Author: Al
Posted: 2006-10-04 01:25:59
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The SAB says that the moral of Numbers is not to whine. That is a good moral, so we'll take it and run. Lots of injustices are listed related to the punishment for whining though. Which leads me to wonder what exactly is a just punishment for whining. We will get to that in the conclusion, but while reading these grievances bear in mind that most philosophies teach that you shouldn't complain to no end. Things can always be worse. The Eternal has given us a sense of outrage that we may rightly use from time to time, but beware of constant grumbling. It is a trap that I fall into all too often. I know that there is a brink from which as Lewis put it “... all that will be left is a grumble.”
These are my responses to the injustices listed for Numbers as of 10/03/2006
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#136 “The stranger that cometh nigh shall be put to death.” (Nu 1:51, 3:10, 3:38) Wesley tells us that “stranger” here is anyone not of the tribe of Levi. The place that is being referred to is actually the duties described for the Levites. Other Jews are really the only ones who might have had this enforced upon them. Also, “cometh nigh” is translated “dared to interfere” by Moffatt. But this is all for the sake of explaining what the verse means. As it stands, I find this verse contrary to the will of God. It is unjust to put someone to death for interfering with church activities. In all likely hood, the person is calling out for help.
#137 Aaron's sons (Nu 3:4) Recap of a story in Exodus. We dealt with it there.
#138 Don't touch or "go in to see when the holy things are covered." God kills people who touch or look at covered holy things (Nu 4:15, 20). This is either a blatant mistranslation on the part of the KJV, or its language has slipped into obscurity. Moffatt has the verses reading that the Kohathites were not to see or touch the holy things while they were uncovered. As such, they would have died from it. It does not really say that God would have killed them, just that they would have died. This seems to only go for the Kohathites, but I could be mistaken. At any rate, this verse carries little weight with me. Perhaps I will find a good commentary on it some day.
#139 God tells the people to expel from camp "every leper, every one that hath an issue, and whoever is defiled by the dead." So by God's instructions, the sick are abandoned and left to suffer and die alone (Nu 5:1-4). Two things. First, and foremost, Christ taught against such practices. He consistently had compassion for these outcasts, and Christianity has a decent record of caring for such people as well. Second, while Christianity focuses on the individual, Judaism has a strong emphasis on the community. People with contagious diseases had to be quarantined to save the community. I do not agree with this practice, but it is not hard to see a certain pragmatism about it.
#140 The Law of Jealousies (Nu 5:11-31). Clarke has a lot to say about this practice, and that of trial by ordeal in general. The SAB should be proud of him in that he takes a very skeptical tone in regards to the various “miracles” of such trials in the 18th century. This particular trial seems to favor the women greatly, and in consideration of the society that we are dealing with, there is no way that I find it unjust. It amounts to frightening the woman into confessing her sin. If she confesses, then it has taken away her husband's ability to beat her to death. If she does not, then she drinks some dirty water and goes home.
#141 Cut off those who do not keep the passover (Nu 9:13). I do not know what I would make of a Christian who did not celebrate Christmas. There are of course, JWs who do not celebrate anything, but at least they are consistent. I think that the parallel here is apt. In general, I am lenient, and will call anyone a Christian who calls themselves such. But I suppose that this does not matter, for I am called to be with Christians and non-Christians alike.
#142 Burning complainers alive (Nu 11:1) From Clarke:
Verse 1. And when the people complained] What the cause of this complaining was, we know not. The conjecture of St. Jerome is probable; they complained because of the length of the way. But surely no people had ever less cause for murmuring; they had God among them, and miracles of goodness were continually wrought in their behalf.
Miracles really do not prove anything do they? Here we have a people who have seen more miracles than any others until this time, and they still complain and lose their way. God was undeniably hard on the Jews. I trust that it was for a purpose. It would be nice to have the ability to see alternate pasts and judge our actions based on what could have been. Alas, we cannot. Thus, those who have faith trust that these things happen for a reason. I am happy with the way history has played out thus far. I think that things are pretty much as good as they can be given our horrible nature. I would not accept that this particular punishment killed anyone from the wording, but all of my commentaries seem to accept that, so I will as well. Here we had a people who had nothing to fear, yet they were complaining about God knows what. If they could not be faithful because of grand displays of benevolence, then the next obvious course of action would be to bring them in line with displays of power.
