They brought as their gifts before the LORD six covered carts and twelve oxen—an ox from each leader and a cart from every two. These they presented before the tabernacle. – Numbers 7:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 17, 2025): Numbers 7

There is a dance in life that sometimes we don't seem to understand. Resources are always finite. I have joked that possibilities are unlimited as long as we have enough money to purchase the resources we need to carry out the task, but the reality is that sometimes we simply have to make do with less than what we need. I remember one day when my sound technician walked into my office unannounced and burst out laughing. As he entered the room, I was sitting with my laptop on my desk, a towel over my keyboard, and a scene from the fictional planet of Dagobah on my screen. And on the towel, a Yoda bobblehead was placed in front of the screen. He had caught me filming a promotional advertisement for an upcoming teaching series using illustrations from the first three Star Wars films. When my tech finally stopped laughing, he said, "That is what I like about you. No matter how often we tell you something is impossible, you still find a way to get it done." Yep. I have made do with things for most of my life; sometimes, I have even been successful. 

This passage speaks of the covered wagons that would be used to carry the things of the Tabernacle from place to place during the wilderness wanderings. These wagons would have been a luxury during this era of Israel's journey. It was such a luxury that there were only six of them, and two tribes had to combine their resources to gift one wagon to the temple. Each tribe would also provide one ox to pull the wagons. All of which meant that there would be six wagons and two oxen assigned to each wagon. 

The covered wagons would alleviate some of the effort required to carry the Tabernacle from place to place and provide protection for the Tabernacle and its furnishings from the elements: the sun and rain. Ronald Allen, the Senior Professor of Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary, makes this comment about these carts. 

        The Hebrew word for 'cart' (agalah) is modified by the noun sab ('litter'), used only here and in                Isaiah 66:20. This phrase has traditionally been understood to describe a covered wagon, though            the precise meaning of the wording is debated. Covered wagons would certainly be appropriate for          transporting the sacred items" (Ronald B. Allen).

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 8

Speak to the Israelites and say to them: 'If a man or woman wants to make a special vow, a vow of dedication to the LORD as a Nazirite.' – Numbers 6:2

Today's Scripture Reading (January 16, 2025): Numbers 6

Her name was Hazzelelponi, maybe. Hazzelelponi is listed as the sister of Jezreel, Ishma, and Idbash. Together they are remembered as the children of Etam, and form one of the clans of Judah. But the truth is that this is all we know of Hazzelelponi; one verse that lists Hazzelelponi as the sister of three brothers with no other information given. Women listed in the genealogies are a relatively rare occurrence, and when they are included, it is usually because they accomplished something important or maybe infamous. 

And yet, we know nothing of Hazzelelponi except that she is included in the family of Etam, which begs the question: why is she, above many other women, included in this genealogy? The honest answer is that we don't know, but rabbinic literature gives us a possible connection of Hazzelelponi with the history of the people of Israel. The supposed connection is that Hazzelelponi might be Samson's mother. According to the story of Samson, the mother of Samson and the wife of Manoah, Samson's dad, is unnamed. But, according to Rabbinic literature, she is Hazzelelponi, the daughter of Etam. 

We argue a lot over the role of women in the church. The truth is that both sides of the argument pick up on various biblical comments and understandings to build our theology. Both sides of the argument believe that they are right. I wish that on this issue, and many others, we could offer each other the grace God has lavished on all of us. But that seems difficult for us to do.

On my side of the argument, I believe there is a radical equality in Christian theology between the sexes. I have often commented that there are women I know who are better theologians and pastors than I am. It is what I believe. 

One of the reasons for my belief is based on this verse. When it came to taking a Nazirite vow, that privilege was not just reserved for men, but women were to be included. However, according to the biblical record, primarily men are listed as the people who have taken the vow. These men include Samson, Samuel, John the Baptist, and Paul. However, there is one woman the Bible says is commanded to take the Nazirite vow. 

