Today's Scripture Reading (December 28, 2021): Numbers 32
Former President Trump has a knack for making news,
sometimes even when he is not trying. That seemed to be the case in early
December 2021 when the former President made this comment; "Anybody that doesn't think
there wasn't massive Election Fraud in the 2020 Presidential Election is either
very stupid, or very corrupt!" Words are funny things, and it didn't take
long for grammar nerds to pick apart the comment. The double negative,
something that we have all been warned about since we were in elementary
school, destroyed the message that the President was trying to share with his
listeners. Instead of continuing his message about voter fraud in the 2020
election, when the statement was dissected by those who understood grammar, it
seemed to say the exact opposite. According to the former President, "anyone
who doesn't think that there wasn't massive Election Fraud," in other
words, "anyone who thinks there was massive Election Fraud," is
either very stupid or very corrupt. And once again, bad grammar has sunk the
message.
We all know that that was not what the former President meant.
It is just proof of something else we have known for a long time; just because
someone has been elected to the highest office in the land does not mean that
they know how to talk. For some Presidents, like Franklin Delano Roosevelt,
that was a reality of which they were very aware and became very careful about
the words that emerged from their mouths. For others, well, it just didn't
matter. And the truth is that their followers understood the message even if
what they said was grammatically incorrect.
But there are also times when we should really listen
to the words being spoken because they might state paint a picture of reality of
which we really need to be aware. And that seems to happen here. The intended message is that the tribes of Reuben and Gad, if they will
help conquer the Canaan, may settle in the area on the East side of the Jordan River. It was a win for the tribes of Reuben
and Gad. The region of the Transjordan had already been defeated. The
tribes could leave their families and flocks on the East side of the Jordan and
only send their armies over to fight the dangerous fight on the West side of
the river. For Reuben and Gad, that was a good thing.
However, that is not quite what the words say. Moses
indicates that if they help with the taking of Canaan, they would be "free from your obligation to
the Lord and
to Israel." Taken at face value, it is as if they would no longer be part
of Israel or God. From that point forward, they would be on their own.
Whether they were intended or not, the words provided a
truth, not just for the Transjordanian tribes but the entire nation. Throughout
their history of the country, the tribes of Israel struggled with their
obligations, both to God and to each other. In the end, the failure of their
obligation to God and Israel resulted in the demise of the Northern Kingdom in
721 B.C.E., including Reuben and Gad. The failure also resulted in the
destruction of Jerusalem and the exile of the Kingdom of Judah to Babylon in
586 B.C.E. The nation was then free of their
obligation to God and Israel, but they were free of the benefits of God and
Israel as well.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 33
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