#143 God promises to give them "flesh to eat," not for just a few days, but "for a whole month, until it come out of your nostrils, and it be loathsome to you." Yuck. (Nu 11:20) In all fairness, at least he did not burn them. Life as a nomadic desert tribe is hard. Abundance of meat is not high on my list of things worth complaining about. Consider that they were ready to go back to Egypt because they weren't being fed exactly what they wanted. In truth, this was a pretty loathsome offense. As such, God's creative punishment deserves praise, not deridation.
#144 Before the month is up, God sends a plague (Nu 11:33). I do not dispute the chance here that some of these plagues were misinterpreted by the Jews. There is this notion in the Old Testament that whenever something bad happens it is because of our actions. Christianity holds that this simply is not true. I was once a self described “New Testament Christian.” I have since come to the conclusion that this was a philosophy that would get me into all sorts of trouble. Still, I am having difficulties not falling back into those habits. Since we cannot know which of these plagues if any were sent specifically by the Creator, we will take the Bible at its word and accept that all of them were. This particular plague was a harsh one. It was harsh only because the previous light punishment was not working.
#145 Snow white Miriam (Nu 12:1, 9-10). Wow, what to deal with here? We have that Miriam was punished, Aaron wasn't, and Moses got to marry an Ethiopian woman. Let us deal with Moses first. It seems to be that he would be pretty judicious in picking a wife. He would not have picked a worshiper of some pagan god. This little story is God's way of showing that the exclusion of other races thus far has been a pragmatic decision, and not an arbitrary or racist one. As for the absence of a punishment for Aaron we have a few conjectures to deal with. First, it has been lost to history. This seems likely. Second, Aaron may have been beyond the point of redemption by now. God would not punish him if it would not have done any good. Finally, we can deal with Miriam using the inverse of this. Miriam may have been reachable. Punishing her may have corrected her. Heck, it may have corrected Aaron as well.
#146 More plagues (Nu 14:12, 29, 32-37). We have dealt with the notion that any arbitrary plague could be just. Thus I do not feel that we need to deal with these.
#147 Punishment through the generations (Nu 14:18). Already dealt with multiple times.
#148 Sin through ignorance (Nu 15:27-30). Already dealt with in Leviticus. Has the SAB really never been sorry and wanted to atone for an action committed in ignorance? I understand that the SAB does not believe in God, but what about friends and family. The same principle applies.
#149 Stoning of the Sabbath breaker (Nu 15:32-36). Wesley and Clarke say that the man had a willing contempt for God. If that were the case, then I can see the justice in this situation. God was setting up this people to come to know him. As such they could not tolerate this behavior. Don't worry though SAB, we aren't going to stone you.
#150 The Death of Korah, Dathan, and Abriam (and family) (Nu 16:20-35) I think that the SAB is taking issue with the other family members being included in this punishment.
From Clarke:
And they go down quick into the pit] sheolah, a proof, among many others, that sheol, signifies here a chasm or pit of the earth, and not the place called hell; for it would be absurd to suppose that their houses had gone to hell; and it would be wicked to imagine that their little innocent children had gone thither, though God was pleased to destroy their lives with those of their iniquitous fathers.
Also note that the families had stood together in defiance of God and Moses just verses earlier.
As for the ones who were too little to be counted as truly standing with their fathers, I think that there was some mercy in their deaths. They would have grown up as outcasts, and with the stigma of God's judgment on their families. That probably would not have been very good for their souls.
#151 People complain about the deaths of those in #150, and are struck with a plague (Nu 16:41-50). I find this a little interesting. First, the deaths in 150 were meant to be spectacular. If those men died a natural death, then it was not from God, and Moses was not a man of God. Then a spectacle was given. The men were consumed in a pit. I fully accept this story as is, and I think that the miracle did happen. I don't often go out on that limb for the Old Testament. Here is the kicker though, the people who witnessed it very quickly dismissed it. I think that goes to show that most miracles are of a very pragmatic nature. God needed to deal with Korah, and he did so in a way that might sway a few souls from allegiance to him. Those who did not pay any account to such a spectacle were done away with in a mundane fashion. How is this just? There are two levels to look at (as often is the case). First, in the immediate historical context, these people were pining for folks whom we just said were destroyed justly. Thus, the proof becomes recursive and those who idolized the enemies of God must be dealt with as well. Second, it is just in the moral lesson that it gives us today. What does the SAB think of those who blindly follow religious leaders who have been shown to be frauds? Probably just a little less than what the rest of us think of those people. We would not destroy them, but we are not God either.
#152 God threatens to kill those who murmur (Nu 17:12-13). It's a warning. The sin is the same as has been dealt with over and over in this book. If their thick heads would not heed the deaths of those around them, then perhaps some blunt words would make the difference. The obvious question here is “Why not warn them all first?” The answer is, who heeds warnings without proof that they will be backed up with action.
