How does this compare to the Israelite people?

It is also interesting that some of these laws- particularly relating to sexual behavior- are pulled out for obedience in our modern times, but the other 600 or more rules are “out of date.”   I believe that the relationship with God is meant to be a lively and dynamic, changing thing and we box in God when we think we can become holy by following a set of rules.

Still the lines can be our friends and the best part of the Jewish Talmudic law is the order that it gave to God’s people.  It set them apart from other nations who, say,  ate pork or were not circumsized.  It gave God’s people an identity and a liturgy of worship — literally the words of holiness to know God.

According to a commentary, “Leviticus rests on two crucial beliefs: the first, that the world was created “very good” and retains the capacity to achieve that state although it is vulnerable to sin and defilement; the second, that the faithful enactment of ritual makes God’s presence available, while ignoring or breaching it compromises the harmony between God and the world^.”

For the Jews the world and all of life was worth working on, treasuring, and being a good steward of.  To this day, the most active change agents and workers of social, political and environmental justice are Jewish people.  Unlike some Evangelical Christians who “felt their true home was in another heavenly rhelm” or “did not want to be contaminated by the sinful world,”  the Jews believed this world was God’s crowning achievement and worth fighting for.

the law also was the ritual that makes God’s presence available.  This is key to understanding Judiasm.  The law and the laws were the way to know God, to please God and to honor God’s covenant with his people.  It was their way of keeping up their end of the bargain.

So all of these oral traditions were written down during a time of exile, prompted by the priestly class, who feared that the Jews would loose their identity in a different land.  As it was some of the Babylonia stories became “Judiazed” and were included in the Pentateuch, such as Noah.  However, most of the stories and the levitical laws were traditions passed on from parents to children since there was no temple to gather in while in a foreign land.

Here is where Cyrus the Great comes into play.  Cyrus is considered to be one of the greatest leaders of nations in all of history.  His military capability lead conquering most of the middle East including Babylon and the system of governmnet lasted for  a 200 year reign.  Actually the story of the “conquering” of Babylon is recorded on a clay cylinder excavated centuries later.  Cyrus freed the Babylonians from their ruler, Nabonidus,  who made them slaves to build his cities.  The Babylonians cheered Cyrus entry into their country!

It was Cyrus who let the Jewish people return to their homeland and used the Babylonia treasury to help the Jews rebuild the second temple in Jerusalem.  There they lived until Alexander the Great conquered Persia.  More of this will come up when we read Isaiah.

But according Wikipedia here is the outline of all the laws:

Chapters 1-5 describe the various sacrifices from the sacrificers’ point of view, although the priests are essential for handling the blood. Chapters 6-7 go over much the same ground, but from the point of view of the priest, who, as the one actually carrying out the sacrifice and dividing the “portions”, needs to know how this is to be done. Sacrifices are to be divided between God, the priest, and the one offerer, although in some cases the entire sacrifice is a single portion consigned to God – i.e., burnt to ashes.^[8]

Chapters 7-10 describe the consecration (by Moses) of Aaron and his sons as the first priests, the first sacrifices, and God’s destruction of two of Aaron’s sons for ritual offenses. The purpose is to underline the character of altar priesthood (i.e., those priests empowered to offer sacrifices to God) as an Aaronite privilege, and the restrictions on their position.^[9]

With sacrifice and priesthood established, chapters 11-15 instruct the lay people on purity (or cleanliness). Eating certain animals produces uncleanliness, as does giving birth; certain skin diseases (but not all) are unclean, as are certain conditions affecting walls and clothing (mildew and similar conditions); and genital discharges, including female menses and male gonorrhea, are unclean. The reasoning behind the food rules are obscure; for the rest the guiding principle seems to be that all these conditions involve a loss of “life force”, usually but not always blood.^[10]

Leviticus 16 concerns the Day of Atonement. This is the only day on which the High Priest is to enter the holiest part of the sanctuary, the holy of holies. He is to sacrifice a bull for the sins of the priests, and a goat for the sins of the laypeople. A third goat is to sent into the desert to “Azazel“, bearing the sins of the whole people. Azazel may be a wilderness-demon, but its identity is mysterious.^[11]

