Seder 130: Numbers 33---Stages of the Journey

Numbers 33 lists 42 stages in Israel's exodus journey, as recorded by Moses at God's direction.  The children of Israel had experienced much during the 40 years in the wilderness, and the names of the places they camped would have reminded them of the lessons they learned at each stage.  

Some of the place names in Exodus 33 are familiar from previous accounts in Exodus and Numbers.  Others are first mentioned here.  For example, Dophkah and Alush in verse 13, from the initial pre-Sinai part of the journey, are not mentioned back in Exodus 15-17.  

Many of the names of their camps are mentioned only in Numbers 33 (e.g., stages 15-26).  Some of these names may be ones that the Israelites came up with themselves to refer to things that happened at those stages of their travels.  All we have now are the names.  

Commentaries on Numbers often contain translations of the names in the list.  Here are some interesting ones from the list given by commentator Dale Brueggemann:

• Rithmah (stage 15)  "sage city"
• Rimmon-perez (stage 16) "pomegranate gap"
• Libnah (stage 17) "white place"
• Mount Shepher (stage 20)  "mount of beauty"
• Haradah (stage 21) "frightening" or "trembling"
• Makheloth (stage 22) "place of assembly"
• Mithcah (stage 25) "sweet place"
• Moseroth (stage 27)  "reins, bonds straps"
• Jotbathah (stage 30) "pleasantness"
• Zalmonah (stage 35) "black place"  (Brueggemann suggests "Gloomsville")

The majority of the 40 years may have been spent around Kadesh, stage 33.  

By stage 42, they are at the plains of Moab, across the Jordan from Jericho.  Their next task will be to "depaganize" the land of Canaan (vv 50-56).  If they fail, Canaan will paganize them and they could suffer the fate of the Canaanites.  

Throughout the 42 stages, one thing has been constant:  God has been with them throughout the journey.  Rob Wilson stressed this in a sermon on Num 33-34 at Church of the Messiah on January 21, 2023.    

Seder 117: Numbers 20---Moses' Meltdown

 Numbers 20:1 reports the death of Miriam "in the first month."  The year is generally assumed to be the fortieth and final year of the Exodus, because of a time marker given later in the chapter.  Aaron's death is reported in verses 23-29, and we know from Num 33:38 that Aaron died on the first day of the fifth month of the fortieth year.   

By this time the older generation of Israelites had died, as the subject matter of Numbers 19 reminds us.  Verse 2 invites us to compare the next generation with the previous one.  At a time when water was in short supply, Israelites were grumbling, as had happened back in the first year of the journey (Exod 17).

On that previous occasion, God had directed Moses to strike a particular rock, and water came out of the rock (Exod 17:6).  This time God tells Aaron and Moses to speak to a rock, which again would be a source of water (Num 20:8).  

In Numbers 20 God shows no sign of being angry with the new generation of Israel.  They seem to be anxious to experience the blessings of the Promised Land rather than asking to return to Egypt.

Moses, on the other hand, loses control.  Rather than speaking to the rock, he strikes the rock in anger.  God still provides water, but he then lets Moses and Aaron know that they will not be entering the Promised Land.  Instead they will die during that year.

Why did Moses lose control?  Miriam's death could have been a factor.  It also may be that Moses was emotionally exhausted after the forty years in the wilderness, and all the accumulated frustration of dealing with the Israelites for 40 years has taken its toll.  He accuses the new generation of being rebels like their parents.  By being angry with them he misrepresents God, who is not angry with them and wants Moses to take a patient approach.  

Moses here might be compared to an old math professor who rants at a class of freshmen, "You freshmen are all alike!  You come to university unprepared, you skip class, and you're trying to take calculus when you can't even do algebra."  When a professor gets to that point, it is time to retire.

Here God does not punish Moses for a momentary slip-up.  Instead, he recognizes that Moses is not the appropriate person to lead the nation into the Promised Land.  He has served well and faithfully, and it is time to pass the baton to Joshua.    

Seder 11: Gen 12-13--The Promise in Peril

At some point after Abram and Sarai arrived in the land of Canaan, they left during a time of severe famine and sought refuge in Egypt.  Fearing that the Pharaoh would have him killed in order to add Sarai to the royal harem, Abram pretended that Sarai was just his sister, not his wife.  Pharaoh then proceeded to add Sarai to his harem (Gen 12:10-16)

Abram's deception put his wife in great danger and jeopardized the future of his family.  But God intervened, striking Pharaoh with plagues because he had abducted Sarai.  Pharaoh then reprimanded Abram and threw them out of Egypt (vv 17-20).

In this episode we see an example of how God would deal with people according to their treatment of Abram's family.  Pharaoh threatened that family and suffered as a result.  We also see that God's promise to Abram depends upon his grace, not upon Abram's goodness.

This passage in Gen 12-13 also foreshadows the later Exodus.  Abram and Sarai travel to Egypt during a time of famine, as Jacob would later.  They are in danger there, as the Israelites would later be enslaved.  Pharaoh suffers plagues, as Egypt would later.  Abram and his family are thrown out of Egypt with great wealth (12:16; 13:2), as the Israelites would be later.  And Abram then journeys by stages (13:3), as the Israelites would on the Exodus (Num 33:1).  The repetition of exodus themes in the Bible sends the message that God is consistent.  As he has acted in the past, so he will act again in the future.

Back in the land of Canaan with increased wealth, Abram and Lot needed to spread out to provide more room for their flocks.  The strife among their herdsmen (13:7) foreshadowed later strife between Israelites and Moabites.  Lot chose to go east to a fertile area near Sodom and Gomorrah, a move that looked good at the time.  But as has been the case so far in the book of Genesis, people run into trouble when they head east in a direction away from the Promised Land. 

Here some have seen an analogy between Gen 13:10 and Gen 3:6.  In Genesis 3:6, Eve saw that the forbidden fruit looked good and gave it a try.  In Genesis 13:10, Lot saw that the Jordan Valley looked good and decided to go there.

Abram acts as peacemaker, reminding us of Matt 5:9.

After Abram and Lot parted ways, God reaffirmed the promise of the land (13:14-17).