#153 & #154 Stay away from Holy things and places (Nu 18:3, 7, 22, 32). Repeat of #136 & #138
#155 Ritualistic animal sacrifices (Nu 18:17-19). Already dealt with, but I thought that I could add a little bit here about ritual. From Heretics by G.K. Chesterton:
In a similar way, humanity is divided into conscious ritualists and unconscious ritualists. The curious thing is, in that example as in others, that it is the conscious ritualism which is comparatively simple, the unconscious ritual which is really heavy and complicated. The ritual which is comparatively rude and straightforward is the ritual which people call "ritualistic." It consists of plain things like bread and wine and fire, and men falling on their faces. But the ritual which is really complex, and many coloured, and elaborate,and needlessly formal, is the ritual which people enact without knowing it. It consists not of plain things like wine and fire,but of really peculiar, and local, and exceptional, and ingenious things--things like door-mats, and door-knockers, and electric bells,and silk hats, and white ties, and shiny cards, and confetti. The truth is that the modern man scarcely ever gets back to very old and simple things except when he is performing some religious mummery. The modern man can hardly get away from ritual except by entering a ritualistic church. In the case of these old and mystical formalities we can at least say that the ritual is not mere ritual;that the symbols employed are in most cases symbols which belong to a primary human poetry. The most ferocious opponent of the Christian ceremonials must admit that if Catholicism had not instituted the bread and wine, somebody else would most probably have done so. Any one with a poetical instinct will admit that to the ordinary human instinct bread symbolizes something which cannot very easily be symbolized otherwise; that wine, to the ordinary human instinct,symbolizes something which cannot very easily be symbolized otherwise. But white ties in the evening are ritual, and nothing else but ritual. No one would pretend that white ties in the evening are primary and poetical. Nobody would maintain that the ordinary human instinct would in any age or country tend to symbolize the idea of evening by a white necktie. Rather, the ordinary human instinct would,I imagine, tend to symbolize evening by cravats with some of the colours of the sunset, not white neckties, but tawny or crimson neckties--neckties of purple or olive, or some darkened gold.
#156 Purification of the unclean (Nu 19:1-22). I find that my commentary for #155 stands for this item as well. The SAB, however, is really more concerned that animals are used in these sacrifices than it is with the absurdity of ritual. Cows and goats were the currency of antiquity. Replace them with stacks of money for a modern comparison.
#157 Moses doesn't get to see the promised land (Nu 20:8-12). The SAB never liked moses any way though. As for the rest of us, God had taken care of Moses for most/all of his life. Yet Moses still disobeyed God in the end and tried to do things his own way. He was tired and old. I do not think that the Eternal really took much offense to this. The words of the chapter really say something like “That's too bad Moses. I am going to have to replace you now to keep the others on track.” We often hold our leader to the highest standards. Moses was no exception. God was very merciful to Moses. Someone who had served him well (for the most part) and without the aid and blessings of scripture as we know it today.
#158 "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities." This verse demonstrates the power of prayer: If you ask God, he will destroy entire cities for you (Nu 21:3). Have I told you that I am just a big giant hypocrite on prayer? you see, I don't really believe in petitionary prayer, yet I do it all the time. The thing is, that I do not think that the whim or desires of a human could ever change the mind of a just god. If he does things for a reason, then your desires about those things really do not matter. MacDonald has a beautiful “Unspoken Sermon” on this topic which I have posted a part of in the wisdom section of this site. Here is yet another funny dichotomy of mine. If I do not believe in the power of such prayers, then why do I use them so very often. Some of it has to do with reflex: “Oh God, please no!” Some of it has to do with parts of my brain that just do not reason. The remaining portion is when I pray for guidance, or help with some actions that I must take. Prayer may not change the will of God, but it can easily change the will of Al. Such petitions are a very beneficial way to prepare yourself to accept the desires of the Eternal. Also, God may wait to do things until I have asked for them. There are plenty of reasons for this, most of which involve humility. The prime example is forgiveness. That is a petitionary prayer that God waits excitedly for us to make. Now, either the Israelites prayed for what was already going to happen, or they used their prayers to prepare themselves for victory. My guess would be that in praying for their victory they admitted that their lives were not in their own hands. They gave up their false sense of power and were rewarded with real power. This was not a case of “Oh Lord, please let us beat the football team from across the river.”
