Numbers 33 – The Stages of the Journey
Numbers 34-35 – The Land of Inheritance
Numbers 36 – The inheritance for Women
Thoughts about serving others
This link includes a list of posts about Serving the Least, the Lost, and the Lonely.
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Let the Word evoke words. May your life encourage lives.
Numbers 33 provides an overview of the “stages” in the journey from escape to the verge of crossing the Jordan River. The NIV Study Bible notes indicate some choose to examine this list with a microscope, expecting to tour the area and see historical markers, but I tend to agree with their concluding remark: “the listing of the stages of Israel’s experience in the wilderness is fundamentally a religious document, a litany of the Lord’s deliverance of his people.”
The text for this reading include details about boundaries and towns for the Levites. It’s interesting to note how God continues to honor the people, especially those in charge of the church (as it were). The “cities of refuge” (Numbers 35:6) provide a haven for those who have killed another, either by accident or intentionally. With such a large number of people, human nature indicates this will happen, people will be guilty of such crimes. Sad and troubling to think about, but people, left to themselves, do not gravitate toward peace and passivity. Rather, the opposite appears to be the case. Left alone without God, people are selfishly motivated and tend to create rules that are likewise self-centered.
Here’s where the atheist loses the argument. Yes, I know I’m on a rabbit trail, but what I take from the reading today is not so much an accurate historical document about the Israelites as an orderly process by which God shows he cares about his people. Even the daughters of Zelophehad. God is the God of order and is the true center. The Canaanites were a godless people who apparently built systems of religion to support their existence, though I’m going out on a limb here, having not read any histories of this people group.
Lord, I thank you for good order and discipline, for choosing these people and providing such a rich history of their journey, both good and bad (mostly bad), as they crossed from slavery to entering the promised land. May we learn from your word how foolish life is apart from you. Help us Lord to be relevant, to be kind and considerate as we attempt to bring your gospel to this dying world.