The Wood Gatherer (Part II)

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?

The Wood Gatherer (Part 1)

Some passages in the Bible are bitter pills. Some are bitter pills, dipped in habenero sauce that are difficult to even sniff, let alone swallow. Numbers 15:32-36 is one of those:

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.

My knee jerk reaction when I read this passage is to forget that I just read the passage. Put my hands over my ears, squeeze my eyes shut and blurt, "Nananananananana!!!!! I can't seeing anything!!!! Nanananananananan!!!!!!!!! Can't hear anything!!!!!!!!!" Or whatever the spiritual equivalent is. I like to think of God as the Good Shepherd. Not the Great Smiter. These passages are not taught in Sunday school. Not preached from the pulpit. Chances are that if they are ever mentioned, it's by some guy who is also holding a sign that says, "God hates figs." Or something.

But after reading this passage today I decided to open my eyes, take my fingers out of my ears and look at God's word closely, even if it makes me pucker.

But having set out down the path there is immediately a fork in the road and I must choose one of three routes:

Deny
Deny the validity of the Bible. Simply write off what what written, because it is such an old book and couldn't have any bearing on my life today. Conclude that the author was a sicko painting an image of a sicko deity (after all a good God wouldn't do such a bad thing). Or be generous and say that this was a mistranslation and the original text and meaning has long been lost. Or maybe the cultural gap is too great to understand the meaning back then. Or I might decide to pick and choose which parts of Scripture I like and feel comfortable with, like selecting melons from a fruit stand. Thump it, smell it, squeeze and if it feels good, toss it in the cart. All of these can be reduced to a denial of the authority and sufficiency of the Bible. But this is not an option for me, so I move on to the next.

Diminish
Reduce the importance of the passage by some trick of Xerox, hit the 25% zoom button and make it shrink in substance. So that somehow I convince myself that God didn't really command the stoning of a guy because he wanted to warm his family by the fire some Saturday, or cook his Hungry Man meal. Or maybe the author stuck a figurative tale in the midst of a historical account. Or perhaps the author was ascribing to God the actions of humans to justify his own personal guilt or shame in the murder of an innocent man. The idea is that if I get uncomfortable with a text, I won't outright deny it, but I'll shrink it down to a smaller size. So it can fit into the small cubbyhole in my small head labeled "Brian's Image of God" (with an acronym that is often not appropriate.)

Yet this option also doesn't sit well with me. So I move on to the last option:


Dig
Pick up a shovel and put in some toil and hard work to dig for the significance of the passage. Ask difficult questions, seek answers from multiple sources, starting with the Bible itself. What does the immediate context of passage indicate? Do verses adjoining before and after shed any light or give new information? Dig into the rest of the book of Numbers to see what the larger context is in the book. Dig into the historical context of the Israelites in the desert. What do the previous days, weeks, months, years and centuries say about God's character/actions as related to this wood gatherer? Dig into other books of the Bible to search for passages that deepen our understanding. Then move out of scripture to external sources: commentaries, sermons, biblical scholars. Dig into original language studies. Dig. And pray for the Spirit's guidance to teach us.

But be prepared, at the bottom of the deep hole we've dug, we'll hear the clank of a buried chest. And inside that is a treasure: the Truth. And the truth of the passage might be what our gut told us at the outset. Or the truth might force us to expand our understanding of the Almighty. But even if we don't fully understand it, we should value what was found, not diminish or deny it.

Next post in Part II, I'll try to do this very thing and dig for the truth about the stoning of a man with sticks in his hands.

The Son of Nun

Joshua is famous in the Bible for being only one of two men along with Caleb to enter the promised land, while the rest of the Israelites who started in Egypt died in the desert (Numbers 14:27-38). Joshua was extraordinary simply put. Taking over for Moses, he became the leader of the Israelites and crossed into the promised land, then led numerous successful military campaigns under God's direction.  He remains to this day a model of courage, faith, and godliness.  A stud among spiritual studs.

But it's very interesting that a huge number of the references to him in the Bible are "Joshua son of Nun". And nowhere in the Bible is Nun referred to separately except as being Joshua's dad. So who is Nun? What made him such an amazing father that his son would have faith that could do more than move mountains, but actually pray to stop the sun and moon (Joshua 10:12-13)?

Usually children are known by their parents, "Hey, isn't that Old Man McGillicutty's boy over there?"  But Nun is known only by his son Joshua.

As a dad with a son, I'm really intrigued by Nun.  In the midst of a nation of whiners, grumblers, and rebels, Nun must have done something right to instill rock-solid faith in his child.

Only sparse information is available about Nun, but 1 Chronicles 7:26-29 has some interesting nuggets:

• He was of the Tribe of Ephraim  who was the offspring of Joseph.  There is a history and lineage in Nun's family of delivers, saviors (little "s") and Nun's son would carry the tradition.
• His ancestors' granted territory in the promised land and settlement included Bethel and Shechem.   This is modern day Jerusalem, only the very heart and center of worship for the world's three major religions.  You can tell a lot about the neighbors by neighborhood.  And Shechem is a swank as you can get on the spiritual real estate market.

