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Meditative Reflection
What an Awesome Privilege

“The Lord said to Aaron, ‘You will have no inheritance in their land, nor will you have any share among them; I am your share and your inheritance among the Israelites.’” (Num. 18:20)

We read earlier that some of the Levites, led by Korah, coveted the priesthood that was solely Aaron’s (and that of his sons) in chapter16. On the face of it, they were coveting that holiest of privilege, being able to draw near to God in the sanctuary and to serve the Lord on behalf of the people. Of course, we know that what they coveted was really the honor from men and not from God. However, is the priesthood is as glamorous as they thought?

Can you image that when they entered into the Promised Land, and the priest or a member of his family (wife or a child) looked at all the other Israelites who began to plant their own vineyards, had their own houses, lands and other permanent possessions, and yet you had none, except the portion of their offerings and some of their tithes (that was assuming that the people did tithe). How might the priests and their families feel?

Indeed, such priesthood, from start to finish, is a life of submission and faith: submission to the command and calling of the Lord, and faith in that God is really their “share and inheritance” which is far better than houses, lands and material possessions.

First, these houses, lands and material possessions are not really permanent: Solomon says it well, “Everything is meaningless”, meaning that they are really like vapor and are really temporal. No one can bring any of their houses, lands or investments to the grave.

Further, land can lose its value, houses can be burnt down and investments can lose their value overnight. We know this very well. But the priests whose inheritance is not land or any material possession do not have such worries. Not only that, with God as their inheritance, they will not only be well taken care of by the Creator God who is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent, their inheritance which is God Himself, is eternal!

It was true of the priest of old, it is still true of all those who have been called by God to give themselves to full-time gospel ministry!

Meditative Reflection
Death and Uncleanness

“If they fail to purify themselves after touching a human corpse, they defile the LORD’s tabernacle. They must be cut off from Israel. Because the water of cleansing has not been sprinkled on them, they are unclean; their uncleanness remains on them.” (Num. 19:13)

On the surface, the stringent rules concerning the treatment of those who have come into contact with the dead make practical sense in order to ensure that possible diseases carried by the dead would not spread to the community. However, the entire focus of these regulations in Numbers 19 concerns holiness in that they would not “defile the Lord’s tabernacle” (19:13).

The message is very clear in that death and sin are connected as Romans 6:23 testifies, “the wages of sin is death”. Every time a person dies, it is not only a vivid reminder but a demonstration of the reality of sin in that person that has led to his or her death (Gen. 3:19).

While the regulations in Numbers 19 deal with the cleansing of a person who has contact with a dead person, hence is stained by sin, the “making” of the “water of cleansing” prophesies to the permanent solution for the cleansing of human sin in that the red heifer without defect or blemish (symbol of sinlessness) and has never been under yoke (symbol of free from hidden injury) used in the sacrifice symbolizes our Lord Jesus Christ, who is absolutely without sin, on our behalf on the cross, accomplishing the total and once-for-all cleansing of all sinners who would believe in Him; hence the glorious proclamation in Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Meditative Reflection
Moses Striking the Rock

“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” (Num. 20:12)

The rebellion of the people in Meribah caused Moses the chance to see the fruit of his labor, that is, to set foot on the Promised Land itself. It must have been the greatest regret in the life of Moses, and it also shows us the severity of not honoring God.

Of course, I do not suppose myself to have any special insight into what Moses (and Aaron) actually did that led to the rebuke that, “you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites” (20:12). All possibilities (and more) have been voiced by commentators in the past few thousand years. Allow me simply to reflect with you based on the three references to this incident within the Scriptures:

Psalm 106:32-33

“By the waters of Meribah they angered the Lord, and trouble came to Moses because of them; for they rebelled against the Spirit of God, and rash words came from Moses’ lips”

The psalmist points to the “rash words” from Moses’ lips as the cause of his trouble. This was what Moses said, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?”(20:10)

The words were rash, because Moses and Aaron were truly fed up with the people who had learned nothing in their 40 years of wandering, and they were repeating the same mistake they made 38 years ago (Exodus 17). Moses was nearing 120 years of age, and those over 20 years of age or older who followed him out of Egypt would have mostly died by now. To this new, younger generation, he lost his cool just momentarily. However, what he said did not befit a godly leader in that the people are God’s, never his! The whole mission of exodus was never by him, but God. Whatever “must we bring you water” mean, the focus should never be on “we”, but God. The people never expected him or Aaron to give them water; their complaint, as usual, was directed at God. To draw himself into the picture dishonors God.

Numbers 27:14 & 20:24

“for when the community rebelled at the waters in the Desert of Zin, both of you disobeyed my command to honor me as holy before their eyes…both of you rebelled against my command at the water of Meribah.”