A certain man of Zorah, named Manoah, from the clan of the Danites, had a wife who was childless, unable to give birth. The angel of the LORD appeared to her and said, "You are barren and childless, but you are going to become pregnant and give birth to a son. Now see to it that you drink no wine or other fermented drink and that you do not eat anything unclean. You will become pregnant and have a son whose head is never to be touched by a razor because the boy is to be a Nazirite, dedicated to God from the womb. He will take the lead in delivering Israel from the hands of the Philistines" (Judges 13:2-5).

Not only would her son be a Nazirite, but she would also live out her pregnancy as a Nazirite. Her son's name would be Samson, but her name is not given; she is just the wife of Manoah. 

But maybe we can guess her name. Maybe her name was Hazzelelponi, the daughter of Etam.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 7

Send away male and female alike; send them outside the camp so they will not defile their camp, where I dwell among them. – Numbers 5:3

Today's Scripture Reading (January 15, 2025): Numbers 5

Pandemics. We act as if this is something new and unknowable. And maybe it is. However, history has shown us that pandemics are a very regular feature on this planet of ours. Pandemics occur about every one hundred years. Unfortunately, the frequency of pandemics means that every time they strike, we have to learn all over again what it is and how to react to it because it is likely the first and only pandemic we will face during our lifetime.  

Not only are pandemics not unknowable, but they are expected. I think one of the problems with the COVID-19 pandemic was that we were expecting its advent, and we had a few false starts before we finally met COVID-19. I remember going to a conference soon after the turn of the century that was built around the church's responsibility during the coming pandemic and having my associate remind me that neither of us, with our pre-existing health conditions, was likely to survive when the real pandemic showed up. I did survive, although my associate passed away a few years before COVID-19 raised its ugly head; I guess she was wrong on both counts. 

Before COVID-19, the last pandemic was the Spanish Flu in 1918. Spanish Flu is a bit of a misnomer. It got its name because Spain seemed to have received the worst effects of the flu. At the time, it was assumed that this flu probably began there. We now know that the Spanish Flu likely started in the United States. It went through the West quickly, primarily because of the First World War. The nations involved in the fight didn't report how sick their people were largely because they feared it would give the enemy an advantage. Spain was neutral during the war, and so, for Spain, there was no advantage in hiding the seriousness of the flu.

When we are up against the unknown, isolation is an essential weapon in our reaction. The various closures we suffered through are likely the main reason that I was able to live through this most recent pandemic. A children's rhyme in 1918 stresses how a pandemic can move through a population. According to the rhyme,

I had a little bird

Its name was Enza

I opened up the window

And in-flu-enza

With the Spanish Flu, the death rate was as high as 2.5%. Many stories circulated describing the deadly effects of the Spanish Flu as it was passed from person to person. One story told of four women playing bridge one afternoon; that night, three of the women died of the Spanish Flu.

God tells Moses to isolate those experiencing skin diseases. It was the priests who were responsible for the task of separating the people. And it wasn't just isolating someone who was confirmed to have leprosy but included anyone who seemed they might be a little sick. The priests were instructed to take no chances when the health of the community was concerned. It didn't matter if they were rich or poor, male or female, powerful or enslaved; leprosy would not spare anyone in its path. It was a constant pandemic that threatened to overtake the world if it was just given a chance. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 6

Count the Merarites by their clans and families. – Numbers 4:29

Today's Scripture Reading (January 14, 2025): Numbers 4

It is a new world where you can be anything you want. I recently finished a Karin Slaughter "Will Trent" novel, and part of the plot revolves around a person pretending to be a detective. The character possessed the raw talent for the job but lacked any training. Still, the character sold herself online because she believed she could be anything she wanted to be, regardless of her lack of training. Or, maybe Slaughter's intention is that we live in a culture where only men are considered credible private investigators because this woman also portrayed herself as a man. In a world where we can be anything we want, it is easy to represent ourselves as something we are not in the anonymity of the internet. 