Chapters 17-26 are the Holiness code. It begins with a prohibition on all slaughter of animals outside the Temple, even for food, and then prohibits a long list of sexual contacts and also child sacrifice. The “holiness” injunctions which give the code its name begin with the next section: penalties are imposed for the worship of Molech, consulting mediums and wizards, cursing one’s parents and engaging in unlawful sex. Priests are instructed on mourning rituals and acceptable bodily defects. Blasphemy is to be punished with death, and rules for the eating of sacrifices are set out; the calendar is explained, and rules for sabbatical and Jubilee years set out; and rules are made for oil lamps and bread in the sanctuary. The code ends by telling the Israelites they must choose between the law and prosperity on the one hand, or, on the other, horrible punishments, the worst of which will be expulsion from the land.^[12]

Chapter 27 is a disparate and probably late addition telling about persons and things dedicated to Yahweh and how vows can be redeemed instead of fulfilled.^[13]

So Moses leads the people south, where it is most likely Mount Sinai is located.  Moses receives the Ten Commandments up on the mountain and comes down to the first of many problems with the Jewish people.  First they make a golden Calf to worship while waiting for Moses to return.  Then they complain that there isn’t enough food while in the wilderness.  They they complain there isn’t enough water.  Each time God provides food and water for the people.  Moses guides the people to build a community with rules and a place of worship.

But God’s exasperation is evident in Exodus 32.  God (Yahweh) even suggests to Moses to leave all of them in the desert and start again- just the two of them!  Moses advocates for the people again.  He does what he does best.  He mediates between a holy God and a faithless people.  Sadly, Moses pays the price for these people and is kept from entering the promised land. Joshua takes over as the leader in the new land.

Doesn’t seem fair does it?  But it had to happen.  The result of Moses lineage continuing into the promised land would have started a new patriarchal lineage.  They also needed a warrior leader because they had to defeat those who lived in the new land.  All very important pieces to a new day for the Jews.

But first before we hear of Joshua, we have  few more rules to get in place.  We head into Leviticus, written by the Priestly writer and focuses on the order of worship. Then we count the tribes in Numbers.  Hang in there! Deuteronomy is coming soon and that is lots of fun!

As it is written in the Haggadah of the Passover (liturgy)  ” in every generation one must look upon himself as if he personally had come forth from Egypt… and us He brought out that He might lead us and give us the land which he swore to our fathers.”   Notice how many times in the Psalms and the later prophets, this holy story is repeated as past and present identity.   Read the repeated litany in Deuteronomy 26:5-10, Psalm 81:8-10, Ezekiel 20:5-6 and  Hosea 11.1

So, if you can separate yourself from the movie “The Ten Commandments” and look at the biblical story you will read some very important pieces that the movie ignores.

1. Moses is selected and empowered by God not born into leadership.  At first competency is questioned by Moses, but God sees ability where it may not be evident to humanity. Joshua, later in the story leads the Jews into the promised land, not Moses son.

2. God acts in history and that affects not only the Jews and the whole world.  The miracles outlined in the Exodus story  may not have been quite as extraordinary as portrayed by Hollywood, but still were interpreted by the Jewish people as God’s salvific action.  Whether Pharoah’s chariots were bogged down in  mud of the Reed Sea or swallowed up by the swirling waters of the Red sea doesn’t matter.  What matters is that the people saw God’s amazing action in everyday events that brought their freedom.

3. God is no longer an unknown Spirit, but now has a name -  I AM  or in hebrew YAHWEH.  With this name,  humanity has a relationship with God.  A conversation with God develops.   An avenue to reach God is outlined in the ten commandments.  Here is how to become holy.  Follow these laws and rules and we will be in covenant together forever.

The story from Exodus 1-15 is repeated much like we tell the stories of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection from generation to generation.   The Song in Exodus 15 sung by Moses sister Miriam is one of the oldest hymns of the Jewish community recorded.