There are some great lessons that speak powerfully to me from Nun:

1. Your greatest contribution to the world or the kingdom of God might not be your job, your "ministry", your bank account, or your mark on the world.  But instead, might be your child.  The years invested into raising that child to love Jesus have eternal ramifications.
2. People who aren't yet parents, or who will never be parents, have a similar opportunity through their spiritual children they disciple.  Paul often called Timothy  his "son" (Philippians 2:19-23 for example).  Your impact for the kingdom might not be epic missionary work, preaching to thousands, healing the masses, or walking out with big ticket items from God's Costco.  But what if your contribution to the kingdom was faithfully discipling one person who went on to be Joshua?  Wouldn't that be just as glorifying as the work of Joshua?  
3. Your greatest act of leadership in the kingdom, might be modeling and teaching true faith to one person who becomes a leader who then leads thousands.
4. God exercises sovereignty over His creation like potter over the clay.  Perhaps in His matchless wisdom He made you to be Joshua.  Or maybe He made you to be Nun.  Regardless, all glory goes to Him.
5. Nun himself didn't enter the promised land, only his son Joshua.  What shame did Nun feel as he turned back from the River Jordan, walked away from the promised land and back into the desert?  As both literal and spiritual parents, we all have failings, disappointments and sins.  Everybody has baggage with them (some can be carried on, others must be checked at the airport counter).  But despite our failing, God can still use our service to Him for eternal good.  No tool is wrecked beyond repair that the Master can't use to make a masterpiece.   I feel bad for Joshua who probably saw his dad die in the desert, knowing he never entered into the fullness of God's blessing and promise by covenant.  I grieve sometimes at the failings while raising my own son, but take comfort in the majesty of the Almighty who is bringing all of us to the true eternal promised land.  That by the blood of Jesus I won't be turned away from the land flowing with milk and honey.

A Stone's Throw (Numbers 14)

In Numbers 14 God's people were literally a stone's throw from entering the promised land. Their kids were skipping rocks from the east bank of the Jordan River to the west. The promised land was the covenant fulfillment, a place of blessing, exceedingly good (vs 7), flowing with Starbucks and scones. But after a bad report from the scouts, the people rebelled (first against Moses, but ultimately against God). They let fear, anxiety, unbelief, mistrust, and self-preservation rule the day. They picked up stones to throw at Caleb and Joshua, the only two faithful men of their generation who would enter the promised land. Because the people wanted to kill them, God finally washed His hands of the "rabble". The people who were so close to blessing beyond count, would all perish wandering in the desert within 40 years, stale bits of manna and quail stuck in their beards.

Vs 25 is so sad when God said to Moses, "Turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.” This is the thundering thud of a massive door being slammed shut.

Turn back to the land of slavery, turn back from God's covenant promised blessing, turn back from fruitfulness, from the bounty of God's hand. Turn back.

They were so close! But instead the stones they could've thrown to hit the promised land, were directed to God and His faithful ones. And they perished because of it. Why? At the heart of their rebellion was unbelief mistrust.

Only by abiding belief, trust, and love our Lord can we too enter the fulness of His blessing.

Quail out the Nose (Numbers 11)

Numbers 11 records an amazing episode that in the same moment is horrible, hilarious, sad, and convicting.

The Book of Numbers has a building pile of insults against the Lord by the people that God delivered from Egypt. He wants to bring them to the promised land, into the fullness of His blessings, but they return favor with insult, blessing with grumbling, mercy with rebellion. Eventually in Chapter 14:20-24 the people add the last straw that breaks the camel's back and God turns them away from the promised land, vowing that the "wicked" people would perish by 40 years wandering in the desert. So heartbreaking.

But Chapter 11 starts with another piece of straw added to the camel with the Israelites wailing and complaining about their hardships. This elicits the Lord's wrath who makes the outskirts of the camp a golden, toasty brown with fire.

I'm often quick to point the finger at the tribes here, but when I do there's three more fingers pointing back at me. The tribes of Israel were miraculously delivered from the slavery by the mighty hand of God. This group of people arguably saw more miracles and divine acts of power than any in history save for the disciples of Jesus. And yet, it was not enough to cultivate faith, trust and gratitude. And while I haven't seen a pillar of fire or a plague of frogs, I've clearly seen God's hand in my life, delivering me. Yet just like the Israelites, I'm prone to complain that I don't have enough. Prone to want more than what's been provided, to crave what I don't have rather than be thankful for what I do. Contentment and thankfulness is so important to a joyful life.

Instead, look at the litany of unflattering words used to describe the people under Moses' care: wailing, complainers, crying, rabble, cravings, rejecting the Lord. This is serious stuff. They got sick and tired of eating manna (the miracle food provided by God). Instead, they whined for meat and longed for the "good old days" back in Egypt. And so God answers their sniveling cry for meat by sending hundreds of Wal Mart trucks worth of quail, so much that they eat till it comes out their nostrils (vs 20!) and they loathe the meat. There's both great humor and sadness in this. Because the default human condition is to want what we don't have, no matter how full our houses, bellies, or DVRs. And then when we get what we want it becomes loathsome eventually because we want something else.

Sometimes when I'm bummed out I'll count my blessings. Literally. It's humbling to remember how much I'm blessed, even in very difficult and trying "desert experiences". I thank God for blessings great and small:

1) Drinking water that flows at the turn of a faucet.
2) Not just daily bread, but abundance of food.
3) Roads that I can travel without fear of IED explosions.
4) Arms and hands that can hug my son, carry soccer goals to a game, be raised in worship.
5) Socks.
6) Freedom to pray and meet publicly in discussions about the Bible.

...

347) Dozens of personal copies of the Bible.
348) A son that loves Jesus.
349) Blood shed on the cross.
350) Rain.
351) Dirt.

...

795) Plastic, metals and oil that create innumerable products that save lives, fuel industry, facilitate our fun.
796) Alpine meadows.
797) Toothbrushes.
798) Fleece jackets.
799) Grande americanos with cream and two sugars.

And my prayer is that if God should take anything or everything from me, I would still praise him for a rich inheritance reserved in heaven for me, a mansion with a room prepared for me, a coming new heaven and earth, a new body, and an eternity to worship the loving Savior who made it all possible. Pass the manna, please.