It is also what makes the internet so scary. That fifteen-year-old pen pal your daughter has been sharing messages with online could be a fifty-year-old man pretending to be something he is not. It happens more often than we want to believe. Many years ago, I counseled a man who was experiencing money problems. Part of the problem was that he had been sending money to a single mother who was going through a financial crisis of her own. But here was where the problem arose. My friend had never met this woman in the real world. He had no idea if the woman was a young mother, a mother, or even a woman, let alone that she was experiencing a financial crisis. The only thing I knew for sure was that now my friend was experiencing a financial crisis because of the money he had given to someone he believed to be in financial trouble. I mean, isn't that the Christian thing to do? Years have passed since the incident. In the intervening time, the communication between my friend and his pen pal has dried up. To my knowledge, my friend still doesn't know if the crisis or even the person was real.

Moses has been instructed to count the Levitical sub-families. The reason behind the count was that each family group had a specific task to complete. In the case of the Merarites, the task they had been assigned was caring for the Tabernacle's physical elements. These were the people who were responsible for the poles and cross beams of the Tabernacle, right down to the tent pegs that held the massive tent up. We can surmise that the Merarites also pitched the tents and took them down. 

This was the job that was handed to the sons of Merar. One of the nagging questions I have struggled with is whether this expectation was fulfilled through the generations or if people with an aptitude to care for these physical elements became honorary sons of Merar. It seems possible that these honorary Merarites became the carpenters needed to maintain the Tabernacle and, later, the Temple, regardless of whether or not they were of the tribe of Merar.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 5

This is the account of the family of Aaron and Moses at the time the LORD spoke to Moses at Mount Sinai. – Numbers 3:1

Today's Scripture Reading (January 13, 2025): Numbers 3

Alphonso de Borja was elevated to the Papacy on April 8, 1455, becoming Pope Callixtus III. It was a time of great trial for the Roman Catholic Church. Western Civilization was under threat from Turkey, and the Western nations needed a leader who could defend them from Turkish power. Callixtus was instrumental in setting the model for future leaders. German historian Ludwig von Pastor (1854-1928) argued that Pope Calixtus III …

        gave a grand example to Christendom, and it is to be observed that in the midst of the military and         political interest which claimed so large a share of his time and attention, he did not neglect the                internal affairs of the Church, and vigorously opposed heresies (Ludwig von Pastor, History of the         Popes, Volume 2).

If there was a black mark on his short reign as Pope, which was just over three years, it was that he promoted two of his nephews to the office of Cardinal. One of them, Rodrigo de Borgia, who later ruled as Pope Alexander VI, became recognized for his corruption and immortality. It got so bad that his successor, Julius II, on the day of his election to the papacy, remarked, "I will not live in the same rooms as the Borgias lived. He desecrated the Holy Church as none before." As a result, the Borgia Apartments were closed from Alexander's death in 1503 until 1889, when Pope Leo XIII had the rooms restored and opened to the public. One has to wonder what might have happened if Calixtus had not elevated his nephew to the office of Cardinal in the first place. 

Nepotism, elevating relatives to important positions, has a history of being negative on any institution. It is not always a bad idea, but when a person is elevated more because they are the relative of someone important than because they are good at some task, there is a problem. In my estimation, hiring a relative needs to be closely examined by people unrelated to the person in charge. I think my children are great at several tasks in the church, but I absolutely should not be the one to elevate them. If they were to be hired, I would want that move to come from an independent board, not me.

Moses seems to have agreed. This passage opens up by saying it is "the account of the family of Aaron and Moses," but one thing is missing from what follows: the family of Moses. We hear about Aaron's family, and his sons were elevated to key positions in the Tabernacle, but the sons of Moses are rarely even mentioned. Moses's descendants are lost in the mix of other Levites. None of Moses' family members received any position in the Tabernacle despite their relationship with the lawgiver.

