Seder 110: Num 10-11---Moses' Anticipation, Israel's Lusts

 After almost a year at Mt. Sinai, the Israelites broke camp and resumed their journey to the Promised Land on the twentieth day of the second month of the second year of the Exodus.  

Moses was looking forward to the journey with eager anticipation.  We catch a glimpse of his excitement when he invites one of his in-laws, Hobab, to accompany them (Num 10:29-32).  He emphasizes the good things that lie ahead:  "Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel" (v 29).  

Hobab initially declines, but he may have finally agreed.  We do know that the Kenites, the branch of the Midianite family to which Hobab belonged, did settle in the Promised Land (Judges 1:16; 4:11).  

Incidentally, there are two main views on Hobab's identity.  If we take Reuel (Exod 2:28) to be another name for Jethro (Exod 3:1), then Hobab was Moses' brother-in-law.  On the other hand, if Reuel was Jethro's father, then Hobab is another name for Jethro.  

Sadly, not all of the Israelites had caught Moses' optimistic vision.  This quickly became apparent when people started complaining (Num 11:1-3).  

A year earlier, at the beginning of the Exodus, there had also been lots of complaining, and God had dealt with it patiently (Ex 15-17). The Israelites had just been uprooted from their homes and routines and were disoriented and afraid.  But in the time at Sinai, God had provided plenty of structure and order to help the people feel secure.  This new round of complaining had a different motivation, and God acted decisively to correct it, sending a message with fire (Num 11:1).  

Some of the complaints reflected boredom with Israel's menu, which was based on the manna that God provided daily (vv 4-6).  If the Food Network had existed in those days, there might have been one main program, with it a title like "Make It With Manna."  But there would have been many, many episodes, given how versatile manna was (vv 7-9).  Since manna was "the bread of the angels" (Ps 78:25), the program could have had special guest appearances from angels who could demonstrate advanced manna preparation.  

We do not have much sympathy with this round of complaints.  The complainers had lost sight of the big picture and were being driven by lusts.  

We do understand, though, that lust is a problem to which none of us is immune.  Paul admonished early Christ-followers at Corinth to learn the lessons contained in these accounts (1 Cor 10:11-12). "Therefore let anyone that thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall," he concluded. 

Moses apparently was blindsided by the attitudes that Israelites were displaying.  These developments were very discouraging to him.  He felt that he had failed as a leader, and he poured out his heart to God, airing his frustrations (Num 11:11-15).    

Seder 58: Exodus 18---Jethro and Moses

 In the Exodus God sent a message to all the people in that region.  It received a range of reactions.  Two kinds of reactions are contrasted in Exodus 17 and 18.  (Reactions from 40 years later are covered in the book of Joshua.)

The Amalekites launched an attack against Israel, and by implication, an attack on God's plan to bless the nations.  

On the other hand, Moses' father-in-law Jethro confessed his faith in Yahweh as the supreme God (Exod 18:8-12) when he heard about all that had happened.  

In his positive response to the Exodus, Jethro was influenced by his respect for Moses.  In Exodus 18 we also see the mutual respect of Moses and Jethro, as well as Moses' characteristic humility.  When Jethro passed along some wise advice about sharing authority and delegating responsibility, Moses quickly embraced it. 

In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on June 5, 2021, Kyle Kettering emphasized that God's plan brings together those who are "near" and those who are "far off" (Isa 33:13-22; Jer 23:23).  In Jesus he has brought together those who are near (Israel) with those who are far off (the nations) into one people united by one Spirit (Eph 2:11-22).  

Seder 45: Between Exodus 2 and Exodus 3---Moses' Silent Years

 The Bible tells us little about Moses' 40 years as a shepherd in Midian.  It is interesting to speculate on Moses' mindset as he fled to Midian and settled down there.  Mosheh Lichtenstein presents some interesting discussion of this topic in his book-length character study of Moses. 

On the day after Moses intervened on behalf of an Israelite slave, Moses saw two Israelites fighting.  A midrash suggests that they were fighting about what Moses had done.  Some Israelites felt that it was time to rebel against the Egyptians, while others strongly opposed such a move.  Lichtenstein proposes that Moses was disappointed that his people were not united.  Rashi says Moses had learned that there were some Israelites who were traitors and collaborators with the Egyptians.  Perhaps Moses became disillusioned and despaired of the possibility of freeing his people.  So he retreated from public life and decided to live a quiet existence, communing with God in the wilderness.

There is speculation that Jethro and Moses were kindred spirits in this regard.  In one midrash, presented in Exodus Rabbah and the Talmud, there was once a meeting of Pharaoh, Balaam, Jethro, and Job to talk about the Israelites.  Balaam proposed killing male Israelites babies, and Pharaoh readily agreed.  Jethro fled to the wilderness, repulsed by this idea but powerless to do anything to stop it.  (Job said nothing.)

At any rate, Moses spent 40 years away from Egypt, and he surely was disappointed that his earlier efforts to help the Israelites had not led to anything.  He would need some convincing to take up this cause again.