As Moses and Aaron were both about to die, God reminded them the reason why they could not enter the Promised Land, and in so doing, He points out the fact that both Moses and Aaron “disobeyed” and “rebelled against” His command. God’s command was to “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water.” (20:8)

The staff was probably the one he used to split the Red Sea and to strike the rock for water 38 years ago. However, he was to take the staff to “gather the assembly together” to signify that he was doing it on the authority of God and all he had to do then was to speak to the rock. As we know, apart from the rash words from his lips, he struck the rock twice with the staff — something clearly not part of the command of God.

Some commentators see this as his sin of anger and violence, and others point out that since the rock symbolizes Christ (1 Cor. 10:4); how dare he strike Christ with his staff twice, although it then symbolized the two pieces of wood on which Christ was crucified. (Augustine, Caesarius of Arius etc.)

Whatever the specific action was, it reveals that Moses did not obey what was commanded of him. He did not follow exactly what God told him to do, and thus he dishonored God. Anytime we act on our own we dishonor God!

Numbers 20:12

“Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites…”

Finally, these are the very words recorded immediately after whatever Moses and Aaron did to the rock, and God says that they did not trust Him enough. I have no idea if the lack of trust was demonstrated by the rash words or the striking of the staff; but if there was a lack of trust, it would have begun at the time the people grumbled. In other words, the lack of trust by Moses and Aaron permeated throughout the entire scenario. If such was the case, it seems the 40 years of leading such a bunch of rebels has taken its toll on the two leaders. They were sick and tired of any more complaints and grumbles, and so they said, “you rebels!”

Fatigue? Burnout? Weariness that comes from an old and tired body? Whatever you may call it, it can bring the worst out of even the most humble person like Moses and caused him to turn his focus inward and to lose sight of the faithful God in whom he always trusted.

Meditative Reflection
Aaron Had Served His Generation

“And Aaron died there on top of the mountain…all the Israelites mourned for him thirty days.” (Num. 20:28-29)

Although Aaron and Moses are often mentioned together in the Bible, they were very different in many ways.

Their upbringing was quite different: Aaron was three years older than Moses and avoided being killed by Pharaoh as a babe presumably because the royal edict came after his birth. The result was while Moses was brought up in the court of Pharaoh, Aaron had a more humble childhood; but he then benefited from the religious heritage and influence of his parents.

In their adulthood, presumably Aaron had become a leader and was gifted in speech (Exod. 4:14). However, he did not have the “stripping off” experience of Moses in the desert where Moses’ former pride, self-ambition and self-reliance were completely stripped off by God—this really qualified Moses as a servant of the Lord. Yet Aaron, with his gift, could make a great assistant to Moses in the important mission of Exodus.

Unfortunately, we learn that his lack of spiritual preparation plunged him into the yielding to the crowd in the making of a golden calf while Moses was meeting God alone on Mount Sinai (Exod. 32). But God’s forgiveness meant that he and his sons would assume the most holy priesthood in serving God in the Tabernacle.

Perhaps, at the influence of his sister Miriam, he was not satisfied with such an honor and chose to challenge Moses’ leadership (Num. 12); although he knew very well all that he had become and achieved was by virtue of his relationship with Moses and by the sovereign will of God.

However, I believe the horrible incident of Korah (Num. 16) did not only give him, a taste of his own medicine, but allowed him to understand that being a spiritual leader was not about power, authority and human glory, but a holy and sacred trust that only God could confer upon the ones He chooses—not to be coveted, but to be received with fear and trembling!

As much as he could not enter the Promised Land and with all his flaws and failures, in the 38 years of wandering, Aaron had grown to stand truly side by side with Moses, and in a sense, Aaron was truly a Godsend to Moses as his brother, his assistance and his confidant.

Meditative Reflection
For God So Loved the World!

“Make a snake and put it up on a pole; anyone who is bitten can look at it and live” (Num. 21:8)

It is interesting to note, Jesus used this age-old incident to speak of the salvation He was to provide to save the world when He spoke to Nicodemus about the need to be born again in order to enter into the Kingdom of God (Jn. 3:1-15). Specifically Jesus says, “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up.” (Jn. 3:14)

The use of this “bronze snake” healing to refer to His work of salvation at the cross is indeed most appropriate in that:

1. We are all stubborn sinners: we may be amazed at how the Israelites could repeat the same sin that they committed back in Numbers 11:33 in which many of them died of a plague. We cannot help but ask, “Hadn’t they learned their lesson?” The truth of the matter is we all repeat the same sin over and over again, just like the Israelites. Not that we do not necessarily know that we sinned against God, but that, as the Apostle Paul points out, “For I know that good itself does not dwell in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.” (Rom. 7:18)

2. We are all bitten by the snake: as much as the Israelites were bitten by venomous snakes in the desert and the consequence was death, we know that the one that caused them sin and death is really the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3). This “ancient serpent” continues to lure and plunge the world into sin, and “the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), even eternal death.

