In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. – Numbers 20:1

Today’s Scripture Reading (November 5, 2018): Numbers 20

I have known death in my life. Most of us have. I have had friends who have passed away while I was in high school and college. But maybe the first really significant death (although they were all significant), and the first close family member, was my paternal grandfather who died when I was in my early thirties. Death is never a fun thing to have to deal with, but the closer the person is to you, the more significant and difficult that death becomes. With the death of my grandfather, who died from a fall in his garage, the beginnings of a loss of a generation began to become clear to me. He was not the first of his generation to die, but his connection to me made the impact of the death of that generation much clearer to me.

The death of Miriam was important to Israel. She most likely was not the first of her generation to die. But her significance originated from the fact that she was Moses sister and the first of the siblings of Moses to die. And this meaning was further intensified by the fact that God had decreed that Miriam and her generation would die in the desert. Hers would not be the generation who would take possession of the Promised Land. That task would be left to the generation that would follow. But the death of Miriam echoed the seriousness of God’s decision. He would still lead his people, even in the desert, but God was not going to be moved off of his decision that it would be the next generation who would be led into Canaan.

And this moment in the life of Israel highlights the concept of the difference between forgiveness and consequences. We somehow believe that if there is forgiveness, that consequences will be canceled. It is highlighted in a phrase I hear way too often – “It is better to ask for forgiveness than permission.” The idea is that if we ask for permission, you might say no. But if we ask for forgiveness, the action is already done, and if you do your Christian duty, there will be no consequences for our actions.

But life does not work that way. We can be forgiven without the removal of consequences. And the proof of that was that Israel had been forgiven, and yet Mariam was dead. And her place of burial would be in the desert, and not in the Promised Land.

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Psalms 90