31..NUMBERS UPON NUMBERS UPON NUMBERS
Based on NUMBERS (NB)...Read more there.
Based on NUMBERS (NB)...Read more there.
NB holds little
to enthral us today. Much of it is about the organising,
defining, & regulating the Twelve Tribes of Israel. Israel,
remember, is Jacob renamed by YHWH (N1). The tribe
of Levi is treated differently from the others in this process
& set apart to perform priestly responsibilities. Family
trees of one kind or another, whether written down or not, play
an important role in the way many cultures understand
themselves. The number of organisations & websites offering
ancestry information, together with a genre of TV programmes
dedicated to researching where people came from are but the tip
of a pretty big industry feeding & feeding on today's
thirst for information about our ancestors. That the Hebrews
were thorough in this matter as here in NB,
enabled early Christians anxious to establish Jesus'
genealogical credentials strike pay-dirt (N2).
In Ch 9 as the Hebrews prepare to continue their journeying we delve again into the mystical spirituality inherent in the Cloud, that symbol of YHWH's presence over & among them when they left Egypt & still 'hovering' to reassure, protect, & guide (N3). In Ch.11 Moses gets caught up yet again in complaining on the part of the by now tired-of-all-this-wilderness-lifestyle people & more 'food from heaven' is provided. Also, Joshua, who will later loom large in Hebrew affairs appears on the scene for the first time. In Ch. 12 Moses' siblings Miriam & Aaron rebel against him & are put in their place! In Chs. 13-14 YHWH tells Moses to send spies ahead to eye off the land of Canaan, further to the north, the 'Promised Land' to which they are heading. Mixed reports on the spies' return divide the people, but Joshua's more positive report prevails & the people press on. Chs.15-19 return us to the earlier style of detailed laws about the way this, that, or the other is to be carried out. In Ch.20 there is another instance of 'water from the rock', the Hebrews are denied passage through Edomite lands, & Aaron dies.
In 21:4-9 a strange incident occurs that stands out as a passage of major importance for Christians later. As the Hebrews journey they travel through an area severely infested by snakes & are greatly threatened by them. Archeologists have in fact uncovered miniature serpents of copper & bronze in that area, perhaps pointing to a local cult involving snakes. Were some Hebrews attracted to such a cult to protect themselves from being bitten or as an antidote? YHWH's telling Moses to forge a metal snake & hoist it on a pole so the Hebrews could look up at it & be healed is a puzzle. Might it reflect a kind of 'if you can't beat them join them & having joined them beat them' tactic on YHWH's or Moses' part to deal with such idolatry? For instance, were the people meant to gaze up & through & beyond the serpent to YHWH the True Healer? Failing some such explanation, how come YHWH is requiring Moses & through him, the people, to break His own 2nd Commandment? Good question (N4)! However, what makes this passage important still is that that cast-metal snake nailed up on its pole has, as the Evangelist John sees it, entered deeply into Jesus' psyche. Jesus understands Himself to be the One lifted up on the cross for the healing of all the world's bites of every kind!: [JN 3:14, 8:28, 12:32]. As the Hebrews continue their migration towards their Promised Land, in CHs. 22-24 we find a complicated, quaint incident involving Balak (an enemy ruler); Balaam, a kind of local 'small p' folk prophet; a talking donkey(!) & an angel! Make of it what you will! CH.27:12-17 is significant for YHWH's choice of Joshua to become Moses' successor as leader of the Hebrews & his ceremonial installation as the people prepare to move closer to the Promised Land. After more regulations, some nasty inhumane actions certainly not in keeping with the mind of YHWH as we now understand it, & still more record-keeping, we end - whew! - with a concise summary: 'Such were the commandments & laws that Yahweh prescribed for the Israelites through Moses...' (NJB). And that's another story...Run That Past Me Again
(N1) See Ep.18. (N2) See: MT 1: 1-17, & LK 3:23-38. (N3) The Cloud also features in the N.T., notably at Jesus' Transfigurtion. (N4) There is an intriguing later reference to the snake incident in 2K18:4 where we find Hezekiah, a reforming king of Judah (BC 716-687) 'smashed the bronze serpent which Moses had made; for up to that time the Israelites had offered sacrifices to it; it was called Nehushtan' (NJB). Question: What do snakes symbolise for us?
In Ch 9 as the Hebrews prepare to continue their journeying we delve again into the mystical spirituality inherent in the Cloud, that symbol of YHWH's presence over & among them when they left Egypt & still 'hovering' to reassure, protect, & guide (N3). In Ch.11 Moses gets caught up yet again in complaining on the part of the by now tired-of-all-this-wilderness-lifestyle people & more 'food from heaven' is provided. Also, Joshua, who will later loom large in Hebrew affairs appears on the scene for the first time. In Ch. 12 Moses' siblings Miriam & Aaron rebel against him & are put in their place! In Chs. 13-14 YHWH tells Moses to send spies ahead to eye off the land of Canaan, further to the north, the 'Promised Land' to which they are heading. Mixed reports on the spies' return divide the people, but Joshua's more positive report prevails & the people press on. Chs.15-19 return us to the earlier style of detailed laws about the way this, that, or the other is to be carried out. In Ch.20 there is another instance of 'water from the rock', the Hebrews are denied passage through Edomite lands, & Aaron dies.
In 21:4-9 a strange incident occurs that stands out as a passage of major importance for Christians later. As the Hebrews journey they travel through an area severely infested by snakes & are greatly threatened by them. Archeologists have in fact uncovered miniature serpents of copper & bronze in that area, perhaps pointing to a local cult involving snakes. Were some Hebrews attracted to such a cult to protect themselves from being bitten or as an antidote? YHWH's telling Moses to forge a metal snake & hoist it on a pole so the Hebrews could look up at it & be healed is a puzzle. Might it reflect a kind of 'if you can't beat them join them & having joined them beat them' tactic on YHWH's or Moses' part to deal with such idolatry? For instance, were the people meant to gaze up & through & beyond the serpent to YHWH the True Healer? Failing some such explanation, how come YHWH is requiring Moses & through him, the people, to break His own 2nd Commandment? Good question (N4)! However, what makes this passage important still is that that cast-metal snake nailed up on its pole has, as the Evangelist John sees it, entered deeply into Jesus' psyche. Jesus understands Himself to be the One lifted up on the cross for the healing of all the world's bites of every kind!: [JN 3:14, 8:28, 12:32]. As the Hebrews continue their migration towards their Promised Land, in CHs. 22-24 we find a complicated, quaint incident involving Balak (an enemy ruler); Balaam, a kind of local 'small p' folk prophet; a talking donkey(!) & an angel! Make of it what you will! CH.27:12-17 is significant for YHWH's choice of Joshua to become Moses' successor as leader of the Hebrews & his ceremonial installation as the people prepare to move closer to the Promised Land. After more regulations, some nasty inhumane actions certainly not in keeping with the mind of YHWH as we now understand it, & still more record-keeping, we end - whew! - with a concise summary: 'Such were the commandments & laws that Yahweh prescribed for the Israelites through Moses...' (NJB). And that's another story...Run That Past Me Again
(N1) See Ep.18. (N2) See: MT 1: 1-17, & LK 3:23-38. (N3) The Cloud also features in the N.T., notably at Jesus' Transfigurtion. (N4) There is an intriguing later reference to the snake incident in 2K18:4 where we find Hezekiah, a reforming king of Judah (BC 716-687) 'smashed the bronze serpent which Moses had made; for up to that time the Israelites had offered sacrifices to it; it was called Nehushtan' (NJB). Question: What do snakes symbolise for us?
No comments:
Post a Comment