#159 Fiery serpents (Nu 21:6). This is a weird story. Wesley and Clarke both give good arguments for this being a parallel to the story of Christ. Their arguments are good, and on some levels I am persuaded. But the overriding thought here is “Did Moses just make an Idol?” So I really cannot call this verse just. It is, of course, not for the reason that the SAB finds it unjust. The fact that the Israelites were punished for any arbitrary sin has been dealt with many times in this series. No, I find their redemption from this punishment suspect. Since none of my old standby references even take issue with this problem, I can only assume that I am way out in left field here. Still, my qualm stands until further notice.
#160 God delivers the Amorites to Moses (Nu 21:34-35). I'm no scholar, but isn't this section about the Bashanites? Oh well, either way, some group of 'ites is led to slaughter. Replace your 'ite of choice with Canaanites, and lo and behold we've dealt with it. My argument there stands here.
#161 Balaam angers God by doing what is asked of him (Nu 22:20-22). To be fair, the text here is pretty darn subtle. There is a consensus among all of my commentaries that Balaam did not follow the Eternals instructions. He was to wait for the men to come to him, but he went to them of his own accord. He did it for the glory and honor. He did it for the reward. Clarke points out how many people stay away from sin, even though they desire it, out of fear of punishment, or lust for reward. This is a pertinent story for many, and a lesson that most all of us could put to immediate use.
#162 Moses kills those who “commit whoredom with the daughters of Moab” (Nu 25:1-5). This is a grizzly story. Remember the vernacular here. The people were worshiping the idols of this community. That simply could not go unrecognized. To be certain, the grizzly nature of the punishment and public display of the bodies is repulsive to any modern person. These were tough times and tougher people though. They needed constant reminder and shock to keep them on the straight and narrow.
#163 & #164 Death for interracial marriage (Nu 25:6-13). I am surprised that the SAB does not mention the pretext taken here by more than a few to do harm to such couples in modern history. Perhaps they feel that the verse stands on its own as unjust and therefore feel no need to bring these kinds of arguments in. I am tempted to just agree with the SAB and move on, but instead I offer a somewhat week argument. This is an unfortunate situation where a fellow has cast his lot outside of the chosen community. God is in the middle of doing something special, and as such cannot tolerate those who will endanger his plan. Great sacrifices of humanity had already been made, and more were to come. The people of Israel had to learn to treat their lives with a special kind of reverence. They were special, and as such they had special responsibility. Thus, this was a lesson for all of them. Part of me holds on to the hope that this was only a lesson told in the form of a story. I have said before to be wary of people in the OT without names. Our offender here has no name, and thus may not have existed.
#165 More ill treatment of the inhabitants of the promised land (Nu 25:16-17). Dealt with already.
#166 Korah... again (Nu 26:10) See #150
#167 Abihu and Nadab... again(Nu 26:61). See #137. Which tells you to see the Exodus commentary.
#168 War on Midianites (Nu 31:1-54). They don't appear to have exactly gone by the Geneva conventions do they? At least they did not kill everyone. They did kill everyone who might have held an allegiance or grudge against Israel though. This is a harsh and sad tale, but one with a practical kind of justice in it. To say the least, it was not very Christ-like.
#169 God killed the Egyptian first born (Nu 33:4). Yep, and we have already talked about it.
#170 & #171 The destruction of Canaan and its inhabitants (Nu 33:50-56). I hold that it had to be done. The Canaanites were in the wrong place at the wrong time, but a space had to be made for Israel, and this was it. If Israel could not do it, then some other group would be chosen. God would have to wipe the Israelites from the map in order to bring forth the next group. This has implications in my other passion, Arminianism which I really hope to delve into at some point.
#172 & #173 Revenger of Blood (Nu 35:19, 21, 30, 33). Must we go into capital punishment now? I really do not feel like it. If you accept such punishment, then this verse calls for a speedy execution. If you do not, then it is as unjust as any other call for capital punishment. I accept it on the grounds that it is society's waste basket. We cannot fix you, and we cannot support you, or lock you away humanely. Sorry, but you have got to go. Nomadic tribes have particular problems with housing criminals. Good thing we do not have such issues today.
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Well, this has taken me a long while. With fall, I have new obligations at school and with an exciting Bible study that I hope will further my abilities to answer these grievances from the SAB.
Again, I am thankful for the many resources that I have at my disposal, and I am thankful for the SAB for providing me with this opportunity. The issues raised in Numbers on the whole are far less trivial than in the previous books.
Since I have started the disciple class, I have found several of my responses to Genesis were flawed. I am unsure if I should correct them in the original post, or publish an errata column. Look for my decision later in the month.
The SAB lists a great deal of injustices for Deuteronomy. I hope to have them answered within the month as well. |
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