Feb 22: Numbers 31:48 – 33:56
I wonder what
the other tribes thought of the plans of the tribes of Benjamin and Gad to
forsake the Promised Land and settle in the area where they were currently
staying? Moses obviously was worried that God would smite them and cause the
Israelites to wander in the desert forever. Did the other tribes wish they had
thought of the idea? It sounds like it took quite a bit of work for this area
to be built up appropriately but we have no idea how much time passed.
The listing
of areas the Israelites traveled is incredible. There are some 35 places
listed, and I’m sure there were times of multiple days travel between them. The
historian in me loves that each was documented so we can chart their journey.
The elders of
the group had been mere teenagers when they left Egypt and probably had little
recollection of the tribulations of that time. Everyone under the age of 40
knew only the nomadic life, yet since birth they had heard the stories and held
the hope of the end of their journey. I wonder how many knew of the forty year
punishment and carefully marked the years waiting for the reward of the
Promised Land? After a year or so the life became ‘normal’, with births,
weddings, and other celebrations. Games were played, meals were cooked, prayers
were said, and songs were sung. Traveling and living in a tent, gathering manna
each morning, and watching for the cloud/pillar of fire to move was a way of
life. It’s not hard to see why the Benjamites and Gadites were anxious to
settle in a place they could see instead of continuing on.
Which group
do you think you might have wanted to join?
TOMORROW’S
TEXT: Numbers 34 – 36, Deuteronomy 1:1-15
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