Return of the Cousins

Within the story of Numbers we see the sins of the community in Genesis coming back to haunt Israel as they have to face their reprobate cousins while attempting to enter the land. Those peoples that were created through sinful acts or were simply not chosen by God end up being the same people who cause Israel grief. Below is a comparison of the Genesis and Numbers accounts:

Gen. 25, 27- Esau (Edom) becomes the reprobate brother under Jacob (Israel)
Num. 20:14-21- The king of Edom refuses to let Israel pass through their land

Gen. 19:30-38- Lot's daughters seduce him and bear Moab and Ammon
Num. 22-25:5- The Moabite king hires Balaam to curse Israel and the men of Israel are seduced by Moabite women

Gen. 9:20-27- Noah curses Canaan (Ham's son) for Ham's sin
Num. 21, 31- Israel defeats Canaanite nations while entering the promised land.

These stories thus serve both to justify to current actions of Israel (taking the land from reprobates), but also serve to condemn certain actions and behaviors. In this sense these stories can function similarly to some of our modern superhero stories. In the conflict between heroes and villains, the villains oftentimes are either relatives or friends of the hero. The difference, however, can be traced back to an event in the villain's past. Either a poor decision of the hero drove the villain to become evil or the evil was a result of a poor reaction to a tragedy in the villains life. In either case, the conflict becomes a stage not just for action, but also for a lesson in how to avoid behaviors that bring evil. Here is a You Tube video from The Incredibles that illustrates this point:

Mr. Incredible and Syndrome

Here, the villain was a fan of Mr. Incredible. However, Mr. Incredible's selfishness/pride, coupled with the poor decisions by Syndrome lead to repercussions for Mr. Incredible later in life as this young fan turns into a horrible villain. Thus, similar to Israel, those that are not chosen or who act sinfully within the community end up being a thorn in the side of their relatives later in the story.

YHWH as King in Num. 1-4

The first few chapters of Numbers seem to be not only preparing Israel for the conquest of Canaan but also to be placing YHWH as king over Israel. The arrangement of the tribes around the tabernacle is of course partially a military formation. In this light, it can be seen that the camp arrangement of Israel is not too different than the military camps of other kings in the ancient near east. Often such encampments would place the king at the center of the camp. This would signal the importance of the king and also provide the king with protection from enemies.

Thus, such a military camp would somewhat serve like the secret service does for the President today. Just as the Secret Service is always present and surrounding the President in public areas, likewise the armies of the ancient world would camp around their leader. Yet, it is interesting that in Numbers, at least part of the camp structure was for the protection of Israel instead of protection for God. Numbers 1:53 points out that one reason the Levites were to camp closest to the tabernacle was to help prevent God's wrath from falling on the rest of the camp.

The sense of YHWH as Israel's king is heightened in the following chapters as the book describes the various tasks of which the Levites were in charge. In describing the transportation of many of the pieces of holy furniture, Numbers reports that these holy objects were to be wrapped in blue, crimson, and purple clothes--all colors of royalty. The message is clear: the God who brought Israel out of Egypt is also to be their king who will bring them into the Promised Land and is to be worshiped as their king.

The New Testament continues with this idea of God/Jesus as king over His people. One wonders if we have lost some of this sense in our modern world. One also wonders what rituals or practices that we have in our churches today either place God and Jesus in this role as king or that strip Him of such a position.