I do believe it is because the Yahwist writer wanted to move the focus from genetic lineage to competancy lineage. In other words, the one who now leads the Jewish people is the one most able, not the one with the genes.  Joseph proves himself as a capable leader, a forgiving brother(albeit a bit manipulative) and a wise steward of someone else’s resources.  All this proves to be leadership material in the eyes of God.  No longer does a leader of the Jews need to fall in the patriarchal lineage.

Joseph is often called the patron saint of Managers or the Great Steward because proves his worth in managing the food and materials of the Pharoah extremely well. Joseph knows when to say NO – to save the food during the fat times. Then he knows how to say YES when it is important to use during the lean times.  That is a sign of a good leader and a good steward.

This story also sets the stage for getting the Jewish people under the direction of the aging father, Jacob, to Egypt where they will soon become slaves and consequently then need to be freed.   That sets the stage for the most important and seminal experience of the Jewish people. Moses, another leader not in the patriarchal lineage,  is chosen by God to be the leader of the Jews.  He is charged with bringing the people out of Egypt into the promised land.

Most readers of the Bible do not realize that the Exodus story (first 15 chapters) was probably written first, but if you start with Genesis 1 and read through you would be tempted to think that it was an historical narrative.  The Exodus story was written first because it was THE most important story of the Jewish people.  The  book of Genesis was all pre history to get the readers to Exodus. You can hear people in later years asking “Why were the Jews in Egypt in the first place? How did they become slaves? Why was Moses and not a son of Jacob or Joseph chosen as the leader of the Jews?”    The Joseph story explains the shift in leadership and geographical situation.

All sets the stage for the most important event in the history of the Jews- the Exodus.

Genesis 1-11- Prologue – actually written after the Exodus story and Genesis 12-50. Written by a priestly writer meant to be more like poetry and liturgy rather than science or history. Many of these stories were also evident in the Babylonian culture (see end of this post)

Genesis12-50- Shortly after the turn of the second millennium BC.  Israel’s ancestor, Abraham, migrated to Mesopotamia into the land of Canaan, otherwise known as Palestine (yes the same contested Palestine of today).  The patriarchs or found fathers of Israel, moved about tin the hill country of Cannan with Abraham, son Isaac, and grandson Jacob succeeding each other as leaders of the Hebrews.  Eventually during a time of famine Jacob’s family migrated to Egypt.

Exodus- Deuternonomy- After enjoying initial favor in Egypt, the descendants of Jacob were subjected to forced labor by Pharoah.  Under the leadership of Moses (not in the patriarchal lineage) around 1300 BC, and favored by an extraordinary series of events, they escaped into the desert of Sinaitic Penninsula where they were forged into  a community with a  single religious allegiance.  United by a common set of laws (the ten commandments), the Jews began to order their community with additional laws and a system of government under the direction of Moses.  Unable to enter Canaan from the south they spent a long time (40 years) in the wilderness and eventually made a roundabout journey through Transjordan.

Joshua, Judges- Under the leadership of Joshua, the Israelites crossed the Jordan from their base in Transjordan, and in a lightning military campaign overran the native population and claimed the land as their own.  During this time (the period of the judges) they had to wage ceaseless wars of defense to maintain their stronghold on the promised land.

I-II Samuel, I-II Kings, I,II Chronicles- In time, enemy pressure became so intense that a monarchy was established.  Under the great kings David and Solomon (1000-922 BC) Canaan became an Israelite empire which took its place proudly in the circle of nations.  On the death of Solomon, however, the United Kingdom split into two kingdoms of the north and south.  (Ephraim and Judah)  These kingdoms, by virtue of their strategic location in a buffer zone between Mesopotamia and Egypt, were drawn into the power struggle of the Near East.  The northern Kingdom fell under the aggression of Assyria (721 BC) and the Southern Kingdom fell to the Babylonians (who conquered Assyria) in 587 BC.  Many Jews were carried away in Babylonian Captivity.

Ezra, Nehemiah- Then under the benevolent rule of the next empire, Persia (Iraq today!) the exiles were permitted to return to their homeland where they rebuilt Jerusalem and the temple and resumed their way of life.  (It is thought that this is the time when the Torah (the first five books of the bible ) were written under the direction of the Priest Ezra.

More on the Maccabbean revolt and the meaning of Channukah  later.