Darash Chai - Seek Life!

The story of Balaam and the talking donkey is one of the more popular Sunday School stories in the Bible. We are all enamored by the oddity of an animal that speaks to this odd man. And once again we get caught in the trap of another Bible story. We focus on the oddity and in doing so we miss out on something that is of much more value than a supernaturally vocal jackass.

Israel is on the move and they are heading out of the wilderness. Their 40 years of isolation, training, and judgment are nearly over. Until then, there is the trip that lies before them, and this trip is once again fraught with tests. Will they pass? Have they learned? Is this second generation going to fare better than their parents? This journey out of the wilderness reveals a lot. A lot of growth and a lot of faith. But on many levels they are just like the generation past.

It is easy to think that you have it all together. To delude yourself into thinking that the problems of the past have been dealt with. It is easy to think this when things are calm. When there are no stressors before you, and no challenges to face. But all it takes is a series of moments. The sudden onset of multiple challenges in a short time frame and suddenly you discover that the old ways are not gone. They were just hidden deep down. And now it is obvious and there for everyone to see. And the consequences can be far reaching.

Once more the book of Numbers dwells on the obscure and borderline mystical. There are few other places in all of scripture that baffle like the Red Heifer sacrifice. It is this sacrifice that is said to have confused even Solomon in all of His wisdom. Just how can the ultimate form of cleanness from death be brought forth from a process that include death and makes everyone involved in the process unclean? And why, oh why, is this chapter here in the middle of the narratives of the book of Numbers of all places?

The rebellion has been defeated. And yet the people still don't seem to get it. Moses and Aaron were chosen by God to lead the people. And so since death and destruction don't seem to make the point, and new kind of example must be made.

The Rebellion of Korah is an episode that is so popular that it was ripped out of its place in the timeline and added to the movie the 10 commandments. This central narrative of Numbers is foundational in its own right. It is the culmination of the stories that have come before. The fullness of the rebellion of the people of Israel. And this chapter contains within it pointers to something much greater. Something that is a part of every human life. A piece of mankind that will one day reach its own culmination of rebellion.

For the first time in the narrative portions in the center of the book of Numbers we encounter a chapter that seems out of place. The narratives of this central portions are put aside for a moment to address matters of sacrifice and an accessory for clothing. This chapter seems so out of place in the midst of what we have just been reading. But when we slow down and examine all that this chapter has to say we find that it is not out of place. Rather this chapter is deploying countermeasures to combat the rising rebellion in the midst of Israel.

The pattern continues this week. Israel in their lack of faith in the power of their God has slandered the promise that God has given them. The inhabitants of the land are too great! And now in their fear, Israel takes it one step further and slanders the plan that YHVH has to bring them to their inheritance. And this week we find the limits that YHVH has for this people. The people who have seen Him work over and over, and yet they still doubt. And that doubt leads to drastic consequences.

First it was the manna. Then it was the leader. This week Israel speaks out again. This time against the Promised Land. And we begin to see a pattern forming. An outcome that is consistent in these stories that make up the middle of the book of Numbers. The motivations are different in each of these cases, but the resulting action is the same. The tongue is indeed the untamable beast.

The time for Passover is upon us. Once again we celebrate the festival of our salvation and freedom. And as we approach this season it is all too common to hear a multitude of teachings on the Passover. And yet in all of this, there is a festival that is often overlooked. The festival of Matza. The feast of Unleavened Bread. Too often we get distracted by the Passover as we memorialize our freedom, and we miss out on what follows. The festival of Matza.

Numbers 12 is a short chapter. But as we dig into this chapter we discover something foundational that is presented. A way of reading and interpreting the Bible that is easy to dismiss. And yet this chapter not only provides the foundation of this principle, it also provides an example of this principle. All while leveraging the narrative towards shining a light in what is perhaps, the darkest part of our hearts.

As we begin the second part of the book of Numbers, the text takes a sudden shift from organization and laws to narrative. And in these narrative portions of the center of the book we read of Israel's adventures in the wilderness. And in these wilderness adventures we begin to see a picture formed in the characterizations of the people. Not a picture of God, or a picture of Israel of the past. Rather a picture of humanity. Our own fallen nature is drug into the light and exposed for all to see.

This week we reach the end of the first third of the book of Numbers. The bags are packed and Israel is ready to set out on the road. But there are a few small items to go over before the trip begins. And there is one important reminder to be given that will hold Israel true though the next 39 years.

As we open the book of Numbers we read of the characteristics that were to define Israel. Twelve distinct tribes united into one nation. Each warrior with honor. Everyone working together with a united purpose. And yet there is still one thing missing. The human leadership that is in place is not popular. And herein lies the crux of the problem. Israel is not led by human leadership. Israel is to be led by God.

In Numbers 7 we once again encounter a chapter of extreme repetition. And yet, in this chapter there is a word that is used for the first four times in the Bible. Dedication. Hanukkah. A word that has come to be associated with a winter festival, dreidels, miracles, and fried foods. And yet we find none of that here. Instead, hanukkah, dedication is a topic that transcends the festival and gets to the very heart of intentions.

The Nazarite vow is a thing that is shrouded in mystery. What does it mean to be a Nazarite besides the thing that a person is to avoid? What kind of duties or benefit does the Nazarite vow give to a person? And for the sake of the flow of the text, who is the Nazarite vow directed towards? There is a class of person that was just passed over for the priesthood. How is it that this vow is addressed to them?

Numbers 5 contains a ceremony that has caused no end of confusion and consternation for quite a long time. A ceremony that not only seems barbaric to a degree, but also seems completely out of place in the text. Why now, or all places, does the text move to describe the water trial for the woman suspected of adultery? What is the context that this trial is speaking into, and what does it demonstrate about God?

We often hear the title Lord of Hosts applied to God. But what does this word mean? Hosts? Usually this word is translated as armies and we think warriors, but if we examine where this word is found, we might find that it is used in some interesting ways that have nothing to do with warfare. Or does it?

The book of Numbers begins as one of the more boring parts of the Bible to be found. Long lists of numbers and positions that really don't matter today. What does it matter to us if the tribe of Zebulun had 57,400 men and that they camped on the east side of the tabernacle? The fact is that it is super easy to skip over these chapters, but if you were to do so, you would miss the key to something amazing. Something that is all to easy to miss.

The last chapter of Leviticus contains some of the most counter cultural teachings in the Bible, as well as being one of the most confusing chapters. What exactly is going on with these valuations of a person? And what about putting things under the ban? And how does all of this fit in with Leviticus anyway?