What's the Lesson - Numbers 33-36

The rest of Numbers, chapters 33-36, were mostly instructions on how to operated once in the promised land of Canaan and so we will go over them quickly. There are some interesting aspects of it, but for the most part it’s just names of people I don’t know and laws that we’ve already gone over before. The first part is a basic travel log of the journey taken by Israel from Egypt to where they are at that point. The significant part about that is that there are 42 points covered by this log, and TB points out that archeological evidence and other accounts don’t match up to this record and he hypothesizes that it is recorded this way because of the significance of the number 42. A quick google search says that the number 42 is significant because it “represents divine creation, transition, and spiritual journeys.” That makes sense that this record is less about where they physically were and more about the spiritual journey of Israel from disobedient freed slaves to the more subservient, independent people of God.

There are also instructions on what happens to the people who they defeat in battle and take over their land. I always just assumed that all the people were killed, men, women, and children, but it seems like that wasn’t the case. TB clarifies that it wasn’t genocide, mass slaughter, but that only those who resisted and who wouldn’t leave the cities were killed, and anyone who wanted to join Israel and live in accordance with their laws and practices were welcome to stay. Technically, if the whole town were like “ok, you’re in charge now, we’ll join you and do whatever you say” then it seems like to me that they would be allowed to stay, but I doubt that happened, I guess we’ll see. So if they just packed up all their stuff and moved out, they could live or if they joined Israel they could stay, but otherwise, anyone who fought them or refused to leave would be killed. This is an interesting concept because just the sheer numbers in terms of the size of Israel’s army, the decision making process there would be interesting from the perspective of the threatened town’s leadership. Why not just join them? Why fight? How big are each of these armies? What are their fortification situations? That will be exciting to learn about. And there is the promise from God that if they don’t kill or drive out or absorb I guess, the people of the land “those which ye let remain of them shall be pricks in your eyes, and thorns in your sides, and shall vex you in the land wherein ye swell. Moreover it shall come to pass, that I shall do unto you, as I thought to do unto them.”

Chapter 34 is where Moses gives the borders of the land that they are supposed to take over, and chapter 35 begins with the specifics of the cities that are supposed to go to the Levites. The Levites weren’t going to be given any allotments of land like the other tribes because they were to be interspersed throughout the land so that they could provide the spiritual services for the Israelites and in return the tribal people who they lived amongst were supposed to take care of the Levites which makes sense. TB notes, however, that even though this is what God had told the people of Israel to do, when it came to the execution, it never really played out like that. The people never really took care of the Levites, and they never really gave them the places to live like they were supposed to so it really just never worked out like it was supposed to.

After talking about how the Levite were supposed to be positioned, it talks about the cities of refuge. If we recall, back when the laws were being discussed, when the subject of murder came up, there were laws given and one of those was if someone died even though the intention wasn’t to kill, then to escape the family revenger who had a right to kill that person, they could flee to one of these refuge cities and live out the rest of their lives there safe from this revenge killer until the high priest that sentenced them died, at which they were forgiven and could come home. It’s an interesting concept, and there is also a discussion about murder versus being the means of someone’s death even though it wasn’t intentional. It seems like the major difference between murder and the other thing was someone’s intention, which even now is hard to prove sometimes. There is a lot about what exactly constitutes murder, weapons, etc but ultimately the conclusion is, a murderer must be put to death. TB went on for a long time about how important it is to execute murderers because that’s what God’s law says and he’s talked about this several times with an emphasis that we are breaking God’s law if we don’t kill murderers.