Maybe the next logical question is whether Moses even had children since none are mentioned in this passage. We know that Moses had at least two sons. The oldest son was Gershom, and the younger was called Eliezer. These sons did not accompany Moses through the complete journey of the Exodus. Instead, they lived with their maternal Grandfather during their youth. Eventually, they joined Moses for the wilderness wanderings. However, they also enjoyed a life of anonymity among the Levites of Israel.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 4

So the Israelites did everything the LORD commanded Moses; that is the way they encamped under their standards, and that is the way they set out, each of them with their clan and family. – Numbers 2:34

Today's Scripture Reading (January 12, 2025): Numbers 2

Everything progresses in a specific direction; from my experience, that direction is from order to disorder. It happens all the time. Just before Christmas, I found a bunch of pictures in my home office. I picked up the pictures and realized that the pictures were of the family of a friend. The pictures were in a reasonably large envelope, so I added a book I knew belonged to my friend and placed his name on the front of the envelope. Then I had the envelope ready for the next time I would see him.

When I gave the envelope to him, his first question was, "Where did you find these?" I smiled and told him I had been cleaning my office and stumbled on them; I had no idea why I Had them. My friend's next question was a little surprising. "Why were you cleaning your office?" I don't remember what I said to him, and I am not sure what reason he was imagining, but the reason I was cleaning my office was reasonably straightforward: my office had made the journey from order to disorder. I'm not sure what your living space looks like, but sometimes, you must take time to restore the intended order. At least, that is true for me, because my office doesn't become ordered all by itself. Someone had to do it, and then the journey from order to disorder would begin once again. 

Israel had existed in a state of disorder. It wasn't all that long ago, maybe a year or a little more, that they were enslaved in Egypt. Since their escape, Israel seems to have existed more as a mob than anything else in the months since. There didn't seem to be any order as they made their way through the Red Sea. And as they gathered at the base of Mount Sinai, no discernable order could be seen in the nation. Even when building the Tabernacle, there were just a bunch of people. This problem was that this disorder made it hard for the Tribal leaders to lead their tribes. Something had to change before the nation could move forward.

God gave Moses the diagram of how the nation should be arranged. It involved how the tribes should camp around the Tabernacle and how the people should move when it was time to leave the base of God's mountain. It was a distinct change to how Israel had been organized, or more accurately, disorganized. However, someone had to give the instructions and get the people set out in a way that made sense and would allow the nation to make the most of their situation. 

Israel did as God had commanded. They organized as God had told them to. They would have to be reminded from time to time because the natural direction is from order to disorder, but, for now, order had been intentionally created out of disorder. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 3

From Judah, Nahshon son of Amminadab. – Number 1:7

Today's Scripture Reading (January 11, 2025): Numbers 1

Sometimes, if we don't know much about a person, even one who is of cultural importance, but if the person is important enough, we tend to begin to make up stories about them. So, George Washington couldn't tell a lie; at least, that is the story we communicate about him. So, one day, the young boy chopped down a cherry tree. It was an action that angered his father so much that he demanded to know who did it. According to tradition, little Georgie responded to his father's demand; "I cannot tell a lie; I chopped down the tree." Is it true? Probably not; it is just a story. The reality is that we know very little about the pre-revolution George Washington. However, after his death on December 14, 1799, there was a great appetite for the stories of young George. And people did their best to fill the void, even if they had to make stuff up. But little George had grown up to be a very honest person, and the story highlights his honesty.

We know very little about Nahshon, the son of Amminadab. Yet, he seems like a very important leader in Israel and a tribal leader of Judah. And so, we have tales of him, some logical extensions of his life, and other more fanciful stories. One of the more imaginative tales argues that Nahshon began the Hebrew people's passage through the Red Sea. According to the story, the parting of the Red Sea was not as immediate as it might have seemed in the movies. As a result of a temporary delay after Moses commanded the water to part, Nahshon rushed into the cold waters in his premature attempt to cross the Red Sea. According to the tale, he was nose-deep in the waters of the Sea before the Sea finally parted. But Nahshon was a man of faith, so he kept on walking, knowing that, at some point, the water would part.

More likely assumptions include that Nahshon was a very noble man; we know that he was the Judean Leader, but some also think that maybe his sister, Elisheba, was the wife of Aaron, Moses's elder brother.

Nahshon also represented the half-way mark between Judah, the son of Jacob, and King David. Nahshon was considered a model prince and even called a King by those who served under him. 

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 2