The LORD said to Moses and Aaron:“How long will this wicked assembly grumble against me?
I have heard the grumblings of the children of Israel against me.
Tell them: By my life, says the LORD,
I will do to you just what I have heard you say.
Here in the desert shall your dead bodies fall.
Forty days you spent in scouting the land;
forty years shall you suffer for your crimes:
one year for each day.
Thus you will realize what it means to oppose me.
I, the LORD, have sworn to do this
to all this wicked assembly that conspired against me:
here in the desert they shall die to the last man.”
These verses appear at the heart of the Book of Numbers and explain why the “children of Israel” wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Because of their sin of grumbling they could not enter Palestine until all of that generation, including Moses and Aaron, had died.
If your allegiance is strictly with the Lord, you might readily condemn the “wicked assembly” for grumbling against him. After everything God had done for them by his majestic condescension, they should at least show him continual and unwavering gratitude.
On the other hand, if your allegiance is strictly with the people, you might find in this passage the “Old Testament God.” He is reported to be vindictive, tetchy and despite his claims of generosity, parsimonious.
Quarrels like these seem to lay an obligation on bystanders; they should favor one party and despise the other. But we are not bystanders and the quarrel in Numbers does not lead to divorce.
We are the wicked assembly and we are the children of Israel. The "Old Testament God" is the Abba of Jesus, beloved of our Savior and dear to us. This quarrel is not a terrible rupture in our ancient history; it is a only a spat between young lovers who have much to learn about each other. It is carried out with all the emotional fireworks and dreadnought threats of newlyweds, but we know they are inseparable.
One time, my mother and I were driving south on I-65 through Louisville. South of the airport the highway is ten or twelve lanes wide, with a wide berm for pulling over. There on the side of the road were two vehicles parked close together. Between them was a young couple going at it hammer and tongs, furiously fussing at each other.
My mother laughed and laughed. It took her back forty years to when she and Dad were getting acquainted after they married. (They had known each other a bare twelve weeks before they married.) She believed this couple would surely work out there troubles for they had the courage of true lovers.
As we read this passage from the Book of Numbers we do well to remember our sins, for we are the same people. We should also remember the ferocious love of God which will never let us go our own way without hearing more than a few words from him.
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I love to write. This blog helps me to meditate on the Word of God, and I hope to make some contribution to our contemplations of God's Mighty Works.
Ordinarily, I write these reflections two or three weeks in advance of their publication. I do not intend to comment on current events.
I understand many people prefer gender-neutral references to "God." I don't disagree with them but find that language impersonal, unappealing and tasteless. When I refer to "God" I think of the One whom Jesus called "Abba" and "Father", and I would not attempt to improve on Jesus' language.
You're welcome to add a thought or raise a question.