Victory! Then more complaints . . .

The Israelites seem to never be happy.

At the beginning of chapter 21 of Numbers, the Israelites vowed to God that if He helped them win a victory over the Canaanites, that they'd unconditionally dedicate the cities to Him.  God helped to destroy the cities.

Then, starting in verse 4, they start complaining again about having no food or water.  God became furious at them and sent poisonous snakes.  Moses said to the people that if they prayed for forgiveness, God would take care of the snakes and heal those who were biten.

Once it was all said and done, Moses made a bronze snake and wound it onto a pole.  In much the same manner as this as it went on to become an international symbol for medicine.

The Death of Aaron

In the second half of chapter 20, in the book of Numbers, the Israelites come to the kingdom of  Edom.

Moses sent messengers on to Edom, requesting passage through their country with the promise that they will neither stray from the path nor drink from their wells.  For if they do, they will pay for it in full.

The request was denied.

Needless to say, the Israelites took another route, and when they reached the borders of Edom at Mount Hor, God told them that Aaron was to die and go no further.  This punishment was due to their misbehavior when they struck the rock to give water to their people, and falsely said that they were the ones who did it, not God.

After Aaron's death, Eleazar (Aaron's son) was promoted to Aaron's place and the Israelites mourned his death for 30 days.

The lesson of water

In the first half of chapter 20, in the book of Numbers, the people once again complained to Aaron and Moses about their lack of water.

Mosea and Aaron prayed, the God told them to take a stick and strike a rock, and water would gush out from it.

They did as God commanded, however with a slight twist: they scolded the people of Israel and said, "Do we have to get the water out of this rock for you?"

Water gushed out of the rock.

But God was not happy, for they did not acknowledge that it was God's power that allowed them to perform such a feat, not their own power.

Aaron is chosen . . . and the concept of a tithe is introduced

In chapter 17 of Numbers, each of the twelve tribes gathers a walking stick and the leader's name is written on it.  For the tribe of Levi, the Lord tells Moses to have Aaron's name written on theirs.  Then, the walking sticks are to be placed in God's Tent to see who is chosen.  He did this in an attempt to stop the constant complaining His people were doing.

The next day, the stick from Levi's tribe--Aaron's--is chosen, as it has budded and blossomed.

Chapter 18 describes the duties of the priests and the Levites--the latter have a responsibility to God's Tent and serving those with the sacrifices.

In this chapter we also see the word tithe.  Tithe means a tenth.  All of the other tribes must tithe to God, and those tithes are to be presented to the Levites to use.  The Levites, in turn, tithe their portion of the goods they've received as a special contribution to the Lord.

The tithe given to the Levites are for their service to the Lord.

Laws and Rebellion

Chapter 15 of Numbers deals largely with more rules for sacrifice and then delves into those who unintentionally fail to keep the regulations set forth by God.  There is a brief excerpt of someone who broke the Sabbath by working on that Holy Day and is then killed.

Chapter 16 starts with three of the clans banding together to confront Moses.  They told him that he is setting himself up above everyone else.  Moses then prayed on this.  Afterwards, he invited them to come to the Tent to see whom God chooses.  In the end, God causes the ground to swallow up these clans, for since they reject Moses they also reject the Lord.

The rest of the Israelites see this and plead for mercy from Aaron and Moses.  They tried to keep the people from being near those who have perished, and Aaron quickly performs a ritual of purification to save the people from meeting with the same fate.

In the end, a great plague was averted.

The Biblical James Bond

In chapter 13 of Numbers Moses chooses twelve leaders--one from each clan--go to on ahead into the new land of Canaan and spy.

Unfortunately, not much is said about their travels and I doubt very much they had any cool gadgets like the fictional James Bond.  What they did was report back that the people of Canaan were like giants and even went on to say that "we felt as small as grasshoppers."

This was also the image they projected onto themselves--all except Caleb, who said they should attack now and that they were ready.

Chapter 14 sees an awful lot of complaining on the part of the Israelites.  A lot!  So much so that God tells Moses that he's going to wipe out everyone over the age of 20!  All except the people of Caleb and Joshua.  These two men were the only one who did not complain to God.  The people of the other ten leaders (who complained to God) went on to invade Canaan . . . only to perish because God was not with them.

Psalms 9 - God's Thanksgiving

As it was Thanksgiving here in the United States a few days ago, it seems fitting to talk about Psalms 9 here--often referred to us giving thanks to the Lord.

Psalms 9 is a bit longer piece at 20 verses.

It starts by giving grand praises for the Lord and what He has done.  It continues by telling that our enemies have turned their back and fled when the Lord has appeared, for He protects the oppressed.  He is also the great judge of all nations, and He is both honest and fair.

One line, verse nine, struck with me: "The Lord is a refuse for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble."  This brings me much peace to read this, and for those whom He sides with.

Verse 13-14 is pure thanksgiving: ". . . Rescue me from death, O Lord, that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem and tell them all the things for which I praise you, I will rejoice because you saved me."

Verse 18 is another favorite: "The needy will not always be neglected; the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever."