THE PLAN
Every Monday I will post the reading for the week ahead. It will be about 10 chapters a week. You might want to read a chapter or two a day, and catch up at weekends. If there is a verse that especially spoke to you, a question that you have, or a thought that struck you, please share it with your fellow travellers by making a comment.
6 comments:
5:11-31 I have to be honest and admit that I found myself thinking the test for unfaithfulness was misogynistic (why only test the women and not the men) and barbaric (making a suspected woman drink dirty water to induce abdominal pains if guilty). But Psalm 119 (which we are studying on Sundays at the moment) doesn't allow me to arrive at this conclusion! So I looked for another one, and realised that in the times in which they lived, far from encouraging barbarism, it is probable that this measure would have restrained it, by curbing the summary justice that might otherwise have been meted out by a jealous husband. Thoughts?
In this section of Numbers I have also been struck by the ponderous repetition in the writing! There are several examples in 1-9 but 7:12-83 is the most extreme. The writer records exactly the same thing twelve times over. I played spot the difference but didn’t spot any! All the offerings are identical. Why write each out in full? I think the answer is that in the days before highlighters, bold text and underlining, the writer is laying great emphasis on the Israelites’ exact obedience to the Lord’s command. So for example from 7:11 (‘For the LORD had said to Moses, each day one leader is to bring his offering for the dedication of the altar.’) he then sets out long-form exactly how each leader did exactly that. Something similar is going on in 9:15-23. The writer could have said just ‘When the cloud lifted they would strike camp and set out, and when the cloud settled they would set up camp.’ Instead, he says that several times over from several different angles. He is particular and painstaking, and the long-form repetitious style lays emphasis on their exact obedience.
I find David Suchet such a help(from Bible Gateway), especially in a Book like Numbers, with all the names and repetitions. He reads it so beautifully, which brings it to life for me. I did notice the tribe of Judah was the largest(chp 1 v 26). Is that one reason they are the tribe that survived/survives?
Good question Ruth it could well be part of it! Or is it the other way round - because they're the tribe that stays faithful, God blesses them and makes them fruitful?
If anyone has got to Numbers 5 and found themselves confused/angry/upset (and more!), here are some thoughts I've pulled together on it from some brief things I've heard on it. I'm sure there's much more I have to learn so please weigh it all (and I've not run it past Mike yet as he's on holiday), but hopefully it will stimulate your thoughts too! (Sorry, it's about 18 mins long though!) Ellie
https://youtu.be/WT6rNW7fpyM
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