In part 1 of looking at Numbers 15:32-36 I decided to dig into a very unsettling passage of the OT rather than deny it exists or somehow diminish it's message:
While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. And the Lord said to Moses, "The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.". And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the Lord commanded Moses.
[taking deep breath, spitting in hands, picking up shovel, beginning to dig...]
To begin with, I want to gather some facts... Wait, backup. To begin with I want to pray to the same God who thousands of years ago issued this judgement on a man to be killed for gathering wood.
Lord God Almighty, Father in heaven, I'm having a very difficult time looking at this passage and then looking at you. I'm frankly more comfortable right now with your Son who saved an adultress from being stoned to death. I'm more comfortable with the Spirit who softens hearts of stone. But you, Father, issued a death warrant to somebody doing light duty work on the Sabbath. Isn't this the type of thing your Son rebuked the Pharisees for? Father, please give me eyes to see and ears to hear. I love you and want to know you more, but I'm more than a bit uneasy with this snapshot of you in your word. Show me the Way, Guide me into the Truth, give me fullness of Life. In Jesus name. Amen.
Now to begin gathering facts from the passage:
The setting: Sinai desert, not far the Jordan River.
The time: An unspecified Sabbath day, soon after the nation of Israel was turned back from the promised for inciting rebellion. Within a few months or perhaps a few years after being set free from Egypt.
The players: 1) wood-gatherer; 2) God; 3) people who found the wood-gatherer; 4) Moses; 5) Aaron; 6) the assembly or congregation of the Israeilites.
The text doesn't give much info up about the wood-gatherer other than he's a man. We can safely assume a Hebrew. Moving beyond that, we need to play Sherlock Holmes with deduction. He most likely endured slavery in Egypt under the torment of the Pharoah. Was there ever blood on his hands from the slaughtered Passover Lamb? Did he peak his head out of the window to see the destroyer killing the Egyptian firstborn sons?
He might have stuck his hand into the wall of water that towered on either side of him as he crossed the Red Sea on dry ground. He likely sang the song of Moses when they reached safety and saw the destruction of Pharoah's army. Did this man also gather wood to melt the gold to make the golden calf idol when Moses was on the mountain? He probably saw the lightening, heard the deafening thunder of God on the mountain.
Did he mourn the deaths of Nadab and Abihu when they were killed by God in the temple for another seemingly minor infraction (Lev. 10)? Did he grumble about not having food in the desert, then grumble about the mana after a time, then grumble about the quail that God brought? He surely saw the pillar of fire and cloud as God led Israel in the desert. Did he tremble in fear when the scouts delivered a bad report of the promised land? Then pick up stones to kill Joshua and Caleb who delivered the good report of the promised land? Did God personally stay the hand of this man to keep Joshua from being stoned?
He heard the reading of the Law by Moses given by the Lord. He saw numerous miracles and knew God's awesome power firsthand. God's holy standards cannot be argued to be a surprise to the wood gatherer. Especially the command to rest on the Sabbath.
To bring these events into clearer focus, let's look at the passages immediately before and after for context.
In the passages before, God gives instructions for unintentional sins committed by the people (Num 15:22-29) and, more importantly, for intentional, defiant sins (vs 30-31):
“ ‘But anyone who sins defiantly, whether native-born or alien, blasphemes the Lord, and that person must be cut off from his people. Because he has despised the Lord's word and broken his commands, that person must surely be cut off; his guilt remains on him.’ ”
The wood-gatherer passage is followed immediately by another horrible episode where Korah leads a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, he gets torched, along with 250 other rebels, then 14,700 people get killed by a plague because they sided against Moses and Aaron and ultimately against God.
These before and after bookends shine interesting light and the author of Numbers is probably sending a message in the arrangement: the wood collector wasn't just some guy who forgot that it was Saturday, an absent minded bumbler who accidentally strayed. If it was unintentional then there would be atonement (vs 22-26).
But the Lord had such a strong reaction that we can conclude that this man was being defiant, knew exactly what he was doing, he's despising the Lord's word. This might have been a regular pattern or habit of breaking the Sabbath. Or perhaps the first time, but with an "in your face God!" attitude.
The man who sees the mighty power of God displayed countlessly, who knows first hand His righteous and holy law yet still spits in God's eye is indeed treading on thin ice. Was he a husband and father, setting a bad example and leading his family into sin? Was he an elder of his tribe and leading the community to despise the Lord's commands?
Is it too much of a stretch to say that what seems like a small, minor infraction (getting wood) was more likely a serious transgression (participating in a wider rebellion against the Holy Living God)? The context certainly draws this conclusion. And from this we can learn quite a lot about this simple wood gatherer. But the next question is what can we learn about God from His reaction to the wood gatherer?
In Part 3 I'd like to chew on what it means that the sovereign God would kill somebody for violating the Sabbath. What does that reveal about His character, His personality, His name? And how does this mesh with His more popular and "likable" qualities of being loving, forgiving, and gracious?
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