Numbers 10-11: We Gleefully Run to the Slavery of Sin

O how fickle we are! The Israelites have hardly begun their march toward the Promised Land when they begin to complain. They are tired of Manna, they long for the decadent food they had in Egypt.... when they were slaves! Initially this amazed me. Why would the Israelites, who had been overjoyed at their release from bondage, want to go back to the shackles simply for the earthly delight of eating flesh?! But my amazement subsided when I realized that we all do this whenever we desire to sin. Through baptism (just as the Israelites were "baptized" through the waters of the Red Sea) we have been released from the slavery of sin, but as we walk with the Lord through the journey of life, how often do we tire of living piously? How often do we get urges to return to our former, sinful ways? We forget completely the utter miracle involved in our escape from sin, how much the Lord did for us in releasing us from the bondage of iniquity, and we want to go back to our old ways for such trite reasons as slothfulness or gluttony or lust! So the Israelites, being gluttonous for flesh instead of the plain Manna, actually wanted to return to the land of their enslavement! God answers their complaints with more meat than they could handle. He gives them millions of quails, which subsequently bring a plague among them. We must be careful what we ask for. The lesson of Numbers 11 is a memorable and profound one.

Numbers 7-9: The New Passover

Today is Holy Saturday. Yesterday our Lord paid the ultimate price by giving up His life for us; His body was laid in a tomb, and today we solemnly dwell on His passion and death. But we also eagerly await tomorrow, Easter Sunday, the day of His glorious Resurrection.

Coincidentally, my Bible reading today (Numbers 7-9) included a reminder of the importance of the Israelites' continuing to observe the Passover. We know from Exodus that the feast of the Pasch was introduced while God's people were still enslaved in Egypt. Now, His people being free and sojourning through the desert, God reveals the extreme importance of the Passover commemoration as the Israelites march toward their Promised Land. So what's the coincidence? The Christian Holy Week is the fulfillment of the Jewish Passover celebration. One of the most loaded statements Jesus Christ ever made was His last on the cross: "It is consummated" (John 19:30). What was consummated? Everything! The entire Old Law was immediately fulfilled, whilst the New Law was instituted. Everything that was foreshadowed in the Old Law was, at that moment, brought into the light, that all might know the true meaning behind God's past covenants. Part of this was the Passover, which, now that the events of Holy Week were finished, could finally be understood for what it really was -- a prefiguring of Jesus Christ's sacrifice. There is no possible way that the similarities between Passover and the events of Holy Week could have been either coincidental or man-made. Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, just as the paschal lamb was being selected for sacrifice; Jesus died on Good Friday, just as the paschal lamb was being killed; not a bone of Jesus's body was broken, just as not a bone of the paschal lamb could be broken; Jesus's blood saved the world, just as the blood of the paschal lamb saved the Israelites from death. Of course I cannot possibly capture the full scope and splendor of the connection between the Passover and Holy Week with my measly words (it has been described much more eloquently by more able writers than I). I only mention it here because it never ceases to affect me profoundly. The alignment of Christ's death to the Passover is one of the most truly remarkable aspects of Christianity. No one but God could have planned it that way!

Numbers 6 - For Greater Sanctity

Reading the Old Testament is enlightening in so many ways. But probably the most rewarding thing about it is seeing just how foundational it is. This is probably an obvious point to many, but I suppose I was just too ignorant to see it before. The customs and traditions we see in the New Law have their origins in the Old Law. The idea of consecrating oneself to God can be traced back to the earliest books of the Bible; one case in point being the Law of the Nazarites found in Numbers 6. I didn't know much about the Nazarites, but their sanctification process sounds like the classic ascetic model. Anyone who wants to achieve greater sanctity through a more zealous lifestyle has the option of abstaining from worldly pleasures and making a solemn vow to be consecrated to God as a Nazarite, for a temporary period, or for the rest of his life. Historically the Nazarites are a pretty significant part of Judaism. I hadn't realized this, but Saint John the Baptist was a Nazarite (though seeing that he secluded himself in the desert, fasting and abstaining from worldly comforts, it should have been obvious to me). Saint Paul was even supposed to have taken a temporary Nazarite vow. I find it truly special that God allows these special provisions to be made for those who need to do more to live for God. Today of course we have many ascetic-like options for those who, in the past, may have been inclined to become a Nazarite. Monasteries and convents house these pious individuals. And even for those who desire to make a more temporary change of lifestyle, there are retreat houses where one can walk much closer to God for a certain amount of time to re-charge their soul. Reading about the ancient Nazarites truly makes me feel like part of a Divine plan that transcends time and space -- for I see a relationship between God and man back then that looks strikingly familiar to how many people approach Him now. (I'm not saying that nothing has changed, but God is still a God that requires reverence and devoutness). For thousands upon thousands of years, God has been inspiring men and women to leave the things of this world behind and devote everything to Him. The thought of it is stirring.

