Numbers 6:
The discussion of purification concepts continues, again, taking the legal framework established in the Book of Leviticus laying out the requirements for living the holy, sanctified, sacrificial life that God seemed to expect from the Israelites, and providing practical implementation of those laws.
In Leviticus 21, God lays out the strict requirements for the cleanliness and holiness of the Levitical priests operating in the tabernacle and conducting the requirements for the proper worship of the Lord. Of course, only the members of the tribe of Levi, and, more specifically, the direct descendants of Moses’s brother Aaron, could serve as priests. This pretty much left most everybody else out of the picture. But here in Numbers 6, God provides an avenue for any person to dedicate their lives to serve God in a similar way in establishing the Law of the Nazirite. Don’t confuse this term with the town where Jesus grew up – this is “Nazirite,’ not “Nazareth.” The Hebrew word “nzir” refers to someone who wholly consecrates themselves to God. The implication of the root word is this consecration is, at least for a time, total and complete, as in the person “deserts,” or abandons the rest of the world for a wholehearted dedication to the Lord. The term also includes the concept of dealing respectfully towards God while holding themselves back from specific, worldly behaviors, and to proclaim and live in a oneness with this devotion.
As we read through the details of chapter 6, we see that the “Nazirite” vow is one that is wholly voluntary, extremely intense, and almost always temporary (that is, for a prescribed time period). There are only three people in the Bible who appear to have kept (or tried to keep) a Nazirite vow for their entire lives – Samson, Samuel the Prophet, and John the Baptist.
The requirements are strict and mostly framed in the negative. During the duration of their vow, the Nazirite must refrain from drinking wine, any fermented drink (eliminating all other forms of alcohol), and must go so far as to abstain from vinegar made from wine and can eat the fruit that produces wine (grapes or raisins). They also are forbidden to cut their hair or shave. They cannot go near a dead body, even if that body is a close relative or dear friend. Finally, there is an elaborate ritual that takes place in the tabernacle when the time for the vow comes to an end. Chapter 6, verse 21 sums up the Nazirite concept that not only must a person taking a Nazirite vow make an offering according to the described ritual, but “whatever else they can afford.” This is a commitment so deep, it was not to be taken lightly.
Chapter 6 ends with an abrupt shift to instructions to Aaron and the priests as to “how [the priests] are to bless the Israelites,” and laying out what has come to be known as the Aaronic blessing. It’s only 3 verses long, but it is so beautiful and impactful:
“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace” (6:24-26).
In the original Hebrew, the threefold repetition of the divine name of “Yahweh” sets up the artful beauty of the prayer, giving an emphasis of force and expression. Each verse contains two elements of benediction, and each verse is progressively longer – in the original Hebrew text, the first verse has three words, the second five, and the third seven. Inspired by Gary Smalley and John Trent’s book, “The Blessing,” my wife Susan and I felt compelled to pray this blessing by saying it out loud, word for word, over our children every night as we were putting them to bed, from the time they were babies. As they grew, this became a regular, nightly concept, where we prayed a personalized blessing for each child based upon the meaning of their name, and then we would recite the Aaronic blessing of Numbers 6:24-26. They came to clamor for it, upbraiding us if we said good night, but failed to provide the blessing. I believe it helped cement a sense of God’s covering over their lives along with a sense of God’s love, and our own love for them. It is rewarding to see my children continue this practice with their own children.
Numbers 7
If you thought we were done with lists, well, I hate to disappoint you. The seemingly boring, repetitive details are back once more.
Chapters 7, 8, and 9 all deal with the particulars of the tabernacle, how worship was to be conducted, and how the priests were to function.
Here in Chapter 7, after Moses sets up the tabernacle and consecrates it to its proper use, each tribe brought an offering to the Lord, consisting of six carts pulled by two oxen each, filled with stuff detailed in the verses that follow. Verses 12 through 88 (WOW! That’s a lot of reading for one day, eh?) list the specific gifts each tribe provided for the work in the Lord’s tabernacle. This was the implementation of the laws of tithes and offerings that were laid out in Leviticus 7 and 27. These gifts provided the materials that ensured the priests’ livelihood as described in Numbers chapter 18.
Numbers 8
If you wanted even more detail than you had in Chapter 7, well, you’ve come to the right place. Here, all the details of the Levitical priesthood are laid out, which were first established in Leviticus chapter 8. Verses 1-4 detail how the lamps in the tabernacle are to be constructed and placed (it can’t be dark inside the inner chambers of the tabernacle!). Of course, the concept of God as light is foundational to a description of His transformative power.
Verses 5-26 detail the special nature of the Levitical practices, from ceremonial purity, ritual practices, the level of expected commitment and devotion, even the priestly retirement plan.
Numbers 9
The instructions for celebrating the Passover here were also established in Leviticus chapter 23. Here, it happens for real for the first time while the people are on the move and is structured so that these ordinances will keep happening every year to commemorate their deliverance from slavery. But included here is a new interpretation of the rules involving some Israelites being ceremonially unclean on the day of Passover, where God allows a “back-up date” to allow these folks to still participate, because celebrating the Passover is an absolute requirement for remaining a part of God’s covenant community (see v. 13).
Chapter 9 closes with “the cloud” coming down to cover the tent of the covenant law. Again, this reflects the concepts started in Leviticus, chapter 9, where after performing the inaugural sacrifices in the tabernacle, the fire of the Lord descended to consume the offering on the altar. Here, as they begin the use of the tabernacle in its “portable” format, the cloud that would guard and guide the people by day (with the fire of the Lord covering that duty when it was night) came to settle on the tabernacle. As long as the cloud stayed over and enveloped the tabernacle, the people remained in camp on that spot. When the cloud lifted, they knew it was time to pack up and set out in order to follow where the Lord wanted them to go.
