Complicated instructions are easier to understand when you see them in tables. Adventures with Moses in the Wilderness – The Order of March Numbers 8:1-26, Levites Stand In for the Firstborn Numbers 9:1-23, The First Passover Numbers 9:11-12, The lamb's bones must not be broken Numbers 10:1-10, Trumpets Numbers 10:11-36, Setting Out from Sinai Numbers 11:1-15, The people whine and complain. Numbers 11:16-35, God answers. Numbers 12:1-16, Aaron and Miriam complain; God answers. More Adventures with Moses in the Wilderness Copyright information, disclaimers, and sponsors Return to homepage

Numbers 8:1-26, Levites Stand In for the Firstborn (11/8/11)

I asked my husband what happened in his (American Baptist) ordination ceremony.  He said there was a sermon, prayer, and laying on of hands with prayer.  From what I’ve read in The Discipline, this is about the same as the United Methodist ceremony.  The tradition of laying on of hands to consecrate people to the work of the church or synagogue is a very old one, as we see in vss. 9-10.

I didn’t know, however, that there was a mandatory retirement age for Levites.  After age 50, the retirees still hung around the tabernacle, but apparently in an advisory capacity.  Pretty cool.  I’m going to suggest that to my own employer.

Reader Question:  What’s a “wave offering”?
Regina’s Response: Good question.  This term, used in Numbers 8:11 and at least 17 other verses, apparently comes from a verb meaning “to wave,” and apparently wave offerings were indeed waved in front of or over the altar and not put on the altar.  The Interpreter’s Bible Dictionary says that the meaning and motivation of the wave offering is conjectural, however, and as far as I’ve ever been able to figure out, that’s the consensus among scholars.

Numbers 9:1-23, The First Passover (11/9/11)

1.  Everybody is to keep the Passover.    2.  Always follow God’s instructions.


Numbers 9:11-12, The lamb's bones must not be broken (4/7/09)

In setting up the Passover memorial feast, God gave rules to the Jews about each of the foods to be served. For example, no leavening may be used, because the Jews left Egypt in such a hurry that they didn't have enough time to let their bread rise. The center of the Passover feast is the Paschal lamb. As we saw in Exodus, several of the rules about the feast apply to the preparation of the lamb. For example, the lamb must be without blemish and must be slaughtered just at twilight. It must be completely consumed at the feast. Any family that is too small to eat the whole lamb must go in with a neighbor so that none of the meat will be left uneaten. The lamb must be roasted, not boiled, and the lamb must be roasted whole: none of the bones may be broken.


Numbers 10:1-10, Trumpets (11/10/11)

I’m confident that we would all recognize “Taps” and understand that it signified either time to go to bed or the burial of a soldier or veteran.  Most of us would recognize “Reveille” and understand that we were supposed to get out of bed and assemble.  Some of us would recognize a number of other bugle calls, e.g., “Charge.”  So did the children of Israel.  Although the tunes were very different and the instrument was slightly different, the purpose was exactly the same as the bugle calls of the modern military.


Numbers 10:11-36, Setting Out from Sinai (11/11/11)

One reason that state and local officials are always cautious about ordering an evacuation is that moving a lot of people at once is a big job that can result in property damage, injuries, and deaths.  The orderly movement of large groups takes careful planning, good organization, training, and cooperation.  The children of Israel had a planned order of march that allowed them to break camp and move on with the minimum of confusion.

Order of March

Verse	Position	Flag	Tribe	Head of the Army
14	First	Judah	Judah	Nahshon, son of Amminadab
15			Issachar	Nethanel, son of Zuar
16			Zebulun	Eliab, son of Helon

17  Then the House was taken down; and the sons of Gershon and the sons of Merari, who were responsible for moving the House, went forward.

Verse	Position	Flag	Tribe	Head of the Army
18	Next	Reuben	Reuben	Elizur, son of Shedeur
19			Simeon	Shelumiel, son of Zurishaddai
20			Gad	Eliasaph, son of Reuel

21  Then the Kohathites went forward with the holy place; the others put up the House ready for their coming.

Verse	Position	Flag	Tribe	Head of the Army
22	Next	Ephraim	Ephraim	Elishama, son of Ammihud
23			Manasseh	Gamaliel, son of Pedahzur
24			Benjamin	Abidan, son of Gideoni

25	Last	Dan	Dan	Ahiezer, son of Ammishaddai
26			Asher	Pagiel, son of Ochran
27			Naphtali	Ahira, son of Enan

Numbers 11:1-15, The people whine and complain. (11/14/11)

Now, all of us who have kids, or who have ever been kids, will recognize today’s scenario:

Whining Child:  “I’m hungry.” 
Mom:  “Dinner will be ready in 15 minutes.”
Whining Child, 15 minutes later:  “Do I have to eat it?”
Mom, exasperated:  “You said you were hungry!  I don’t know why I bother fixing anything!”

The children of Israel, back in Exodus 16, whined that they had no food.  God sent manna. Now they are whining that they don’t want manna, they want meat.  Moses is getting exasperated.


Numbers 11:16-35, God answers. (11/15/11)

There’s a lot going on in the second half of Numbers 11. 

• God responds to Moses’ complaint that there are too many people for him alone to lead by allowing Moses to select 70 assistants, whom God empowers to help. 
  
• Two of the selected assistants don’t make it to the meeting, but they are empowered anyway.  Joshua gets offended, but Moses says it’s okay.
  
• God responds to the people’s complaint about the food by sending different food.  This is a bit of a mixed blessing, since God assures them that they’re going to get plenty sick of the new menu, just as he’s getting plenty sick of their complaints.
  
• Moses, who is always forthright in his conversations with God, wonders where all this meat is going to come from.  God challenges Moses to name a time when he, God, wasn’t able to provide for the people.
  
• A bunch of people get sick and die, and the survivors name the place Kibroth-hattaavah, which means “Burial Places of the Craving.”

Five plots in 20 verses, all mixed together.  No wonder we’re confused!


Numbers 12:1-16, Aaron and Miriam complain; God answers. (11/16/11)

Aaron and Moses were prophets, and Miriam was a prophetess, according to the official lists of the rabbis. So Miriam and Aaron were on solid ground when they asked, “Have the words of the Lord been given to Moses only? have they not come to us?” That’s not what they got into trouble for.

What they got into trouble for was their jealously and criticism of Moses, who was not only a prophet but the only prophet who spoke face to face with God. Moses was too gentle to raise his voice in his own defense, but God rebuked Aaron and Miriam on his behalf.

Surely someone will ask about this if I don’t say something now: no one knows why only Miriam was stricken with leprosy. Some have speculated that it was because Aaron couldn’t have led the worship if he had become leprous. Certainly he realized that he had done wrong and felt as if he shared her punishment.


More Adventures with Moses in the Wilderness
Census and Organization
Offerings
The Order of March
Failure to Enter Canaan
Laws and Consequences
Complaints in the Desert
Balaam and Barak
Almost Ready to Leave
Scheduled Sacrifices
Getting Close to Canaan
Home at Last!

Copyright 2011, 2012 by Regina L. Hunter. All rights reserved.
The illustration of the priests and people making an offering is from the Binns family Bible, now in the private collection of Regina Hunter.

Opinions expressed on this page are solely those of the author, Regina Hunter, and may or may not be shared by the sponsors or the Bible-study participants.  Thanks to the Holy Spirit for any useful ideas presented here, and thanks to all the readers for their support and enthusiasm.  All errors are, of course, the sole responsibility of the author.

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