Also of significance in Numbers 6 are the short benedictions at the end of the chapter. These priestly blessings are as beautiful as they are brief:

"The Lord bless thee, and keep thee." (Numbers 6:24)

"The Lord show his face to thee, and have mercy on thee." (Numbers 6:25)

"The Lord turn his countenance to thee, and give thee peace." (Numbers 6:26)

It seems that God Himself always gives us the best words to say. These words uttered by the sons of Aaron had to have been of great comfort and joy to the people of Israel. Indeed, they must still fill us with hope today!

Numbers 5 - The Waters of Jealousy

As I've progressed through the Pentateuch, there have been a few times when I've come across an enigmatic practice or an unusual law. There is such a thing in Numbers 5 when Moses describes the prescription for wives suspected of adultery. The so-called "trial of jealousy" is something quite foreign to us today. And I readily admit that it is things like this that can throw someone for a loop if he or she isn't reading the Word faithfully. The trial, which calls for the woman to drink a "bitter water" to test if she is an adulteress or not, can be interpreted several ways. I think it's important, first off, to note that nowhere in Sacred Scripture is this practice actually described as taking place. This is not to say that it didn't take place, but perhaps the idea of it was more important to remain in the Word than the actual description of any particular woman enduring it. Secondly, it must always be held in mind that these practices as described in the Old Law were specifically suited for the Israelites of Moses's time. They very rightly sound odd to us. And thirdly, for the same reason that death seems to be the primary punishment for transgressors of the Law, the trial of jealousy was meant to be severe to discourage adultery among men and women. I think when Paul writes that "the letter killeth" in 2 Corinthians 3:6, this trial of jealousy is an example of what he is talking about. The Old Law was both imperfect and quite harsh. It suited the ancient Israelites, but was never meant to be permanent. If God chose to reveal Himself in these ways back then, we must be careful not to judge. It is at least comforting to know that the Old Law provided an opportunity for the innocent woman to be exonerated, in contrast to other ancient laws that honored the accusations of a jealous husband and called for the death of the woman without trial.

Numbers 2-4: Due Order

In Numbers 2:17 it is written, "Every one shall march according to their places, and ranks." This seems to sum up all of these early chapters of Numbers. God is basically assigning every person a place in the events that are about to unfold. There are those who will be fighting, and among these there are those who will march out in front, and those who will bring up the rear; there are those who will be in charge of the tabernacle, and among these it is broken up into various orders, pertaining to the various elements of the tabernacle. But cannot Numbers 2:17 be applied to us all, at any time in history? God calls each and every person to a different thing, to have a different role in life. Some people may think they got the short end of the stick, but if it is what God called you to do, it ought to be accepted with a sort of proud humility.

In keeping with this theme, Numbers 3 and 4 stress the sacred roles of the Levites. This is a tribe truly set apart. God literally says, "the Levites shall be mine" (Numbers 3:12). In this sense, the spirit of the law is upheld today in the Christian priesthood. Priests (and all who enter the religious life) give their lives to God in as literal a sense as is possible here on earth. They separate themselves from society (the degree of which depending on their order), they devote their life's work to ministering to God and none other. The rest of us are forced to split our time between worldly concerns and spiritual ones; whereas a monk in a monastery has the good fortune of giving 100% of his time to God. The Levites were the forebears of these religious men and women.

Lastly, in Numbers 4 we are reminded of the total sacredness of the Tabernacle of the Covenant. We begin to see the breakdown of the orders within the Levitical priesthood (foreshadowing the various orders within the Christian priesthood). The Kohathites, the Gershonites, and the Merarites each are given a specific list of duties concerning the transportation of the Tabernacle. I can't help but feel the true and utter holiness attributed to the Tabernacle while reading Numbers 4! A skeptical materialist would probably scoff at such a notion, but I get the sense that the Tabernacle was radiating with a spiritual aura, and that just to be near it would fill a person with extreme reverence and awe. Reading about how crucial was the transportation of the Tabernacle across the desert made me think of the event in the First Book of Paralipomenon when the Israelites attempted to transport the Ark on a measly ox-cart. As a result, Uzzah was struck dead. I wonder why no one thought of what is written in the Torah, that no one but the Levites might transport the Ark. The Israelites must have lost sight, temporarily, of just how sacred were these items. In a modern context, many Christians today have lost sight of the sacredness of the Holy Eucharist. Just as only the Levites could touch the Tabernacle and what was sacred within it, only a priest may open the tabernacle and touch the sacred host within. With the modern allowance of communion in the hand, we risk the fate of Uzzah.