Thoughts on B'ha'alotkha

Yes, I know I haven't finished Galatians...I will get to it! Our bible study has discussed chapters 2 and 3, but we're on a bit of a hiatus right now. I'll still post my thoughts soon.

Today, however, I've just read this week's Torah portion, B'ha'alotkha, Numbers 8:1-12:16. I thought I'd post my thoughts on it.

Complaining
In chapter 11, the Israelites start complaining again. (What's new, right?) They say, "If only we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we used to eat in Egypt - it cost us nothing! - an the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, the garlic! But now we're withering away, we have nothing to look at but this manna" (11:4-6).

The multitude of people who came out of Egypt - Israelites and 'the mixed multitude' - are yearning for their old way of life. It seemed much easier - free, delicious food, solid roofs over their head, safe from the harsh elements of the desert. They seem to have forgotten one tiny thing - THEY WERE SLAVES. How can they be content with going back to a life of slavery just because certain luxuries were present?

Unfortunately, I think this mentality is still around for those of us who have been delivered from slavery. We can still complain about this new life God has given us - because, let's face it, it is harder. It takes more work and more faith than living the way we want to. But did we really live the way we want to when we're not under the freedom of God? No, we were slaves to sin.

Romans 6:17-18 says we were once slaves to sin, but now we're slaves to righteousness! But this 'slavery' is of a different kind. Jesus himself told his disciples in John 15:15 that we were no longer slaves, but his friends because we know what he and God are up to. They're making a way for us to be with them in this life and the next.

God gives the people what they want - meat. There's so much meat that it fills the camp. "But while the meat was still in their mouth, before they had chewed it up, the anger of Adonai flared up against the people, and Adonai struck the people with a terrible plague. Therefore that place was named Kivrot-HaTa'avah [graves of greed], because there they buried the people who were so greedy" (Num. 11:33-34).

Yikes. It seems like we could use the saying "Be careful what you ask for." The people didn't ask, though, just complained. So, be careful what you complain about.

The Lord's Spirit
After the Israelites started complaining, Moses went to God and said, in a nutshell, "I can't handle all these people! I'd rather die than deal with this group of ungrateful people." (His real words are found 11:11-15).

God responds by telling him to bring 70 leaders to him and he will put His Spirit on them. The phrase that caught my eye was, "I will take some of the Spirit which rests on you and put it on them. Then they will carry the burden of the people along with you, so that you won't carry it yourself alone" (11:17).

He does this, giving seventy men His Spirit. Two of the men still at the came receive the Spirit, as well - they were supposed to go to the tent of meeting, but for some reason didn't, and they started prophesying. Moses says, "I wish Adonai would put his Spirit on all of them!" (11:29)

This is really interesting to me. God's Holy Spirit is definitely present in the Hebrew Scriptures. It is present in this chapter, Saul has his Spirit for a while (1 Samuel 10:10-11), David speaks of God's Spirit (Psalm 139:7), he bestows his Spirit on the judges (Judges 3:10). There are more references at this webpage. So, God's Spirit is present, but it seems like he doesn't come into the world with his full power until Pentecost.

Jesus promised his disciples in John 14:16-17 that he will send the Holy Spirit after he leaves them. Acts 2, during the festival of Shavuot, is when the Holy Spirit descends upon the believers gathered together. They begin speaking in different languages, and Peter is given the opportunity to speak about Jesus. In Ephesians 1:13-14, Paul calls him a seal or deposit of our inheritance. He devotes Romans 8 to speaking about how one with the Spirit is distinguished from one who lives according to the flesh. This Spirit is our comforter, counselor, intercessor, helper, leader, and more. He is a great gift from God!

Oh, I just love this book!