I’m personally against the death penalty for two specific reasons. The first reason is because we get it wrong so much of the time. There have been innumerable examples of someone being exonerated by DNA or other evidence after they had already been executed, so many false convictions, and you can’t give someone their life back after they’ve been executed. The death penalty has been used as a tool for systemic oppression throughout human history and our own country has a dark and extensive history with it as well. So not only do we execute people who are innocent, we also execute people to keep a status quo of oppression. Secondly, I’m against the death penalty because it removes the murderer’s opportunity to repent in this life. Don’t get me wrong, there are many people who kill who do it maliciously, purposefully, and who will not repent in this life, I’m not saying that there aren’t. But many murders also have other factors such as drugs, socioeconomic factors, stuff like that that play into the circumstances and if we execute the murderers, they lose their chance to repent in this life. The life of the murdered person is already lost and executing their killer won’t bring them back, but giving the killer the chance to repent is what the plan of salvation is all about. I get why anciently letting murderers live wasn’t an option. Keeping a prison secure like we can today wasn’t an option then, like I get it. But in our society that we have today, we have the means and ability to provide an opportunity to give the offender the space to repent.

I’m much more involved in the criminal justice system than I would like to be and I’ve learned so much. There is this one guy I follow on Instagram who served 19 years in prison for armed robbery and one of the things he said once was “I’ve never met anyone in prison who did horrible things who didn’t first have horrible things happen to them.” These types of crimes don’t happen in a vacuum, they are usually the result of horrific trauma. The whole situation is tragic and when there are lives lost, that’s tragic, but taking away the perpetrators opportunity for repentance would also be tragic. I follow multiple organizations who bring Christianity into prisons and seeing the transformations that happen as people come to Christ has been incredible. These people who were previously perpetrators transform and become changed by the power of God and become servants of Christ, it is so powerful to see, it’s such a formidable testimony of the efficacy of the atonement. I get why Israel couldn’t do it, but here and now, we can and I think that we should.

Finally, chapter 36 talks again about daughters inheriting their father’s land if the father dies without any male heirs. The rule is made that if any females are granted that land because their father died without any sons, then that daughter must marry within her specific clan. This was to make sure that land didn’t transfer out of the tribe and that any one clan didn’t gain too much power or control within that tribe. I can't imagine that this situation came up that much, so it might have been policy but usually the exception to the rule.

That’s the end of Numbers, but there is just one last thing that I want to talk about before moving on and that is part of TB’s lecture for these chapters. He talks about how we, like Abraham, “have been placed under a covenant. I have been promised a place where things will finally operate the way they’re supposed to… I’ve begun my Exodus, I’ve received God’s word and I’m on a journey through the wilderness towards my final destination; but I’m sill waiting in a holding pattern, I’m not there yet. We today sit precisely where Moses and Israel were at this point in the book of Numbers. The promise of God’s covenant to us is right there before us and we can actually see it, we can almost smell it; and soon, very soon, we’ll be able to take hold of it. Yet this life we’re living, and our time wandering in the wilderness, is not to be idle time. Out job is to learn the ways of the Lord and to practice them, because once we’re at our destination we’ll be living those ways more completely and eternally in the presence of Yeshua than we ever imagined. So here in Numbers as the people of Israel can actually see their destination off in the distance, and know it’s but days, hours, before it’s theirs, God gives them some instructions about how they’re to live in the land.”

When I heard this, it really resonated with me because I’ve been having a very hard time recently with all my family stuff and Jesus has made me promises, both through the conventional means of the saving ordinances and covenants but also individually through personal revelation and I’m just so distressed because the promises are beautiful but seem impossible to happen and I’m exhausted so if these promises don’t happen until the next life, that means I will have to go through the entirety of this life with the same life that I have now and I don’t think I will make it living like that, it would be a miserable existence and I don’t want to do it. This statement, when I heard it, reminded me that I’ve been made promises and that God will fulfill his word. I wish I had a timeline on that and a plan, but of course I don’t which is the point I think. But the last sentence, we can see the promises being fulfilled but we need God to give us instructions while we’re waiting and maybe that’s what I’ve been needing to do. I’ve been so wrapped up in the why and emotional turmoil of the whole thing, I haven’t stopped to ask when He wants me to learn from this, and maybe that’s what I need to do. Teach me the lesson He wants me to learn. I’ve been here at this point in the journey before and it was transformative, so maybe it’s time to ask that question again. What’s the lesson?