3. The Pole, the Cross: Romans 6:23 continues to assert that, “but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Just as the bronze snake needed to be hoisted up on the pole for people to look and live, Christ has to be lifted up on the cross. While the bronze snake symbolized the embodiment of the snake-bites of the people, Jesus Christ, the Son of Man took on the sins of the world and with His death became the atoning sacrifice that takes away the sin of the world.

4. Salvation through faith: as serious as the sin of the people was, the way to life was very simple — all they had to do was to look and live, but they needed to have faith in God and believed in His way of salvation, and that was expressed by them crawling out of their sick bed to look at the bronze snake on the pole. Our way of salvation is also very simple, look only to Jesus Christ for our salvation, and it still requires faith which is expressed by our admission and confession of our sin and our acknowledgement of Jesus as our Lord and Savior.

One wonders which caused great pain and grief to God: the sin of the people of Israel and ours, or the hoisting of His Son on the cross!

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16)

Meditative Reflection
Healthy Fear

“The LORD said to Moses, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have delivered him into your hands, along with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”.” (Num. 21:34)

You must have heard the saying that “There is only one thing to fear and that is fear itself”. This is attributed to President Roosevelt in his famous inaugural speech in which he said,

“So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people themselves which is essential to victory. And I am convinced that you will again give that support to leadership in these critical days.”

However, I believe there is a need for fear — healthy fear, I call it.

A healthy fear is not blind to the danger and difficulties of the situation we are facing or about to fear. As a result, such fear is not “nameless, unreasoning and unjustified terror”. However, in spite of the recognition of the reality of the situation, healthy fear drives us to fix our eyes on the Lord and look to Him for wisdom, strength and ultimately, deliverance.

I still cherish the sense of “fear and trembling” the first time I stood behind the pulpit and preached. The fear was genuine, but it spurred me on to serious and diligent preparation; but more importantly it also spurred me on to totally depend on and trust in God. Sometimes, it is that lack of a sense of “fear and trembling” that leads me to act presumptuously and a dependence on my own preparation and skill. Therefore, the odd-time “disaster” is always a blessing in disguise, because it serves to remind me that I still need a healthy dose of fear from time to time.

Meditative Reflection
The Will of God

“The angel of the Lord asked him, ‘Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.’” (Num. 22:32)

While “From the earliest times opinions have been divided as to the character of Balaam” (K&D, 759), the Bible itself has given us enough information as to who he was.

Numbers 24:1 says, “Now when Balaam saw that it pleased the Lord to bless Israel, he did not resort to sorcery as at other times…” In other words, as a diviner in Mesopotamia, he was very successful as a sorcerer, and as a sorcerer, he would have enquired all kinds of spirits except Yahweh. His fame also pointed to the fact that he had allowed evil spirits to perform magic through him, and rather successfully.

He obviously had heard of the fame of Yahweh as the people of Jericho did (see the words of Rahab in Jos. 2:9-10). As a result, in order to receive the great reward from Balak and to successfully curse the Israelites, Balaam knew that only this God of Israel, Yahweh, could make it happen. As a result, he enquired of Yahweh. I believe he was quite surprised that Yahweh would respond to him, because as a sorcerer, he had obviously never enquired of Him.

The reply from Yahweh was clear and certain: he “must not put a curse on those people, because they are blessed” (22:12). While Balaam did not really know God, he was smart enough not to offend any spirit, let alone Yahweh. So, he complied.

However, when Balak sent more distinguished officials to see him and promised more silver and gold, his inflated ego and greed got the better of him, and he enquired of Yahweh the second time.

This turned out to be the biggest mistake of his life. God had already given him the answer; there was no need for him to ask again. His asking for the second time showed that he really did not like God’s answer and frankly had God said no, he would have asked a third and fourth time, and he would eventually do as he pleased in spite of whatever answer God might give. In other words, his mind was made up. Therefore, God’s permission for him to go was a sign that God had given up on him.

It is, indeed, a stern warning to us all.

Like this cursing of God’s people, the will of God is plain for us to know. Balaam did not have to ask even the first time, he should know whether it was right or not. The Scriptures have given us clear instructions about the will of God in matters of right and wrong. The Ten Commandments convey the will of God in no uncertain terms, and the Lord summarizes the essence of these Commandments with these words, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt. 22:37-39).

Even in the so-called “grey area”, if we have a clear conscience and an obedient spirit, we will certainly be able to discern the will of God, and often “the peace of God” (Col. 3:15) and the Word of God (Ps. 119:105) together will guide us into His path.