This concept brings back memories from the early days of SOGF, when the metaphor of “following the cloud” was vitally important. There are times when it seems like we’re lost – we metaphorically feel like we’re wandering through our own version of the wilderness. Many of us hope that God will speak to us – give us a sign, point us in the right direction, or open a door. But God’s guidance is often subtle – the imagery of “the cloud” is more than just what we see, or a path to follow – it represents the presence of God. It’s more than instruction. The intimacy we have with the Lord will help us be able to know where he’s going, or where he’s taking us. Without this presence, the wandering can seem aimless.
I recall a time when Dr. John Sullivan, SOGF’s founding pastor, was counseling a man who was mired in financial difficulties and a rocky marriage relationship. This man’s frustrations were growing and becoming frenzied. He was desperately looking for solutions. Back at that time, during the worship portion of our church services, it became customary for people to come forward, and stand/kneel/prostrate themselves in the space between the front row and the stage as they sang and prayed. Dr. Sullivan counseled this man that the first step to finding his answers would be in coming forward during worship, and on his own, fall on his face before the Lord, and cry out to Him. The answers and solutions would come later. The first step was to immerse himself in the glory of the Lord, and his relationship with the Lord. When we are in that kind of situation, familiarity with God’s presence, “the cloud,” is the foundation. Then, when the cloud lifts, and starts to move, we have a sense of what it is, where it is, and where we need to go.
Numbers 10
Chapter 10 closes out the implementation of the Levitical legal concepts with the Lord commanding Moses to construct two silver trumpets used to call the Israelite leaders or the entire nation to assemble together. These two trumpets were all purpose trumpets – they called the people to gather together, or to set out and move forward, to go into battle, and to announce festival offerings. The sound of these trumpets would permeate every part of their lives and define when God required their active participation and attention.
Chapter 10, verse 11 gets us back to the day-to-day action. After 11 months of hanging around Mt. Sinai, the cloud at last has lifted, destined to eventually stop in the Desert of Paran. But, according to v. 13, this is the first time the people have set out to move towards the Promised Land at the behest of the Lord.
Verses 14-27 give us the names of the leaders of the 12 tribes for the fourth time so far in this book. The refined details here are that now that the nation is truly on the move, the Gershonites and Merarites, who carry the tabernacle from place to place, are in line immediately after the three tribes led by the tribe of Judah, which is in the lead. The Kohathites, who are in charge of transporting the “most holy things,” take their place in line behind the three tribes led by Rueben.
Moses talks to his father-in-law to keep traveling with him, and the people set out from Sinai as the cloud lifts, and they start out by traveling for 3 days. The excitement is building; Moses even has a couple of songs or chants he recites whenever the ark is put in place or is taken up to move. There is a fresh sense of unity and purpose among the Israelites. They seem ready to fulfill their destiny.
Numbers 11
It’s ironic. Or perhaps, it’s just human nature. But a common thread for the first 10 chapters of the Book of Numbers is that Moses and the people seem to be wholeheartedly compliant with the commands of the Lord. It’s been 13 months since the incident with the Golden Calf, and things seem to be going so well. But, after only three days on the march, things go terribly wrong.
This is much like what happened in the aftermath of the crossing of the Red Sea. It only took three days then as well, but in Exodus 16, the Israelites complained about the Manna, and then a chapter later, about a lack of water. Here in Numbers 11:1, its complaints about “hardship” (too much sun? Feet were tired?) which leads to FIRE from the Lord burning among them that “consumed the outskirts of the camp.”
You would think an angry God reigning fire down would cause the people to straighten up, at least a bit, but the complaining continued. In v. 4, the NIV identifies the new source of the complaining as “the rabble.” The NET Bible and the KJV calls them a “mixed multitude,” while the NRSV calls them “camp followers.” It appears the original Hebrew word literally means a “bunch of vagabonds.” These were apparently a mixed group of non-Israelite people who followed the Israelites out of Egypt, becoming a recurring source of complaints and trouble. Their complaining inspired the Israelites to “start wailing” about a desire to have “meat to eat,” expressing a longing to return to Egypt where they had “fish” at “no cost” and enjoyed an odd variety of produce – “cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic.” Bad pizza toppings?
I can’t imagine that meat was a regular part of their diet when they lived as slaves. They apparently had rose-colored glasses in their hindsight. Yet here they were, convincing themselves after only three days on their journey that they had a better life as slaves in Egypt.
In rejecting manna, the “bread from heaven” (See Exodus 16:4) that God graciously supplied them, the Israelites caused God to become “exceedingly angry.” Rejecting the manna was the equivalent of rejecting the Lord. Moses doesn’t show any kind of a higher level of maturity, as his response is to ask God why he allowed this group of troublemakers into his life.
So, God gives a blessing – and then a curse. The Lord allows Moses to appoint 70 leaders of the people to serve with him as support. But he would also give the people what they wanted – to their detriment. The Lord provided copious amounts of quail (a small bird with an anatomy similar to a chicken), in piles up to “two cubits deep” around the camp (a “cubit” was a unit of measurement in the ancient world that represented the distance from the elbow to the fingertips – typically about 18 inches. But there is archeological evidence from ancient Egypt and Hebrews of the use of a slightly longer “royal” cubit, which was about 21 inches. Imagine, though, opening up your tent flaps in the morning, and finding heaps of these bird carcasses all around you 3 to 3.5 feet deep – like the shallow end of an Olympic size swimming pool filled with rotisserie-sized chickens!). The people gathered them up and prepared for a feast. But while the food was still in their mouths, the Lord struck them with “a severe plague.” Apparently, many died, as the place was named as the spot where the people who “had craved other food” were buried.
